Decentralized Patronage: Incentivizing Ethical and Effective Philanthropy of Crypto-Assets

Cryptocurrencies conjure up a variety of images. To some, they are shadowy currencies, born of vice and crawling out of the corners of the dark web to sew anarchy into the traditional financial system. To others, they are harbingers of a new wave of financial tools better suited to the digital age. Regardless of how one views these monetized bits of code, they have made a lot of people very rich and become significant taxable assets. As of March 2020 market capitalization for cryptocurrencies is over $166 billion. Some of these assets are trickling into the nonprofit realm as cryptocurrency holders look to either reduce their taxable income and/or support causes they find meritorious. The 2019 Global NGO Technology Report found that 2% of nonprofits accept cryptocurrency, up from 1% in 2018. This report analyzes the pathways, promises, and potential problems of crypto-assets within fundraising.

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