Crypto-philanthropy: can blockchain sustainably transform international aid?

Blockchain technologies are no longer limited to financial markets. They are gradually becoming established in the fields of international aid, philanthropy and the charitable sector, opening up new perspectives — but also new questions.

The Aid, Charity and Philanthropy Report 2026 analyzes these transformations through the prism of cryptophilanthropy. It explores emerging mechanisms, concrete use cases, and systemic risks associated with the integration of decentralized technologies into humanitarian value chains.

The Louis Bachelier Institute contributed to this report by providing an academic analysis of financial dynamics, governance issues and emerging risks associated with these new mechanisms.

Evolving donation mechanisms

The report highlights the rapid evolution of philanthropic instruments:

• Simple transfer of cryptoassets
• Au yield donation (staking)
• Until on-chain endowment funds (decentralized DAFs)

These mechanisms redefine the relationship between donors, organizations and beneficiaries, by strengthening the traceability and programmability of flows.

Concrete use cases

The report analyses several operational initiatives:

• The payment of salaries to medical personnel in Syria via digital infrastructures supported by the German GIZ.
• The role of HesabPay in Afghanistan as a vital payment rail in a fragile banking context.
• Anticipatory cash transfers in Kenya for livestock farmers exposed to climate shocks, illustrating programmable and measurable aid.

Innovation... and vigilance

Crypto-philanthropy paves the way for more transparent, verifiable, and potentially more effective aid.

But it also raises major questions:

• Protocol governance
• Cybersecurity
• Volatility of cryptoassets
• Technological dependence
• Data protection

Self-sovereign identity, for example, can represent a breakthrough for displaced populations — while raising the question of a possible new surveillance risk.

A reflection at the heart of emerging risks

This contribution is fully in line with the work of the Louis Bachelier Institute on emerging financial risks, at the intersection of technology, finance and societal issues.

Crypto-philanthropy illustrates a central paradox:
major innovation potential, accompanied by risks that are still partially invisible.

📥 Download the report

The Aid, Charity and Philanthropy Report 2026 is available for download here: https://research.theblockchainforgood.org/index.php/r10-masterpage/

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