Over the year 2021, the cryptocurrency market has been very generous with many people. And these have been able to be generous in return, as evidenced by The Giving Block’s recent report: cryptocurrency donations have increased 16-fold over the year 2021.
16 times more donations in crypto
The cryptocurrency market, like the king of Bitcoin (BTC), has seen a string of crazy performances and new all-time highs in 2021. Behind these head-turning figures, it has also generated much more concrete actions, notably on the charity side.
In a report published by The Giving Block, we learn that the crypto-community has been extremely generous in 2021. The volume of total cryptocurrency donations reached $69,644,535, a significant increase of about 1558% compared to the year 2020.
Furthermore, the average donation value was $10,455, an increase of 236% compared to the previous year. Not surprisingly, cryptocurrency donors were the most generous. In comparison, the average traditional fiat donation is estimated to be around $128.
Cryptocurrency donation statistics in 2021 (Source: TheGivingBlock)
More generally, it is interesting to compare these two statistics. If the average value of donations has “only” doubled, but the total amount distributed has increased 16-fold, then the number of unique donors has likely exploded in a single year.
Some key figures to remember
Somewhat surprisingly, the volume of donations has steadily climbed over the months, regardless of the fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market. While January recorded $300,000 in donations, no less than $20 million was donated to the charity in December.
Statistics on cryptocurrency donation volumes in 2021 (Source: TheGivingBlock)
In total, more than 70 different cryptocurrencies have been given away for charity. For the first time, it was not Bitcoin but Ether (ETH) that was given away the most in 2021, totalling a volume of $30.79 million. In addition, stablecoins were also a popular solution for donors, most notably DAI and USDC.
Finally, one of the major market trends in 2021 was non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These have proven to be a major force in charitable giving, with over $12.3m being donated by projects, artists and even NFT platforms.
What are the different reasons for this?
In its report, The Giving Block asked why such high volumes of donations have been generated. Logically enough, this can be attributed to the decidedly bullish market trend and the increasing adoption of digital assets around the world.
On the other hand, more and more non-profit organisations have been rethinking their positions and finally accepting donations in cryptocurrencies. As such, there were over a thousand of them by the end of 2021.
As one of the most widely used donation mediums, The Giving Block also played a prominent role in this philanthropic year. First of all, they organised CryptoGivingTuesday, an entire day dedicated to cryptocurrency giving. Held on November 30, 2021, this one raised about $2.4 million in just 24 hours.
Finally, the association has been responsive to donors and market trends. The simple act of exchanging stablecoins for Ether, even for the strict purpose of making a charitable donation, is considered a taxable transaction, which can put many people off. Thus, The Giving Block decided to allow donations in USDC, which eventually accounted for $4.73 million of the total balance.
Interestingly, the introduction of the Shiba Inu (SHIB) also attracted a lot of new donors. Memecoin quickly became the fourth most donated cryptocurrency in the month of its introduction.
