UNICEF has launched a project that calls on PC gamers to mine Ethereum, with the earnings going to aiding children in Syria.

The Game Chaingers project is a new type of fundraising which will offer financial support to the Syrian children. UNICEF intends to recruit gamers from all over the world to mine on the Ethereum blockchain with the maximum amount of computing power.

Mining cryptocurrency requires a very powerful computer and graphics card in order for them to perform complex algorithms. Most PC gamers already have such hardware due to the huge graphical requirements of most of today’s games.

The project has raised so far €1,361 so far, in a month since its launch, and it will run another 53 days. It has gathered 507 contributors with a combined hash rate of 1,861 MH/s.

According to their website, the use of cryptocurrency is an ”opportunity to raise funds differently”, as it targets a different sector of possible donors.

How do you participate?

To participate in the fundraise, gamers need to install the Claymore Mining Software where they can start mining. All the ether that will be produced will go directly into UNICEF’s wallet.

“For the last 6 years, Syrian children have been living the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, on such a scale that it exceeds the borders of Syria.”– says their site. “As conflict gets bogged down, the number of people in need of life support increases dramatically. For UNICEF, nearly 8.3 million children need help in Syria but also in neighboring countries that host refugee families.”

Even though has a market cap of $71 billion compared to bitcoin’s $122 billion, it can enable smart contracts for transactions of goods and thus eliminating the need of an intermediary.

Other humanitarian projects

This latest endeavor comes after high-profile efforts made by the UN to deploy blockchain technology for various projects.

UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) used the Ethereum blockchain for helping 10,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan pay for their food by scanning their retina, eliminating the possibility of fraud. The success of this venture suggests that the agency is planning on extending it to other refugee camps.

The employment of blockchain technology will certainly help many others in the future, some humanitarian organizations already starting to use such technology in their projects.