Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, and Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, have pledged $100 million to help accelerate COVID-19 research and relief efforts in India.
As variants of COVID-19 continue to emerge and spread, and with far too many people developing long-term symptoms accelerating, research efforts are essential.
How the donation will be used to support COVID-19 research
The donations from Buterin and Nailwal are some of the largest charitable contributions ever made to crypto. Buterin declared in a Twitter topic According to the thread, the fund will be donated to Crypto Relief, with the money going directly to researchers working on solutions to combat the long-term effects of the coronavirus.
Crypto Relief is a project created by Nailwal at the height of the COVID pandemic as an emergency relief fund. The Polygon co-founder said the nonprofit is now upgrading to a long-term strategic fund for India’s healthcare donations. Buterin also confirmed this change in approach in his Twitter post, stating that dealing with Covid and future pandemics needs an integrated global approach.
“Business in India remains a key part of the solution, but we also need an integrated global approach,” said the co-founder.
The funds will go towards financing research projects related to cutting-edge scientific discoveries and inventions in India and other developing countries. Overall, it’s a victory for science, a victory for global health, and a victory for humanity.
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Vitalik Buterin’s Previous Donations to COVID Relief
Vitalik Buterin has a history of donating to important causes such as COVID-19 relief, donating $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency to various non-profit organizations in 2021. During this period, Buterin donated $1 billion worth of Chiba Inu to help India in Its fight against the corona virus.
Buterin made the donation by dumping 50 trillion SHIB tokens worth $1.2 billion, given to him by the creators of the Shiba Inu coin. With India being one of the hardest hit countries during the pandemic, the fund has helped provide medical equipment and supplies as the country grapples with a deadly second wave of COVID-19 infections.
Outside of the pandemic, Buterin has donated millions of dollars in crypto to various charities and causes. Last year, he quietly donated $5 million to relief efforts in Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
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