Crypto value received in Afghanistan surged in the wake of the Taliban seizing power in August 2021, but crypto markets have flat lined under the regime.
Taliban had a ‘massive chilling effect’ on Afghan crypto market: Report
What the Taliban crackdown means for crypto’s future in Afghanistan
The Taliban have finally banned crypto in Afghanistan, but many users and traders call it one of the “worst” policy decisions made by the government so far.
How are Afghans using crypto under the Taliban government?
Afghans have shown great interest in cryptocurrencies and some are using them to avoid U.S. sanctions and get paid from other countries.
The Taliban will never understand crypto, according to founder of LEARN Afghanistan
Pashtana Durrani described the Taliban as “people who were fighting in rural and very mountainous regions” who don’t have the proper background for modern financial literacy.
NFT Project To Donate 100% Of Income To Help Afghan Women Access Education
Bookblocks.io, an NFT company has partnered with a New York-based company, Women for Afghan Women to help women in Afghanistan have access to education.
Under the new Taliban-run government, women in Afghanistan have had their rights to education restricted by the fundamentalist militants. Since this development, Afghan women have taken to the streets to protest. Over a dozen women protested outside the premises of what used to be the Afghan Women’s Affairs Ministry – until the Taliban turned it into the department for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice.”
Bookblocks.io NFT
Bookblocks.io announced that it would be releasing a non-fungible token on October 5, and the proceeds of its sales would be given to Women for Afghan Women (WAW). Women for Afghan Women is a grassroots civil society organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York.
According to the company, the inspiration for the NFT was Louisa May Alcott, who was a pioneer for women’s rights. “Not only did her many famous writings seek to lift women in society, but she was an ardent feminist, abolitionist, and supporter of women’s suffrage. As such, she seemed a perfect inspiration for our charity focus this month, which is dedicated to helping the woman and girls of Afghanistan find equality in all aspects of life.”
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The NFT is a portrait of Louisa May Alcott with two different butterfly wings. It signifies the hopeful emergence of Afghan women and girls from the restrictions that impede their freedoms. The background colors of each NFT are also different, signifying the diversity of backgrounds that make up the women and girls that Women for Afghan Women serve. There are also four different versions of this illustration to represent the 40% of Afghan children who suffer from malnutrition.
The company says it will mint 2200 copies of this NFT to represent the reported 2.2 million girls currently excluded from school in Afghanistan. 100% of the money raised from the sale of the NFTs will go towards Women for Afghan Women, with a 5% residual for each subsequent sale. The price starts at 0.025 Ether (ETH).
Other NFT And Crypto Donations To Afghanistan
There are several ongoing projects in the digital assets space that are focused on charity work towards Afghanistan. About a month ago, Jack Butcher, the founder of Visualize Value, launched a series of NFT “care packages,” that cover one Afghan family’s emergency needs for one month. This care package is still accepting donations via The Giving Block.
Related Reading | An NFT “Care Package”: Tokens That Deliver Humanitarian Aid In Afghanistan
Other organizations are also accepting crypto donations through The Giving Block to provide humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. They include: Save the Children. International Medical Corps, Direct Relief, and Code To Inspire.
Featured image from dw.com
NFT project partners with Afghanistan organization to help women get access to education
“This is a generation that grew up hopeful and dreaming about their future through educational opportunities,” said Women for Afghan Women’s U.S. country director Naheed Samadi Bahram.
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Basic needs for refugees, medical care on the ground, and visa assistance — some crypto users are sending tokens to nonprofits and others to help the Afghan people.
An NFT “Care Package”: Tokens That Deliver Humanitarian Aid In Afghanistan
Utility is always a tough nut to crack around NFT projects. These days, if an NFT project isn’t providing some sort of inherent utility or carrying some sort of unique characteristics, it’s unlikely to gain much traction.
In enters Jack Butcher, creator of Visualize Value. After spending years in advertising, Jack started Visualize Value to, as he describes it, “make it easier to learn, teach, build and sell.” Jack’s platform includes courses and most notably, exceptional online content that inspires creativity and outside-the-box thinking.
Jack’s latest project, “Care Package,” enables crypto to play a pivotal role in how we look at charitable giving.
“Care Package”
With the rising conflict throughout Afghanistan, Jack sought out NFTs as a way to help those in need. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that over half a million people in Afghanistan have been internally displaced this year. There is an abundance of individuals in the region that are in desperate need of food, water, shelter, and other resources to survive.
“Care Package” is an NFT series of 1,000 priced at 0.03 ETH (approximately $87) that covers one family’s emergency needs for one month. There are also packages of 10 available for 0.28 ETH.
In less than 24 hours since releasing the NFTs, Butcher has raised over 25 ETH – north of $75,000 – between the single and 10-pack NFTs.
Butcher’s new NFT, “Care Package,” routes donations via an Ethereum smart contract. | Source: ETH-USD on TradingView.com
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How It Came To Be… & Where It Goes From Here
Our team at NewsBTC connected with Butcher to learn more about “Care Package,” and Butcher’s broader thoughts on the NFT landscape.
For “Care Package,” Butcher is directing all funds to Care.Org via The Giving Block. Butcher minted the NFTs on Mirror, and with each NFT purchase, funds are held in a smart contract and sent to a Care.Org ETH address. It’s crypto through-and-through.
It’s not the first NFT endeavor for Butcher – and likely not his last either. He shared with the NewsBTC team that he’s about 3 months in, and has minted “around 40 or so pieces before this.” In April, Butcher minted “Oxygen,” a 1-of-1 piece that sold for 3.0 ETH (just shy of $10K); proceeds were donated to the India Covid-Crypto Relief Fund.
Earlier this month, Butcher minted “HR 3684,” with 100% of proceeds going to coincenter.org, a non-profit focused on policy initiatives in crypto. The 1-of-1 NFT sold for 5.5 ETH (over $16K) in the heat of policy discussions around crypto.
Butcher is showing initiative to empower crypto communities to make a difference across the globe. The motivation behind it all? He told NewsBTC that “watching the news play out and thinking about what I could do that would be the highest impact, knowing that I can reach the digital art / NFT community and raise crypto.” The inspiration? Butcher cites projects that create mini-economies, play-to-earn, generative art, and commercial rights as some of his favorites – with a true love for “the permissionless nature of it all.”
You can buy “Care Package” NFTs here, and learn more about Care.org’s fund here.
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Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com
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