Fireblocks and Israel’s web3 sector launch crypto donation wallet to aid war victims

Israel’s web3 sector is setting up a crypto donations wallet to raise funds for Israeli citizens who are displaced or in need of aid as this weekend’s conflict continues.

The militant Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday morning, escalating what some say is the biggest war in Israel’s history. More than 1,100 Israeli and Palestinian deaths have been reported at the time of writing.

Crypto Aid Israel is opening a multisig wallet to accept donations. This means that transactions need signatures from multiple people before they can be executed. Bitcoin, Ether, Tether and USDC are among the cryptocurrencies being accepted.

Israel’s leading web3 firm, crypto custody and settlement platform Fireblocks, is providing the wallet interface.

“We have seen in the past that crypto is one of the most direct ways to provide aid to those most in need,” said Ran Goldi, senior vice president and head of payments at Fireblocks. The firm is helping “support efforts on the ground” to help provide “food, shelter, or other necessities,” Goldi told DL News.

The firm’s wallet has cumulatively transferred $3 trillion worth of crypto since 2018, according to a May report by KPMG conducted for the Israeli Crypto, Blockchain and Web3 Companies Forum.

Other Israeli firms such as Collider Ventures, Market Across, and Bits of Gold, as well as the Israel Blockchain Association, are helping to manage the project and make donations.

A leading Israeli bank, as well as several government agencies, are expected to help distribute the donations, according to the release.

Hundreds of Israelis have been taken hostage, while rockets and missiles are shooting across Israel, including to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Israeli civilians in the areas surrounding the Gaza strip are being evacuated, and Israel’s Defense Force has retaliated with heavy bombardment of Gaza. Gaza has 2.3 million inhabitants.

Gaza’s population has been subject to a land, air, and sea blockade imposed by Israel for the past 18 years following Israeli occupation. Israel’s actions have been decried by Human Rights Watch as having a “devastating humanitarian impact.”

Inbar Preiss, DL News’ EU regulatory correspondent, is based in Brussels. Have a tip? Contact the author at inbar@dlnews.com.