The onslaught of news and pictures from Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquakes are devastating.
Around the world, people are reaching out to provide humanitarian aid to non profit organizations, friends, families and survivors in the aftermath of the devastation in Turkey and Syria. Survivors and their families need access to resources immediately, and USDC is an easy, near instant solution that also reduces the costs associated with money remittance fees by as much as 80%.
If you want to help, sending USDC starts with making sure that recipients have a digital wallet1. Local providers who offer “on-” and “off-” ramps for USDC include BiLira, Paribu and BtcTurk.
Once recipients have a wallet, they can share their USDC address and receive USDC to that wallet. Senders will require a wallet of their own. Wallet providers and digital asset exchange options vary by country or region:
- A few examples of digital asset exchange options include Coinbase and Robinhood in the U.S., Kraken in Europe or Bitso in Latin America, with countless other options including Crypto.com, KuCoin, LemonCash, MoonPay, and OKX.
- Senders may also consider downloading a self-custody wallet from their phone’s App Store to deliver funds to recipients’ wallets. Mobile wallet options include: Coinbase Wallet, Glow, MetaMask, Phantom, Trust Wallet. Note that recipients may be best served by using a digital asset exchange to access off-ramps to easily convert USDC to local currency, such as those listed above.
- Note: It is important to send the type of USDC that the recipient is capable of receiving. The most commonly accepted type of USDC is the “ERC-20” version, which is native to the Ethereum network, whereas “SPL” is native to the Solana network.
Donation Resources
Direct donations to Ahbap, a grassroots charitable organization based in Turkey, can also be a helpful way to quickly support local communities in need. The organization has already sourced more than 3 million in crypto donations. You can donate via credit card or bank transfer from Ahbap’s website or by sending USDC to Ahbap’s digital wallet. Ahbap’s Twitter post provides their verified wallet addresses on the Ethereum (ERC-20) and Avalanche networks.
Direct USDC donations may also be made to Endaoment and The Giving Block, where USDC is among the most widely used digital currencies in philanthropic and humanitarian donations. Endaoment’s community fund is supporting local nonprofits bringing shelter, supplies and health services to the area. The Giving Block has set up a Disasters and Conflict Impact Index Fund and is providing access to multiple donation campaigns supporting global NGOs and on-the-ground efforts.
1 Circle is a Money Services Business and is subject to corresponding legal and regulatory obligations, including U.S. and other sanctions compliance requirements.
