https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/business/bitcoin-charity-donations.html?_r=0Like many Americans, Brad Hines spent much of September watching hours of hurricane coverage on television.
For Mr. Hines, a digital marketing strategist in Boston, the storms hit close to home: Several family members in Florida were affected by Hurricane Irma. As the devastation unfolded, he opened his computer and donated money to the Red Cross, but it was not in cash.
He gave in Bitcoin, which the Red Cross has been accepting since late 2014. He could have donated dollars, but, he said, the more he can use the cryptocurrency for buying goods and giving to charity, the more it will be used by others.
“I want to pitch in and help get the currency adopted,” he said. “And it’s also fun to use.”
It was his first donation with Bitcoin, the virtual currency that was created in 2008, but it will not be his last. As more charities accept digital currency, the more likely he will open his virtual wallet instead of his physical one, he said.