Crypto Philanthropy: Small in Scale, Significant in Character
tessera Perspective
Cryptocurrency has yet to make a serious dent in the charitable economy. American giving exceeded $550bn in 2023, while crypto donations worldwide barely crossed the $1bn mark. The proportion is negligible. Yet to dismiss crypto on those grounds is to miss its peculiar significance. The gifts are unusually large, the donors unusually young, and the symbolism unusually potent.
A market that flickers with volatility
The volume of crypto philanthropy rises and falls with the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum. After a slump in 2022, donations rebounded strongly in 2024, and the average gift hovered near $11,000. By contrast, the typical online credit-card donation sits below $100. The numbers are small in aggregate but striking in composition. A handful of transfers can tilt campaign results or draw attention that no volume of $25 contributions could.
Who gives, and why
Crypto donors are often younger and male, with fortunes tied to volatile markets and technology firms. For some, philanthropy is a way of signalling affiliation as much as altruism. They are unlikely to migrate naturally to cheques or direct debits. They want to give in the form in which they hold wealth. If a nonprofit does not accept that form, the gift often does not happen at all.
Where it makes sense
The logic of acceptance differs across sectors. Universities and endowments benefit from accommodating alumni who hold crypto assets and want to contribute in kind. International relief organisations find crypto useful in crises, when transfers can be large, rapid and borderless. Large national charities adopt it partly for the optics: boards and younger supporters expect institutions of stature to appear modern. For smaller, community-based groups the case is thinner. They may enable it, but seldom as a primary feature.
Modest share, distinct role
Crypto will not become a dominant source of nonprofit funding. It will not replace cards, bank transfers or wallets. Yet it already serves a donor pool that is growing in wealth and unlikely to engage otherwise. For organisations exposed to that constituency, crypto is not an ornament. It is a functional channel that secures gifts which would not arrive through conventional rails.
Sources: The Giving Block; Forbes Top Charities; NonProfit PRO; Blackbaud Institute