Global crypto exchanges, including Binance, Bitfinex, Huobi, and Bitget, are seeking ways to help those affected by two catastrophic earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday. Additionally, Turkish rockstar Haluk Levent teamed up with the local charity organization Ahbap to set up a crypto wallet to accept donations from the crypto community, which has raised approx $373,000 so far.

Turkish Singer Haluk Levent Sets Up Crypto Wallet to Accept Donations

Crypto exchanges and celebrities worldwide are trying to help Turkey and Syria following two devastating earthquakes that took more than 5,000 lives on Monday. Apart from charity organizations, the crypto community reacted quickly, with numerous crypto firms and individuals pledging aid to those who survived yesterday’s disaster.

Crypto bourses Bitget has already sent 1 million Turkish Lira (over $53,000) to humanitarian aid, while Binance, Gate.io, and Bitfinex are exploring options to send help. In addition, the embattled crypto exchange Huobi Global has also promised 2 million Turkish Lira.

Meanwhile, Turkish rock singer Haluk Levent and the local charity organization Ahbap set up a crypto wallet on BNB Chain to accept donations and help the cause. The move came after Levent asked his 6.7 million followers on Twitter whether he should open a crypto account to accept donations, with over 82% of followers positively responding.

Many other entrepreneurs and influencers supported the idea, including Baki Er, the co-founder of Web3 analytics platform Lytera, who described Ahbap as the “most trusted charity in Turkey.” Digital artist and crypto investor Murat Pak also joined the initiative, saying he was attempting to create an NFT campaign to help Turkey.

Dozens of Entities Sign Petition Asking Turkish Authorities to Establish Official Crypto Wallets

These moves show how the global crypto community comes together to aid humanitarian emergencies. In 2022, the crypto community donated millions of dollars to help Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia in February last year.

But it has been proven that crypto donations can be trickier to secure compared to traditional payments and bank transfers, mainly if local authorities are not very supportive of digital assets. On Monday, the crypto industry and research entities in Turkey launched a petition requiring local authorities to allow crypto-related donations in the country.

Over 40 parties signed the petition at its publication time, asking the Turkish authorities to set up “official crypto asset wallets and share them through official channels.” Ukraine authorities opened official crypto wallets shortly after it was invaded to prevent “malicious aid schemes.”

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist

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