Update, May 6, 6:58 am UTC: This article has been updated with comments from Ripple’s senior vice president of strategic initiatives, Eric van Miltenburg.
Ripple, the US-based crypto services firm behind the XRP Ledger, has committed $25 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD) to education nonprofits DonorsChoose and Teach For America.
According to a May 5 announcement, the grant will be processed through the crypto charity intermediary service The Giving Block. DonorsChoose CEO Alix Guerrier said, “teachers are going the extra mile for their students’ education, even spending hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars out-of-pocket for their classrooms.” The donations are meant to provide teachers with resources for such initiatives.
Ripple cites a 2024 Gallup survey showing that 55% of US parents and adults are dissatisfied with the quality of K-12 education in the United States. This highlights “constraints and gaps in funding for education,” the report reads. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in the statement:
“We hope to inspire others to do the same, starting with Teacher Appreciation Week, and leading into the rest of the year to support students and teachers with the resources they need to build a stronger future for themselves and their communities.”
Teach For America CEO Aneesh Sohoni said the new funding will allow the organization to expand its “Ignite Tutoring Fellows program, drive innovation in our Reinvention Lab, and provide crucial financial assistance” to prepare teachers.
Why donate in digital assets?
Ripple’s senior vice president of strategic initiatives, Eric van Miltenburg, told Cointelegraph that leveraging The Giving Block’s infrastructure allows the donation receivers “to convert their donations to fiat when they need to, reducing exposure to price volatility, liquidity concerns or regulatory uncertainty.”
Miltenburg said that this approach is meant to ensure transparency and efficiency through the use of a public blockchain while also building more familiarity with digital assets:
“As crypto philanthropy continues to grow, this partnership helps organizations better understand wallets, onchain giving, and the tools available to make the most of this emerging donation option.”
Related: The Giving Block starts disaster fund for California wildfire victims
Crypto-fueled charity
The cryptocurrency industry is familiar with charitable donations. Last month, Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pledged over half a million dollars worth of crypto to the earthquake disaster relief effort in Thailand and Myanmar. The Giving Block forecasts crypto donations to reach $2.5 billion in 2025.
Another player in the crypto charity field, Blockchain For Impact (BFI), in March committed $90 million to advance biomedical research.
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