Key Takeaways
- Ripple made history by delivering the first-ever crypto donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Charity.
- The £60,000 XRP gift will help fund the construction of a new Children’s Cancer Centre opening in 2028.
- This donation builds on Ripple’s earlier £100,000 pledge and ongoing support for the hospital.
In a landmark moment for blockchain and philanthropy, Ripple has become the first organization to make a crypto donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH).
The donation supports the hospital’s ambitious new Children’s Cancer Centre, a state-of-the-art facility designed to transform care for young patients battling cancer.
Ripple’s XRP Donation
Ripple became the first organization to make a cryptocurrency donation to GOSH charity last year, contributing more than £60,000 in XRP.
The crypto donation was converted swiftly into sterling through a partnership with Zodia Markets, which will help fund the life-changing upgrades at the hospital.
Zodia Markets, backed by Standard Chartered, handles the heavy lifting on custody and conversion, ensuring every pound reaches the front line.
The charity is even exploring ways to offset the environmental impact of certain blockchains as the trial period continues.
Chris Carter, Head of Partnership Development at GOSH Charity, commented:
“We’ve developed a strong and ever-growing relationship with Ripple over the past few years, and we’re very appreciative that they have become our first-ever donor via cryptocurrency.”
Until now, GOSH Charity had never accepted digital assets.
Ripple’s XRP donation is the first of its kind, showing that the technical and regulatory hurdles can be overcome to make crypto donations mainstream.
Crypto Giving Guidelines at GOSH
GOSH Charity has established a minimum threshold of £10,000 for crypto donations.
The organization accepts major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP.
GOSH Charity conducts rigorous due diligence on each donation and holds it securely in custody.
It then converts it to cash for immediate use in research, equipment, or construction projects.
Because the transaction records are on-chain, donors can directly track the impact of their contributions, ensuring transparency and accountability.
This XRP donation follows Ripple’s earlier £100,000 pledge to support the Children’s Cancer Centre, highlighting a multi-year commitment to the hospital.
Ripple has been working with GOSH Charity since 2023 to ensure its contributions reach those most in need.
Growth of Crypto Philanthropy
Cryptocurrency philanthropy has evolved from a niche initiative into a significant funding stream for nonprofits worldwide.
Platforms like The Giving Block and donor-advised funds, such as Fidelity Charitable, track the surge in digital asset donations, showing that crypto often enables larger and more efficient gifts than traditional cash.
Industry reports indicate that global cryptocurrency donations topped $1 billion in 2024, with the average gift around $11,000.
Over 70% of the top 100 U.S. charities now accept digital assets, marking a 25% increase from the previous year.
Notable examples include Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s 2021 donation of 50 trillion SHIBA Inu to India’s CryptoRelief COVID fund, valued at roughly $1 billion at the time.
While the volatility of memecoins affected the immediate value, the donation remains one of the largest crypto gifts ever documented.
For international institutions like GOSH, crypto donations offer advantages such as no foreign exchange fees, instant settlement, and access to high-net-worth crypto holders who might not contribute via traditional methods.
Fidelity Charitable reported that crypto contributions to donor-advised funds surged to $786 million in 2024, a 14x increase from 2023.
Since 2015, they have facilitated over $1 billion in crypto donations, with average gifts often exceeding comparable fiat contributions.
The trend is expected to continue, with total crypto giving projected to reach $2.5 billion by 2025–26 as market caps grow and more high-net-worth holders contribute.
Cumulative crypto donations since 2018 have already exceeded $2 billion, with adoption accelerating rapidly.
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Prashant Jha is a seasoned crypto journalist based in Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering. Passionate about the evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, he has been a dedicated voice in the industry since 2018. Prashant’s expertise lies in regulatory reporting, where he unravels complex legal and financial developments with clarity and precision. Before joining CCN in 2024, he honed his craft at Cointelegraph, establishing himself as a trusted name in crypto journalism.
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