Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Is Accepting Crypto Contributions

• The Washington, DC, Roman Catholic Archdiocese will begin accepting crypto donations.
• The money will be used  to help 139 parishes near Washington, D.C.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. will begin accepting bitcoin donations as part of an effort to increase its services. Engiven, a cryptocurrency platform, announced on Tuesday that it would make it easier for people to donate money to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., to support fundraising efforts and expand the church’s digital stewardship programs. 

Funds Will Be Used for Parishes

The money will be used to directly support 139 parishes in the Washington, D.C., area, as well as regional initiatives like giving food to those who need it, as per the archdiocese’s website. The archdiocese’s Engiven page offered the choice to contribute donations anonymously using a variety of cryptocurrencies. They include Bitcoin (BTC), and OX’s ZRX.  

According to the platform, all net proceeds from donations go to funds designated for certain parishes. Engiven processed more than 400 faith-based groups crypto donations over the previous year, including one BTC transaction worth $10 million.

In contrast to some dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church that seem receptive to utilizing cutting-edge technology, the Russian Orthodox Church declared in February 2021 that it has no plans to accept bitcoin as donations or to develop its digital currency.

At the time, a spokesperson urged that rather than using cryptocurrency, churchgoers give money over the phone. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has since signed a measure into law that forbids the use of digital currency in domestic transactions.