World Vision Becomes First South Korean Charity to Accept Crypto

\The South Korean arm of the charitable organization World Vision has announced that it will accept donations made in cryptoassets – a first for a South Korean NGO.

Per the media outlet EDaily, as well as Maeil Kyungjae, the charity has signed a “blockchain cooperation deal” with a startup named Publish. The move will allow donors to use cryptoassets to sponsor children living in poverty around the world – as part of the NGO’s “Dreaming Children” program.

The program allows donors in South Korea to sponsor a child via financial contributions that the charity distributes. The new Publish deal will allow crypto holders to use their tokens as a form of payment – and the startup will provide technological solutions that allow the charity to convert the coins it receives into fiat KRW in real-time.

Charity to issue sponsorship certificates as NFTs

In return, the charity will issue sponsorship certificates in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Donors will also be entered into a prize draw, where the winner will be awarded a special NFT that the charity has minted in association with the South Korean footballing superstar Son Heung-min.

The NFTs will be minted on the Ethereum blockchain network, the parties explained.

World Vision is one of South Korea’s biggest charities and its parent company originated as an evangelical Christian organization in the United States in 1950. The organization’s executive body is based in the United Kingdom, although many of its main offices still remain in Monrovia, California.

The South Korean arm of the NGO signed its first business agreement with Publish in March this year, and announced at the time that it would work on “creating a donation platform ecosystem” that was compatible with the needs of the Web3 era. The firm also announced its intention to “expand” its “blockchain-based donations” capabilities.