GiveCrypto Monthly Update — September 2020
Marketplace update, gas prices and a Coinbase integration
Update on the Marketplace
I am happy to report that we have soft launched the crypto donation marketplace. The service will allow anybody to apply for help and anybody to provide help, all in cryptocurrency. You can read more about the service in last month’s update.
This week’s soft launch involves the on-boarding flow for recipients. Once we have a critical mass of recipients, we will open up the service to donors. If you know anybody that could use some help, please forward them to the on-boarding form (https://help.givecrypto.org/).
Recipients that are funded will receive $12 — $52 (depending on their country’s PPP) per week for six weeks. We are aiming to launch the marketplace to donors the week of October 12th.
Gas Prices
The recent interest in DeFi has caused gas fees to increase significantly. We have used ETH for most of our previous projects, primarily due to the relatively fast block confirmation times and wallet availability on older Android phones. The spike in gas prices has caused us to reconsider which currency to use for the donation marketplace.
We evaluated four potential alternatives (in addition to ETH).
- BTC
- BCH
- USDC v2
- USDC on a layer 2 implementation on top of ETH
We used the following criteria to compare the currencies:
- Learning Curve — How difficult is it to on-board a user that has zero crypto experience
- Asset Stability — How volatile is the currency
- Liquidity — How easily can the currency be converted to fiat or used to make a purchase
- Tx Cost — How much does it cost to send the currency
This table summarizes the scores for each currency/criteria.
Based on this analysis, the decision is between ETH and BTC. Looking a bit deeper at transaction costs, (as of 9/29/20) ETH is actually less expensive than BTC; ETH is $0.52 per transaction and BTC is $2.10 per transaction. But we realize that these numbers could change quickly.
Another issue is that Wallet Lite doesn’t currently support BTC, which means we would have to direct users to different wallets, depending on their version of Android.
Considering all these factors, we have decided to continue using ETH for the time being. This is a tough decision that involves a number of trade-offs; there isn’t a perfect solution for our needs. We will closely monitor transaction costs and will prioritize the ability for users to select their desired currency.
Coinbase Integration
Thanks to a collaboration with Coinbase, GiveCrypto is now receiving donations from Coinbase users. There are a number of entry points where users can initiate a donation and the donation happens without the user leaving the site/app. Additionally, users in the US might be eligible for tax breaks for their donations.
Although the flows only launched a few days ago, we have already seen significant donation volume. We look forward to exploring more ways for GiveCrypto and Coinbase to work together.
Staying Connected
As always, we love to hear from supporters outside of our updates. Please follow along on Twitter and our blog for information on our programs.
