December Edition of the Crypto Altruists Newsletter

👋🎄 Hello, Crypto Altruists!

As we enter the last month of the year (and forgive us if it sounds like a cliché at this point), we're seeing unmistakable signs of a more mature web3 ecosystem. And they're coming from different corners of the space...

Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade quietly delivered real scalability gains. Impact teams are running more advanced deployments, from stablecoin-powered aid rails to participatory funding platforms. We see many more institutional partnerships. And even the messaging feels different; from a scrappy "degen" vibe, there's focus on clean storytelling, authority, and real user acquisition, all showing a shift toward clarity and professionalism rather than just hype. 🙌

And Giving Season only adds to that. Crypto donations are hitting new highs, and nonprofits are treating digital giving as a real channel rather than an experiment. In fact, this year, many organizations specifically planned for crypto alongside their traditional year-end campaigns.

Blockchain technology isn’t “emerging” anymore; it HAS emerged. It’s becoming part of the financial and coordination infrastructure impact work relies on, and the momentum going into 2026 makes that clearer than ever. We can’t wait to keep exploring it with you. 🌟

Here’s what caught our attention this past month. 👇

🌱 Featured: We're Celebrating Giving Season!

This month, we’re leaning into what matters most for us at Crypto Altruists: giving back, strengthening community, and helping more mission-driven teams step into Web3 with confidence.

Here’s what we’re contributing:

💚 1. Our Giving Tuesday campaign
We’re offering free consulting sessions + $50 crypto donations to help three nonprofits or impact projects explore how Web3 can support their work. If you know a team that should be on our radar, nominate them here.

🏥 2. Our partnership with Sostento
Crypto Altruists' Drew has joined the Sostento Crypto Advisory Board, supporting their work to expand healthcare access for underserved communities. Together, we’ll help nonprofits navigate Web3 safely and use blockchain to close real care gaps. Want to join too? More info here.

🎁 3. A brand-new guide on Crypto Philanthropy
Our latest deep-dive breaks down how digital money is becoming part of the global giving infrastructure, from stablecoin-powered aid to onchain DAFs, NFT fundraisers, and new models for community-led grantmaking. Dive in now.

If there’s a way we can help your team this Giving Season, we’d love to connect. 👇

💡 December impact spotlight

Ecosystem developments 🚀

• Silvi launches the Bioregional Reforestation Grants Round: In Partnership with Climate Coordination Network (CCN), Gitcoin, Celo, and more, the round provides $100,000 in matching funds to local reforestation projects across 8 bioregions. We spoke with the Founders of Silvi and CCN in our most recent podcast episode.
• UNDP launches blockchain academy for governments: A new UNDP program will help governments use blockchain for services like digital ID, climate finance, and financial inclusion, with country pilots starting in 2026.
• Vitalik joins Greenpill Podcast to rethink Ethereum public goods: In a year-end episode with Kevin Owocki, he explores how funding is shifting from vibes to verifiable models using cryptography, AI, and pluralism.
• Crypto Giving Tuesday 2025 returns: The Giving Block’s annual campaign kicks off the season of crypto philanthropy, aiming to raise $300M through thousands of nonprofits and donors by year's end.
• Stablecoin supply on Ethereum nears $200B: According to growthepie, Ethereum’s stablecoin layer alone now rivals the GDP of small nations.
• ETH For The World announces 2025 SDG grant recipients: 19 projects building onchain solutions for the UNSDGs will receive milestone-based grants, mentorship, and ecosystem support.
• Celo and Opera scale up stablecoin payment rollout: At Binance Blockchain Week, Celo and Opera announced plans to expand their existing partnership to reach 1B users by 2030. Their MiniPay wallet already has 11M users and over 300M transactions.
• Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress opened with defiant privacy rights video: The opening film, featuring Roman Storm, called on the community to defend developer rights, resist censorship, and protect privacy.
• Juan Benet & Kevin Owocki talk regenerative public goods at Shelling Point: In a fireside chat, the founders of Protocol Labs and Gitcoin explore sustainable funding, adaptive systems, and what's next for Gitcoin.
• Circle launches Circle Foundation to support financial resilience: Circle’s new philanthropic arm will fund US community lenders and global humanitarian orgs using digital tools like USDC to expand access, speed up aid, and strengthen financial inclusion.
• Jamaica’s Flash app supports hurricane relief with Bitcoin: Local developer launched the Bitcoin-powered app to raise and distribute aid after Hurricane Melissa, enabling fast donations, P2P payments, and direct support.
• Stellar joins Blockchain Payments Consortium as founding member: Stellar teams up with Solana, Polygon, and others to set shared standards for blockchain payments, aiming to make cross-network transactions faster, safer, and more interoperable.

Crypto Altruists content & updates 💚

• 📦 Crypto Altruists Starter Pack: Crypto Innovations in Humanitarian Aid: A curated six-episode collection showcasing how blockchain is reshaping real-time payments, anticipatory climate action, decentralized funding, and more.
• 🎧 Episode 226: Azos - Better Money for a Better Planet: Azos’ founders share how they’re building a climate-positive stablecoin and values-aligned DeFi ecosystem
• ✍️ Crypto Altruists' Guide to Stablecoins: A deep dive into how stablecoins are powering remittances, humanitarian aid, microcredit, and everyday finance in countries all over the world including Nigeria, Argentina, Syria, Afghanistan, and more.
• 🎧 Episode 227: Sostento’s Crypto Advisory Board: Sostento’s CEO Joe Agoada discusses how Web3 can help close healthcare gaps in the United States and why they launched a new advisory board to advance blockchain-driven healthcare equity.
• 📊 Infographic: Do’s & Don’ts for Nonprofits in Crypto: A visual guide helping nonprofits engage with crypto safely.
• 🎧 Episode 228: Beyond the Crypto Hype: Eight real-world stories, from refugee aid to rural payments, showcasing how blockchain is already improving lives and delivering tangible global impact.
• 🎧 Episode 229: hum.community - From Charity to Shared Agency: Mark Pascall explains how hum.community uses participatory micro-granting to let communities directly propose, vote on, and fund local projects.
• 🎧Episode 230 - Bioregional Reforestation: How Crypto is Transforming Localized Climate Finance: Djimo of Silvi and Jon of Climate Coordination Network join to unpack the recently launched Bioregional Reforestation Grants round and explore how crypto is powering verified reforestation.

Insightful resources 📖

• The Impossible Future: A documentary series exploring the ecological, social, and imaginative crises of our time, through regenerative design, decentralized systems, post-growth economies, and collective visions for a more just world. Thanks to Monty for the recommendation! 🌟
• The Wells Are All Dry: Regen Web3 at a Crossroads: Owocki reflects on how the regen space ran on grants and "good vibes" for years, and why it now needs working products, real users, and serious focus to move forward.
• Emily Lai’s 2026 Crypto Marketing Trends: Marketing in crypto is shifting, from chasing hype to driving real users. Emily covers what’s in (performance, short-form video, TikTok, loyalty-style rewards) and what’s out (mindshare, reply guys).
• “Privacy didn’t vanish—we aged out of remembering it”: Naomi Brockwell reflects on Cypherpunk Congress and her fireside with Vitalik, arguing that privacy isn’t gone, it’s just been forgotten.

🌟 Project highlight: Social Equation Hub

For December we're spotlighting the Social Equation Hub (SEH), a new partner we've teamed up with for a multi-month web3 capacity-building initiative supporting nonprofits across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

This collaboration is just the beginning of many, so it’s the perfect time to share who SEH is and why this partnership matters... 🤝

SEH is a Ukraine-based nonprofit and think tank that focuses on improving healthcare and social protection systems across the region. Their work is deeply practical: helping public institutions and grassroots orgs design better programs, adopt stronger safeguards, and align with international standards. Their team and network of public health veterans, policy experts, and technologists, have spent years working to build systems that serve real people in crisis.

SEH has worked across nine countries, from Moldova to Tajikistan, helping strengthen everything from national HIV response systems to NGO infrastructure. In Ukraine, they helped one of the country’s major health institutions earn an international business continuity certification; a first in that space, and a milestone that strengthens the entire sector.

As part of our collaboration, we’re supporting SEH in expanding that kind of capacity-building to more grassroots nonprofits, giving them the tools and guidance to navigate Web3 safely and strategically.

Just like us, SEH sees web3 not as a replacement for what nonprofits already do well, but as a way to build on that foundation, deepen trust, strengthen resilience, and scale impact.

If we can help impact teams and professionals unlock new funding, run more transparently, or engage their communities more deeply, that means everything to us. 🤝🌍

💡 Bring Web3 into your nonprofit's mission

At Crypto Altruists, we help nonprofits, foundations, and impact organizations cut through the noise and explore blockchain in a way that’s practical, mission-aligned, and grounded in real-world use cases.

Whether you’re curious about crypto donations, AI & transparency tools, or how Web3 can strengthen your programs and services, our tailored consulting services and interactive workshops meet you where you are, no jargon, no hype. Let’s work together to unlock the opportunities that make sense for your cause.

Book a call with us today to start the conversation. 🤝

📬 Stay connected

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See you in the next edition! 💚