Israeli crypto firms launched Crypto Aid Israel on Monday, a humanitarian fund for Israeli citizens in need of aid due to the war with the Palestinian military group Hamas.
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Fast Facts
- Crypto Aid Israel was launched as an emergency initiative by Fireblocks, 42Studio, MarketAcross, Collider Ventures, CryptoJungle, Nilos, BlockchainB7, Efficient Frontier, Ironblocks Israel Blockchain Association, and Bits Of Gold.
- The fund will operate through a multi-signature wallet jointly controlled by multiple parties to collect donations in Bitcoin, Ether, and dollar-backed stablecoins USDT and USDC.
- Fireblocks, a New York-based digital assets custody, will manage the cryptocurrency donations, with the multi-signature wallet requiring at least four out of seven signatories to approve transactions, according to a press release from Crypto Aid Israel.
- “We hope to raise the necessary funds to provide food and shelter for families who lost their homes. We are also hoping to provide hygiene and medical products for the bombarded Israeli civilian populace and to raise awareness for the horrors the Israeli people are facing right now,” said Ben Samocha, the chief executive officer of CryptoJungle, an Israel-based crypto news platform.
- Israel declared war on Hamas on Saturday, after the militant group carried out an attack causing at least 900 deaths in Israel, prompting a retaliation airstrike that killed at least 687 people in Gaza.
- Crypto fundraising for war victims gained strong interest after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Six months into the war, the Ukrainian government spent US$54 million raised through crypto donations to supply defenders with military equipment, clothing, medicine and vehicles.
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