Turkey-Syria earthquake: Cryptocurrency firms pledge donations worth millions

Several cryptocurrency firms have pledged donations worth millions to earthquake-hit Turkey and Syria as the combined death toll has now topped 16,000. The firms, which include Tether, OKZ and Kucoin will donate more than $9 million to aid victims from both countries, according to a report by Decrypt on Wednesday (February 8). 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."

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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 with 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 February 6in 10 cities where the earthquake has had a significant impact, including Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Diyarbakır, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay," Binance added.

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Avalanche Foundation also joined in with help 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, and added,"We encourage others to join the effort."

Speaking to Decrypt, Avalanche's Executive Director Aytunc Yıldızlı said that Turkey was close to the heart of the Avalanche Foundation, and community and the funds would help people recover faster in the wake of this tragedy. "It is time to come together and show that crypto is a force for good and a sign of hope for all of us hurting," Yıldızlı added.

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.

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