Dubai greenlights digital asset donations to charities

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Dubai has opened doors for digital asset donations to charities, with the city’s charitable activities watchdog issuing its approval for the new service.

The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) announced that it has been working with the city’s charities to allow them to accept digital currency. The initiative will “foster innovation in charitable work and enable the sector to keep pace with global technological and financial developments.”

IACAD is a government body for the emirate of Dubai, overseeing mosques and religious affairs in the city. It also licenses and supervises charitable institutions; according to one report, the United Arab Emirates has 535 public-benefit organizations, with Dubai only ranking second to the capital, Abu Dhabi.

IACAD says that digital asset donations align with its goal of providing modern options for donors to support the city’s charities. It says these assets will enhance transparency and protect donor funds, ensuring compliance for these institutions.

The use of digital assets in charitable donations came to the forefront in 2017 when an anonymous donor gave over 5,000 BTC (worth $86 million at the time, but worth $475 million today) to dozens of charities under the Pineapple Fund initiative.

Since then, more people have donated their tokens, with one report revealing that these donations hit a new high of $1 billion in 2024. Vitalik Buterin’s $1.1 billion donation to COVID-19 relief efforts in India in 2021 is the largest known ‘crypto’ donation.

Charitable organizations have warmed up to digital assets to expand their base, with one report finding that over 70% of the top 100 American charities accept digital currency.

However, digital currency donations are not without their fair share of contention. In Malta, a donation by Binance stirred up controversy after the country’s president, Myriam Spiteri Debono, rejected the 200,000 BNB. First donated in 2018 to the Malta Community Chest Fund to finance cancer treatment, the stash has ballooned to $39 million as BNB has increased in value over the years. However, the president, who also chairs the fund, rejected the donation on ethical grounds due to Binance’s poor reputation and ongoing legal issues.

Watch: What’s ahead for crypto regulation? Highlights from Blockchain Futurist Conference 2025