The Web3 community reacts to the tragedy of the Turkish-Syrian earthquake
Following a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey, the Web3 community has banded together to raise awareness and aid for disaster victims.
On February 6, a massive earthquake struck southeastern Turkey near the border with Syria, killing over 5,000 people. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, which is classified as a “major” earthquake internationally, and occurred along 100 kilometres (62 miles) of the fault line.
The area’s infrastructure was severely damaged, resulting in a deadly cross-border humanitarian disaster.
However, the rest of the world was quick to react. People have been raising funds for local and international aid organisations to provide relief to those in the affected areas across the internet and various social media platforms.
AFAD Turkiye, the government agency for such disasters, and the NGO Ahbap, led by philanthropist Haluk Levent, have been at the forefront of organising an influx of aid.
Levent announced that his organisation has set up crypto addresses to accept donations in various digital currencies.
Various companies in the Web3 space have stepped up to help, whether in the form of crypto or fiat donations or even physical aid.
Bitget, a cryptocurrency derivatives trader, pledged 1 million Turkish liras ($53,000), while Bitfinex, Keet, Synonym, and Tether pledged 5 million liras ($265,500), and Gate.io pledged 1 million liras ($53,000).
Bitci, a local Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, sent an aid truck to the earthquake area and announced that all commission income for the month of February will be donated to Ahbap on behalf of the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake. Icrypex announced collaboration with AFAD and Ahbap.
In addition to donating 6 million liras ($318,000) to the Ahbap and Akut organisations, BtcTurk said it sent 1.2 million liras ($62,000) in clothing aid to the zone in collaboration with local governments.
Both the Turkish branches of ByBit and OKX have pledged $100,000 and one million liras ($53,000) in aid, respectively.
Sebastien Borget, co-founder and chief operating officer of The Sandbox, also spoke with Cointelegraph about his efforts with The Sandbox Turkey to provide on-the-ground support for local communities.
“Our thoughts are with the Turkish people today. Together with The Sandbox creator community in Turkey, we are in touch with relevant non-governmental organizations to create a relief fund and support earthquake-affected areas.”
He stated that they, along with The Sandbox Turkey, have helped fill a truck with emergency supplies for the victims and people affected, and are looking into options for longer-term assistance.
Non Fungible tokens (NFTs) have also been proposed as a means of raising funds for the disaster.
Turkish NFT artist Pak tweeted about an ETH donation to Ahbap, as well as plans for a long-term support NFT initiative. Gate.io’s proposal also mentioned developing an NFT aid initiative in the near future for additional support.