According to nytimes.com, at least 30 deaths and many more injuries are believed to be related to the storm, which has inundated parts of the Houston area with more than 40 inches of rain. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called hurricane Harvey “one of the largest disasters America has ever faced”.
Plenty of organizations now help the victims and accept donations. Habitat of Humanity is one of them, however, the company went further and accepts not only USD, but also Ethereum:
@HabitatTexas accepting Ether donations to provide relief for Hurricane Harvey victims. Donate at https://t.co/rxGzNsH3d7 #ETH4Harvey
— Habitat Texas (@HabitatTexas) 29 августа 2017 г.
Thus, at time of writing, about $7,389 at a $382.93 valuation, has been donated to the cause. According to its website, "100% of the proceeds are donated directly to Habitat for Humanity Texas to fund their long term disaster relief efforts in Harvey's aftermath."
Not only Habitat of Humanity tries to do something victims with the help of the cryptocurrencies. Danny Sessoms, host of a cryptocurrency-themed radio show based in Austin, teamed up with Unsung.org to hold a fundraiser for the Hurricane Harvey victims, as reported by cointelegraph.com. Sessoms accepts donations via Bitcoin and Dash. This effort raised about $50,000.
Moments like these show the real power of this technology and what cryptocurrency holds for the future.
Danny Sessoms
Host of a cryptocurrency-themed radio show
Hence, although sometimes cryptocurrencies receive a bad reputation due to their use for illegal purposes, the situations like this show that digital currency can, in fact, be used for good.