Crypto and NFT Communities Respond to Turkish Earthquake Relief Efforts

On February 6, a devastating earthquake struck the southeastern part of Turkey at the border with Syria. As of right now, over 5,000 people have lost their lives as a result of the quake. The earthquake occurred over a stretch of the fault line that was 100 kilometers (62 miles) long and had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. This is considered to be a “significant” earthquake on an international scale.

The region’s infrastructure sustained significant damage, which led to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis that crossed international borders and claimed the lives of many people.

Nevertheless, there was an immediate reaction all throughout the globe. People have been collecting donations for local and international humanitarian groups via the internet and different social media platforms in order to give assistance to individuals who are impacted by the disaster in the places that have been affected.

AFAD Turkiye, the government agency for such calamities, and the non-governmental organization Ahbap, which is run by the philanthropist Haluk Levent, have been at the lead of coordinating an inflow of supplies. Both of these organizations are among the major humanitarian operations in Turkey.

Levent made the announcement that his company is now able to receive donations in the form of a variety of digital currencies by launching crypto addresses to do so.

Refik Anadol, an artist and art director from Turkey, also launched a crowdfunding campaign via the use of an Ether (ETH) address. He plans to donate the money that is raised to both AFAD and Ahbap.

Within the Web3 business, a number of different firms have come up to provide assistance, whether it be in the form of cryptocurrency or fiat currency contributions, or even in the form of physical assistance.

Bitget, a cryptocurrency derivatives trader, made the announcement that it would contribute 1 million Turkish liras (approximately $53,000), while Bitfinex, Keet, Synonym, and Tether each pledged 5 million Turkish liras (approximately $265,500), and Gateio pledged 1 million Turkish liras (approximately $53,000).

Local Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Bitci has dispatched a relief truck to the epicenter of the earthquake while simultaneously announcing that the entirety of the commission income generated during the month of February will be donated to Ahbap in the name of the earthquake that was centered in Kahramanmaraş. Icrypex made the announcement that they would be coordinating their efforts with AFAD and Ahbap.

Both the Turkish branch of ByBit and OKX have pledged to contribute to the relief effort by sending one million liras (about $53,000) and one hundred thousand dollars, respectively.

Today, the Turkish people are first in our minds and hearts. Together with the creative community of The Sandbox in Turkey, we are coordinating with the necessary non-governmental groups to establish a relief fund and provide assistance to places that were impacted by the earthquake.

He said that along with The Sandbox Turkey, they had assisted in filling a truck with emergency supplies for the victims and individuals who were impacted, and they were looking at opportunities for further long-term assistance.

Nonfungible tokens, often known as NFTs, have been suggested as another potential method of generating money for those affected by the catastrophe.

The Turkish musician and NFT artist Pak tweeted about a contribution of ETH to Ahbap, along with intentions for an NFT project to provide long-term assistance. In its proposal, Gate.io emphasized the possibility of establishing an NFT assistance program in the near future in order to provide extra help.