Cryptocurrency has given many an opportunity to invest in a growing, yet at times arduous, market. There are success stories – such as the Winklevoss brothers – and horror stories where individuals have sold, only to see Bitcoin value skyrocket in the weeks following.

With success and riches, one can imagine that lavish spending and excess will follow; cars, houses, holidays and fancy clothes.

One Bitcoin investor however is breaking the mould and using their new found wealth to give back.

On Monday, Reddit users entered the Bitcoin subforum to find a post from an anonymous user declaring their intention to donate millions of dollars to various charities and community causes.

The anonymous user stated their intention to pledge 5057BTC ($86 million) through an investment fund called The Pineapple Fund.

Speaking of the inspiration behind this move, the user stated:

“Bitcoin has changed my life, and I have far more money than I can ever spend. My aims, goals, and motivations in life have nothing to do with having XX million or being the mega rich.”

“So I’m doing something else: donating the majority of my Bitcoins to charitable causes.”

Gaining Momentum

Within a short period of time the Reddit post became a top thread on the website, with thousands of upvotes, comments and a myriad of suggestions for potential donations – which included brazen users suggesting they were viable suitors.

According to the post, The Pineapple Fund has already donated over 163BTC – which equals around $3.5 million – to various charities.

These include:

$1 million to Watsi, which the user describes as ‘an impressively innovative charity building technology to finance universal healthcare’

$1 million to The Water Project, a clean water initiative for developing nations in Africa.

$500k to BitGive, a philanthropic organisation that harnesses Bitcoin and blockchain technology to fund charitable causes across the globe.

$1 million to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that champions net neutrality and online privacy.

After these initial donations, there still remains over $80 million available for various causes around the world – and The Pineapple Fund is requesting suggestions from the public. Even going so far as to set up an application process on their website.

“If you know a registered nonprofit charity, please encourage them to apply on the fund’s website!

“While I prefer supporting registered charities, I am open to supporting charitable causes as well.”

DIGIT spoke to the user (who wished to remain anonymous, but stated they are from a developing country) on future plans for The Pineapple Fund, including the process and timescale of the donations:

“The Pineapple Fund is a work in progress. We’ve donated $3.5 million so far, but we’re improving the process and will be bringing onboard nonprofit partners to help administer the fund.

“The mental timeframe is several months to a year.”

Plans for a long term process could have potential, however, as opposed to a short burst of large donations, adding:

“Some have suggested setting up a lasting endowment fund, and while I think that is a great idea, there are many funds already and I would like to help add some good to this world – today.”

A New Wave of Philanthropy

Cryptocurrency has shown its potential as an alternative investment method in recent years, and the individual behind this process believes Bitcoin et al can also open up new avenues of philanthropy across the globe.

Where in the past, those willing to give back could do so through cash donations, or setting up direct debits to their chosen charitable causes, cryptocurrency allows individuals to do so in a discrete and purely digital-based manner.

“The Pineapple Fund is introducing many charities to Bitcoin, and we are also open to sponsoring matching campaigns which will hopefully encourage giving by cryptocurrency investors.”

Bitcoin investors across the globe could herald a new wave of philanthropy in the coming years – providing the bubble doesn’t burst.

With often expendable sums of money, charitable organisations, impoverished people and developing nations could reap the rewards of this phenomenon.

Further information on the charitable fund can be found at https://pineapplefund.org

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