The exchanges Binance and Huobi will send medical kits to China. Krypital Group announced the creation of a fund that only accepts Tether (USDT).
Whilst the whole world is still on alert for the coronavirus epidemic, several cryptocurrency companies are showing their support for Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province in China, where the infectious outbreak has killed dozens of people and affected thousands of others. Among those offering their support are Huobi, Binance and the blockchain company Krypital.
Binance, one of the world’s leading exchanges, pledged to donate 10 million Chinese yuan (CNY), equivalent to about USD 1.44 million, to add to the efforts to fight the virus before it becomes a pandemic.
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, posted a tweet on January 25th, holding the promise. Curiously, the message responded to the concern of a user, who wondered why the company did not join the donations made in cryptocurrencies. To the users’ doubt, he explained that, for the victims of the coronavirus in Wuhan, the donation in cryptocurrencies is useless.
Besides, in a tweet posted on January 26th, Zhao announced that the Binance team would work with Chinese e-commerce and logistics companies to distribute approximately 70,000 medical masks in the Chinese province, as part of their efforts to help the victims. He added that the Chinese government would coordinate the process to ensure that the masks reach those that require them.
In less than two months, the coronavirus has spread quickly, not only in the interior of China but also to other countries such as Japan, Thailand, and the United States of America. For this reason, the company Krypital, which specializes in comprehensive blockchain-based marketing services, also announced on January 25th the creation of a charity donation program for the delivery of medical supplies to the victims of the deadly virus.
The company also announced the creation of a donation fund based on a public blockchain, since it would allow greater efficiency and transparency. According to its posts, so far, the company only accepts donations in the stablecoin Tether (USDT), using the Ethereum network.
The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Huobi also joined the support chain, announcing on its official Twitter account the creation of a fund of about USD 1.5 million to buy medical equipment. It also said that, in the next few days, it will send about 20,000 medical masks and protective medical kits to the Hubei province to be distributed in areas where efforts to contain the virus are concentrated.
Cryptocurrencies vs. Coronavirus
As the coronavirus continues spreading quickly, affecting various parts of China and other Asian countries, there is also fear that the virus may affect the cryptocurrency industry.
Given its status as a cryptocurrency investment center, China has the largest number of exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region, which has 40% of the top 50 exchanges worldwide, with the possible disruption of business due to the coronavirus.
Some people think that marketing events are crucial for the cryptocurrency investment companies growing in China that seek to raise money and invest in digital assets. However, their activities are prone to become slower due to the virus. Meanwhile, various mass media have linked recent movements in Bitcoin’s price to the expectation caused by the coronavirus.
By Alexander Salazar
