As a hub for technology, many crypto companies call California home. Faced with ongoing wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles since Jan. 7, leaving 24 people dead and 12,000 structures destroyed, crypto companies are pouring tens of thousands of dollars into charities for wildfire relief.
Blockdaemon, a blockchain infrastructure company, announced on Monday that it will be donating $50,000 to relief efforts through charities including Megafire Action, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the LA Food Bank Disaster Relief Fund, We Got This and Mutual Aid LA Network.
Additionally, The Giving Block, a non-profit that allows donors to give crypto to charity, is leading an effort to raise $2 million for charities contributing aid to first responders, residents, medical care and animals. The Giving Block converts cryptocurrency into U.S. dollars and transfers donations directly into a charity’s bank account.
The Blockchain Association, a non-profit that promotes pro-crypto policy, is also supporting relief efforts by bringing awareness to vetted charities aiding those in need and helping to fight the wildfires, writing on X, “Please help us support those who need it most.”
Blockdaemon has been headquartered in Los Angeles since 2018. Despite not having a physical office in the city since 2023, Los Angeles remains the company’s official headquarters and around 20 employees work remotely from the city, including CEO and founder Konstantin Richter.
“We feel it’s important for everyone to step up, who is part of the Los Angeles community,” Richter told Fortune.
Richter said that in addition to the company’s initial donation, he is calling on his “crypto brethrens,” other CEOs and leaders in the space, to offer what they have.
“We will also set up a wider call to the crypto community where they can donate money to us in crypto, and we will 100% pass that through in the same formula that we’ve dished out to these different organizations,” Richter said.
Blockchain company Ripple, headquartered in San Francisco, will also be donating $100,000 worth of XRP through The Giving Block to World Central Kitchen, a charity providing fresh meals to first responders and evacuees, and GiveDirectly, a charity that sends money directly to those living in poverty, according to the company.
This donation follows Ripple’s announcement last week that it had partnered with Miami-based crypto exchange MoonPay to donate $50,000 worth of Ripple’s new stablecoin RLUSD to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation through The Giving Block, “in support of the first responders on the frontlines of the California wildfires.”
While Ripple has some remote employees in Southern California, the company said, none have been evacuated due to the wildfires.
