Buterin-backed anti-COVID fund faces hurdles converting funds to fiat

The fund, backed by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, for COVID-19 relief in India, has managed to convert only $20 million of the 50 trillion SHIB it received (~$313.5 million at the time of writing). Bloomberg reports.

In the future, the organisation can count on an additional ~$20 million. At the time of transfer of funds, the tokens valued at $1 billion. The negative revaluation is linked in part to the overall decline in crypto market capitalization following the May crash.

The creators of SHIB and other “dog-meme” tokens directed part of their supply to Buterin as an “act of burning”. The Ethereum co-founder allocated substantial volumes of these assets to charitable purposes. Among the recipients was the organization founded by the Polygon developer, Sandip Nailwal. Earlier, Buterin donated $600,000 to the fund.

Nailwal explained that the slow pace of disbursement was his way of ensuring transparency in delivering the funds to the ultimate beneficiaries. To this end, he plans to hire a trusted auditor. The aid is being used to purchase food nationwide, as well as to create rural intensive-care units for the infected.

The fund’s founder also cited bureaucratic difficulties. He had to operate under India’s Foreign Contributions Regulation Act due to converting the tokens into rupees via dollars.

The fund has managed to convert roughly 80% of the funds into fiat. Nailwal estimated the final value at $400 million from converting Buterin’s 50 trillion SHIB.

In an interview, Nailwal did not rule out a new wave of COVID-19.

In May, Coinbase launched the Coinbase Giving charitable program with the aim of “expanding economic freedom for every person or company around the world”.

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