Some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and Web3 firms have pledged millions of dollars to support victims of the deadly fire at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po District, highlighting the sector’s growing role in real-world relief efforts.
Three centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) have publicly pledged to donate $24.78 million Hong Kong dollars ($3.19 million) to aid the victims of the devastating fire, which claimed the lives of at least 128 residents.
The donations included $1.5 million from Bitget exchange, $1.28 million from Binance, and about $256,000 from KuCoin exchange.
Bitget contributed the largest share, aiming to support reconstruction and recovery in the affected community. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated on X that the exchange “stands with Hong Kong, wishing affected residents a swift recovery and rebuilding of their homes.”
The two-day fire began Wednesday at the Wang Fuk Court complex and spread to seven high-rise buildings before being extinguished Friday. Media have described it as Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in roughly 80 years.
Hong Kong-based Web3 intellectual property company Animoca Brands has also started a token-based fundraiser, aiming to collect funds from the crypto community via an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and a Solana (SOL) wallet address.
The fundraiser is collecting donations until December 2. The company pledged to convert 100% of the proceeds to Hong Kong dollars by December 3, to support the relief efforts of the Hong Kong Red Cross. For transparency, Animoca will post a donation receipt showing the final amount collected and donated, the company announced.
Animoca’s EVM-compatible wallet had collected $171,000 while its Solana wallet collected $1,500 in cryptocurrency donations at the time of writing, according to cryptocurrency intelligence platform Nansen.
Tron Network founder Justin Sun also pledged an undisclosed amount to the fire victims.
Crypto Donations Emerge as Disaster Lifeline
Cryptocurrency-based donations have emerged as a significant lifeline for disaster-stricken regions and underdeveloped economies lacking banking infrastructure.
In 2024, crypto donations surpassed $1 billion, driven by large-scale transfers to the victims of the earthquake in Thailand and Myanmar.
Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao alone donated nearly $600,000 to the disaster relief fund in April 2024, following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Thailand and Myanmar on March 28.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also been known for his crypto donations. In October 2024, Buterin donated over $180,000 in Ether (ETH) to the biotech charity Kanro.