When a massive earthquake hit Turkey in February, many residents were left without access to critical supplies. Mustafa, who first discovered Binance on YouTube in 2020, said the cryptocurrency exchange’s actions in the wake of the earthquake enabled his parents to replace their glasses and hearing aids, lost in the rubble, while banks were shut down.
"The banks in the region closed and all access to funds was cut off," Mustafa said. "No one could withdraw cash – at a time when they truly needed it."
Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, said in a blog post that immediately after the earthquake, they used Proof of Address verification to identify Binance users living in the most affected regions of Turkey. Binance then airdropped those users $100 USD worth of crypto, for a total of approximately $5 million USD.
“In the aftermath of natural disasters, people often lose access to traditional banking at the exact moment when extra funds are needed to help cover medical supplies, food and other essential needs,” the blog post said. “Crypto transfers are now increasingly being used to deliver financial aid to disaster victims as they provide fast, low-cost, borderless and transparent transactions.”
"Binance donated $100 in crypto – a small amount to many, but a lot to us – to each eligible user impacted by the earthquake, straight to our Binance accounts," Mustafa said. "The Binance community was there in our time of need when few were, and none of us will ever, ever forget that."
Binance Charity, the philanthropic arm of the exchange, also launched a public donation fund through which people’s donations were sent to government-approved NGOs in Turkey, according to the blog post. Emergency Earthquake Appeal funds were accepted in the form of ETH, BTC, BNB, BUSD, and XRP.
“The recent earthquakes in Turkey have had a devastating impact on so many people and communities. We hope that our efforts will bring some relief to those affected,” Binance CEO CZ said of the relief efforts. “We are also calling on our industry peers to once again come together to offer support in these times of crisis.”
During a Senate Banking Committee hearing in February, Professor Linda Jeng of the Georgetown Institute of International Economic Law said crypto has demonstrated its value as a tool for providing aid and relief to people in need, according to a copy of her testimony. She encouraged the lawmakers at the hearing to not let the fraud and collapse of crypto exchange FTX last fall to impede the development and regulation of crypto.
“Crypto has also been used as a tool to quickly mobilize resources during times of acute need with examples in Ukraine (following Russia’s invasion), India (for COVID Relief) – and even in the last week, in Syria and Turkey (following the devastating earthquakes),” Jeng said in her testimony. “While the collapse [of FTX] has had devastating effects, we must also keep in mind that crypto is servicing some very real needs around the world. A nuanced and global outlook is key."