UNICEF Asks Gamers to Mine Cryptocurrency for Syrian Children

The invention of cryptocurrency is a revolution in modern finance but it has far reaching implications in many other fields as well. For example, a new initiative by UNICEF harnesses the power of mining to create a new form of philanthropy.

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Mining for Charity

On February 2nd, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a new fundraising program meant to help finance the needs of protecting Syrian kids. Called Gamer Chaingers, it uses cryptocurrency mining as a method to raise funds without asking for monitory donations.

People who wish to participate in the innovative UNICEF program can visit its website, download the mining software and receive simple instructions on how to operate it. According to the displayed statistics on the site, the program already has 249 mining participants as of the time of this writing.

The website explains to those unfamiliar with the field that: “Today, humanitarian collections often solicit the same people with the same methods, but cryptocurrencies and their revolutionary approach are an opportunity to raise funds differently. Have you heard of Bitcoin? Ethereum is the same, except that you can more easily ‘mine’ the Ethereum coins via your computer and that money will go directly into the UNICEF wallet.”

Why Gamers?

PC gamers are not exactly the usual crowd that charities target for fundraising and donations, but they now hold a valuable resource thanks to the invention of cryptocurrency mining. Powerful graphics cards are used to render games faster and with higher resolutions, but they can also be used to generate cryptocurrencies.

While professional GPU miners have their systems running without any down time as much as possible, gamers have to eat, study, sleep and work once in a while, and thus have plenty of spare cycles to contribute. UNICEF hopes they will be willing to lend their powerful gaming rigs (and the associated electricity costs of running them) during their down times and thus support the charity without having to make a single money transfer.

What other new forms of philanthropy are made possible with cryptocurrency? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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