Ice Bucket Challenge: TRON (TRX) Foundation Partners with ALS Association


Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/11/2019 - 23:35

Blockchain, TRON (TRX)–In the midst of a trending market for cryptocurrency, one that is seeing Bitcoin and other top cryptos hold their gains despite an uptick in the traditional markets, the TRON Foundation has announced a new philanthropic partnership with the ALS Association.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affect overs 12,000 individuals in the United States. The disease has become a popular topic in both social media and beyond, particularly following its Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral in 2014. The ALS Association, the “only national non-profit organization fighting ALS on every front,” has announced a new partnership with the TRON Foundation to utilize blockchain technology in order to more efficiently track donations. According to the press release, the partnership will focus on the launch of a blockchain-enabled charity campaign called #VoiceYourLove, with the goal of developing greater awareness for ALS and raising donations in an effort to develop a cure.

The TRON Foundation’s involvement in the charitable campaign will be through the integration of its blockchain network to track donation distribution. The ALS Association reports an intention to the release the tracked data to the public following the end of the campaign, presumably to increase charitable transparency but also shed light on the donation habits of its contributors.

Justin Sun, the outspoken and charismatic founder of the TRX coin and CEO of the TRON Foundation, kicked off the event in large fashion by making a personal contribution of $250,000 to the cause. Sun called upon the generosity of the cryptocurrency community to contribute further to the campaign, urging

“Others in the blockchain industry to voice their love by donating to help find a cure.”

Sun also pledged his quarter-million dollar donation to be in honor of the merging community of TRON and BitTorrent–given his acquisition of the latter in the middle of last year and the subsequent development of the BitTorrent Token (BTT). While Sun has been criticized at times for his showboating and antics related to the promotion of his cryptocurrency, he has become one of the most recognizable figures in the industry. In addition, his high profile purchase of BitTorrent and pledge to integrate the service with the TRX platform caused a stir in both mainstream audiences and those invested in cryptocurrency. Given the rise of the BitTorrent Token and its massive success during a public sale which lasted on minutes, it’s fair to say that Sun and the TRON Foundation have become powerful players in the landscape of cryptocurrency.

The ALS Association merger with blockchain and the TRON Foundation is only the most recent iteration of the cryptocurrency’s philanthropic efforts. Ripple, the parent blockchain startup behind the XRP coin made several high profile donations to charities last year, in addition to spurring non-profit efforts to improve both cryptocurrency use and blockchain adoption. BitPay, a popular cryptocurrency payment platform, partnered with the Wikimedia Foundation in January to provide an avenue for nonprofits and charities to accept donations in cryptocurrency. Perhaps most impressive of all was the Pineapple Fund, a cryptocurrency based philanthropic project conducted by anonymous investor which donated over 5,000 BTC, worth $86 million, to 60 different charities in the aftermath of last year’s bull run.

 

Title image courtesy of beatingbetting.co.uk

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