GiveCrypto Monthly Update — April 2021
As you may have heard, GiveCrypto will soon be joining Coinbase. Given the excitement that surrounds this kind of an announcement, I wanted to use this update to share my thinking about the news.
For almost three years now, GiveCrypto has been working informally with Coinbase; we worked out of Coinbase’s office (pre COVID), presented at all-hands, participated in hackathons, attended company events, and built friendships with employees.
This proximity resulted in a number of informal collaborations between GiveCrypto and Coinbase. We received help with user research, public relations, event planning, accounting, and much more. Our team has benefited immensely from the abundance of general crypto education we gained by working alongside Coinbase’s people. And these collaborations have gone both ways; we actually wrote the code that facilitated donations on Coinbase’s mobile and web app. All this is to say that our connection to Coinbase is nothing new, and it’s a relationship that has borne fruit for both parties.
I understand that some may feel a bit of uncertainty about what happens to a small non-profit like GiveCrypto once it has been absorbed by a much larger company. But given our history, I’d like to think that GiveCrypto has been an informal part of Coinbase for the past three years. All the work we’ve done and the progress we made will be integrated and scaled, and our mission will remain fundamentally the same.
Aside from our history, what makes this partnership such an intuitive fit is how closely our goals align. Coinbase’s mission — to create economic freedom for every person and business in the world— and GiveCrypto’s — to financially empower people by distributing cryptocurrency globally — go hand in hand. Add to that the fact that Coinbase has a vast array of resources and employs the most intelligent and passionate crypto folks in the world, and you can see why I’m so eager to begin dreaming up new ways to help people in need.
So what comes next? First, the GiveCrypto team will be integrated into Coinbase’s organization and continue to work on existing projects such as the ambassador program. While I’m thrilled to be able to utilize Coinbase’s resources to grow the ambassador program, we don’t plan on stopping there. We are beyond excited about the yet-to-be identified projects that lay ahead.
GiveCrypto’s integration into the Coinbase team is part of Coinbase’s broader commitment to the Pledge 1% initiative. What this means for us is that as GiveCrypto’s programs scale, so will our funding opportunities. And thanks to this partnership, by utilizing systems we at GiveCrypto have diligently worked to develop, Coinbase customers will soon be able to donate crypto funds directly to the programs they believe in.
Currently, I’m drafting a strategic plan for GiveCrypto’s future as a part of Coinbase, but there is still a lot of work to be done as part of the integration process. Aside from our own ideas, there are some very interesting initiatives that have already been implemented within Coinbase’s ecosystem that we’ll soon be able to leverage.
Aside from bringing us into the fold as part of the Pledge 1% initiative, Coinbase’s commitment to the pledge also includes plans to expand their Crypto Community Fund and partner with Base 11. These plans to invest in expanding the global crypto infrastructure inspire us, and we’re proud to be a part of this initiative. A rising tide lifts all boats.
There’s still a lot to be determined, and as such, these updates may be less comprehensive in the months that follow as we settle into this new arrangement. But while we shift gears and adapt to the new challenges that lay ahead, do know this: we’re already well on our way to helping more people than ever before.
Staying Connected
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