Donate to charity with cryptocurrencies

♦charities are to accept funding through cryptocurrency for the first time – and donors will have the power to take back their money if it is not used correctly.

English Heritage is among the charities now accepting donations via Giftcoin. The new system requires organisations to show a detailed plan of how the funding will be spent.

The money is then tracked throughout the process using blockchain technology, with funding kept on hold and released in stages. If supporters are not satisfied that the charity is following through then their money will be returned.

Luke Purser, the development director of English Heritage, said: “We’re keen to build relationships with donors based on trust and transparency – Giftcoin might be one way of helping us to do this.”

Alex Howard, Giftcoin’s co-founder, said the transparency could drive people to give more and was glad that English Heritage could “recognise the value of embracing new technology”.