Binance has announced its plan to airdrop BNB worth $100 each to all users who have been identified as residing in the areas most severely affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey.
Proof of Address (POA) forms submitted before February 6th in 10 places where the earthquake had a considerable impact, including Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Diyarbakir, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Adyaman, Malatya, and Hatay, will be used to identify users.
Binance stated that the POA approach is the most effective way to find possibly affected individuals, despite its shortcomings and inconsistencies. The total donations are estimated to be around $5 million (or 94,000,000 TRY).
People usually lose access to regular banking in the wake of natural catastrophes, just when additional funds are required to assist cover food, medical supplies, and other important necessities.
As cryptocurrencies allow for quick, inexpensive, borderless, and transparent transactions, they are now being utilized more frequently to send money to disaster victims.
Additionally, Binance Charity has made a public contribution address available for use by anyone. All donations will be converted to TRY and given to a recognized NGO to aid those in need. The Emergency Earthquake Appeal donations will be accepted in BTC, ETH, BNB, BUSD, and XRP.
The founder and CEO of Binance, CZ, expressed sympathy for the victims, saying that the recent earthquakes in Turkey have had a catastrophic impact on so many people and towns. He expressed his optimism that the company’s efforts will help individuals who are affected. He also beckoned on other players in the crypto sector to come together once more to assist in these trying times.
Solidarity from Blockchain space
Meanwhile, the blockchain industry worldwide has expressed its solidarity with the Turkish community since the devastating earthquake which happened on the 6th of February 2023. 40 blockchain firms have pledged their support to the Turkish community affected by this disaster.
This would not be the first time the blockchain community will render a helping hand to distressed nations.
In 2021, Haiti received $50,000 worth of Bitcoin from Binance, $10,000 worth of Dogecoin, and Ether after it suffered a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.
Similarly, upon the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, reports showed that Ukraine received more than $100 million of which $54 million was spent on ammunition.
The magnitude 7.5 Kahramanmaras earthquake which cut across Turkey and Syria has claimed over 5,000 lives. Currently, the exact number of those missing cannot be confirmed but rescue missions are still ongoing as shell shocked survivors strongly believe there are still a number of survivors trapped under the mountain of rubbles.
