News Desk : dhakamirror.com
Several cryptocurrency companies have pledged millions of dollars in donations to earthquake-ravaged Turkey and Syria, where the combined death toll has now surpassed 16,000 people.
According to a report by Decrypt on Wednesday (February 8), the companies, which include Tether, OKZ, and Kucoin, will donate more than $9 million to aid victims in both nations.
In a statement on Monday (February 6), Tether said, “On behalf of Bitfinex, Keet, Synonym and Tether, we are pledging 5M TRY towards immediate humanitarian relief and recovery efforts and will seek ways to provide continued support towards helping Turkiye rebuild for the future.”
Kucoin tweeted on Tuesday that it was donating $53,100 (around 1 million Liras) to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) to support disaster relief efforts, Kucoin added that its team was also working local emergency responders to provide essential aid.
Binance announced on Tuesday that it would airdrop BNB worth $100 to all its users identified to be living in the regions in Turkey most affected by the earthquakes.
“Identification of the users will be based on Proof of Address (POA) completed before Feb 6th in 10 cities where the earthquake has had a significant impact, including Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Diyarbakır, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay,” Binance added.
Avalanche Foundation also joined the donation efforts by tweeting that it donated $1M in AVAX to the disaster relief efforts, organised by Turkish singer Haluk Levent “for the earthquake that has affected Turkey and Syria. We encourage others to join the effort.”
Earthquake death toll tops 16,000; fatalities expected to rise sharply
More than 16,000 people have been killed in the massive earthquake and the aftershocks in Turkey and Syria. The death toll is expected to rise sharply as rescue operations have passed the 72-hour mark which experts consider the most likely period to save lives, a report by the news agency AFP said on Thursday. The European Union (EU) is planning a donor conference next month to mobilise international aid for both countries.
“We are now racing against the clock to save lives together. Soon we will provide relief aid, together. Türkiye and Syria can count on the EU. Swedish Prime Minister (Ulf Kristersson) and I will host a Donors’ Conference early March in Brussels. Let’s mobilise funds globally for the affected communities,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen tweeted on Wednesday.
