Binance Charity, a blockchain-powered donation platform dedicated to advancing transparent philanthropy, announced today the launch of the PPE Token, a blockchain-powered stablecoin. The token aims to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in New York and to track last-mile delivery of PPE to hospitals, according to the charity.
The PPE Token utilizes blockchain technology to ensure that medical supplies such as masks and PPEs, will reach the targeted end beneficiaries, such as New York healthcare workers on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19.
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It is a stable currency (1 PPE token = .02 USD), and 1 PPE Token will facilitate the delivery of one mask to an end beneficiary in a designated hospital in New York City. As masks are delivered, PPE Tokens are released from hospital wallets to couriers, showing that the last-mile delivery is done. Couriers will redeem all PPE Token received for fiat money with the help of Binance Charity as the last step of the entire process.
Crypto Against COVID campaign
Launched on March 24, 2020, Binance Charity’s Crypto Against COVID campaign was created to raise $5 million in cryptocurrencies (BNB, BTC, BUSD, and XRP) to be spent primarily on buying medical supplies for affected regions globally.
Binance led this effort with an initial donation of $1 million, plus an additional donation of $1 million through the #CryptoAgainstCOVID social media campaign. In addition, Binance vowed to match $2 million of public donations received.
Binance Charity said that it has created PPE Token amid the severe impact of COVID-19 in the U.S., which currently has more than 1.2 million cases and 61,000 deaths as of May 5, according to WHO.
At present, the U.S. accounts for almost one-third of the total number of cases globally.
Partly due to its dense population of around 8 million people and 27,000 people per square mile, New York has been the worst-hit state in the U.S., with over 300,000 cases and 25,000 deaths. The state currently has more confirmed COVID-19 cases than several countries around the world, including countries with populations that are many times larger than New York.
“Our mission is to show that blockchain technology can improve the way we give by promoting transparency within philanthropic organizations. By utilizing the PPE Token and blockchain, we aim to provide a greater proof-of-donation and hope that others will follow in our effort to prove impact while maintaining integrity,” said Jarred Winn, SVP of Charity.
A total of $3.7 million USD has been raised from Binance and public donations, with more than 40 crypto companies joining together to support the campaign, according to the charity.
As of May 5, medical supplies have been shipped to various affected countries, including 10,000 protective suits to Turkey, 400,000 masks to Italy, and 15,000 suits to South Africa. Binance has also committed to PPE donations to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
The PPE Token is one of Binance’s social-impact tokens, similar to the Pink Care Token, which was launched in 2019 to alleviate period poverty.
Masks for healthcare workers
As part of Binance Charity’s Crypto Against COVID campaign, 200,000 masks and units of personal protective equipment (PPEs) will be delivered to hospitals and first-responders throughout New York City via couriers, according to the announcement.
The masks will initially be donated to the following hospitals:
- NY Presbyterian Hospital
- NYU Langone
- Mount Sinai Hospital
- Lenox Hill Hospital
- Montefiore Medical Center
- Mount Sinai Beth Israel
- Maimonides Medical Center
- Staten Island University Hospital
- Stonybrook Hospital
- Huntington Hospital
“Healthcare workers in New York need as much support as possible to stay safe while battling the spread of COVID-19. Binance Charity is dedicated to supporting these healthcare heroes,” Binance Charity said.