Seychelles-registered crypto-derivatives exchange BitMEX has been the newest player in the industry to enter philanthropic efforts to counter the global health crisis COVID-19.

HDR Global Trading, the operator of the exchange, opened a dedicated COVID-19 Response Fund on April 20 and revealed its donation of a total of $2.5 million in grants to four beneficiaries.

The business believes that as a fintech, the best way for it to contribute to global initiatives is through “strategically directed funds [that] can fill gaps in global response and rapidly empower well-equipped but under-resourced organizations.”

HDR Global Trading has decided to donate COVID-19 Funds to the two Gates Philanthropy partners. The Biosecurity program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, OpenMined. And Our World in Data, following a consultation with a philanthropic advisory board.

Among them, the focus of these organizations is on policy analysis and capacity-building initiatives to mitigate biological threats, production of vaccines, diagnostics, and treatment, data research and support for data protection strategies via open sources.

HDR Global Trading has emphasized that all donations made through COVID-19 Response Fund. These are independent of the personal philanthropic efforts of its co-founder Ben Delo, a Giving Pledge signatory.

Reactions from industry to the global crisis

As announced earlier this month the Stellar Development Foundation contributed up to 2.5 million Lumens. To non-profits focused on disaster relief during the pandemic.

Several crypto companies have also reassigned computational resources. They typically use for the processing of digital currency transactions to a distributed computing project. [email protected], which is working on COVID-19.

Elsewhere, Binance has launched a campaign to collect $5 million in cryptocurrencies. To buy medical supplies for the countries hit hardest by the pandemic. Following Wuhan’s own January purchase of $1.4 million in medical supplies.