Unicef turns to cryptocurrency mining to raise money for refugees

Unicef has launched a novel form of cashless fundraising by asking people to instead donate their computer’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency.

The Australian branch of the children’s charity set up a website called The Hopepage which gives visitors the option of donating between 20 per cent and 80 per cent of their computing power to generate units of the bitcoin rival monero.

“We wanted to leverage new emerging technologies to raise awareness about current humanitarian crises and raise funds to support children caught up in them,” said Jennifer Tierney, Unicef Australia’s director of fundraising.

 All funds generated through the mining – the process of solving complicated puzzles to generate new units of the currency – will support the charity’s response to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar.