Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, and Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, have pledged $100 million to help accelerate COVID-19 research and relief efforts in India. 

With COVID-19 variants continuing to emerge and spread, and with a very high number of people experiencing long-term symptoms speeding up, research efforts are critical.

How The Donation Will Be Used To Support COVID-19 Research

The donations from Buterin and Nailwal are some of the largest philanthropic contributions ever made in crypto. Buterin made the announcement in a and according to the thread, the fund will be donated to Crypto Relief, with the funds going directly to researchers working on solutions to combat the long-term effects of coronavirus. 

Crypto Relief is a project led by set up by Nailwal during the height of the COVID pandemic as an emergency relief fund. The polygon co-founder said the non-profit organization is now upgrading into a long-term strategic fund for healthcare donations in India. Buterin also confirmed this change of approach in his Twitter post, noting that dealing with Covid and future pandemics needs to take an integrated global approach.

“Work in India continues to be a key part of the solution, but we also need an integrated global approach,” the co-founder said.

The money will go to fund research projects related to cutting-edge scientific discoveries & inventions in India and other developing nations. Overall, it’s a win for science, a win for global health, and a win for humanity.

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Past Donations Of Vitalik Buterin To COVID Relief

Vitalik Buterin has a history of donating to important causes like COVID-19 relief, with him donating cryptocurrencies worth $1.5 billion to several non-profit organizations in 2021. During this period, Buterin donated over $1 billion worth of Shiba Inu coin to aid India’s fight against the coronavirus. 

Buterin made the donation by offloading 50 trillion SHIB tokens worth $1.2 billion, which he was gifted by the creators of the Shiba Inu coin. With India being one of the most badly affected countries during the pandemic, the fund helped provide medical equipment and supplies as the country battled a deadly second wave of COVID-19 infections.

Outside of the pandemic, Buterin has donated millions of dollars in crypto to various charities and causes. Last year, he quietly donated $5 million to Ukraine relief efforts following the Russian invasion.