Cryptocurrency philanthropy is spreading. The Pineapple Fund, whose founders remain anonymous, has given $5 million worth of bitcoin to the Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) over two separate donations. The funds, which were deposited into the nonprofit’s BitPay account and which are reportedly being converted to US dollars, are being directed toward “accelerating much-needed research for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and related chronic complex diseases.”
Someone named Pine, from the Pineapple Fund, directed the first $1 million in bitcoin to OMF on Jan. 14. That gift was followed up by a separate $4 million bitcoin donation on Feb. 2. The gift will no doubt go a long way, just as the grateful response from the cryptocurrency community to the original bitcoin gift did.
“Linda Tannenbaum, OMF CEO/President, believes the additional donation was made in response to the overwhelming gratitude expressed by the patient community on Reddit and other social media,” according to an OMF blog post, adding that thousands of messages poured in from Reddit, Facebook and Twitter.
We don’t know much about Pine, other than that he or she was an early bitcoin investor and they have decided to use their wealth for social good. Also, the Pineapple Funds is among the “richest 250 bitcoin addresses” globally, as per the fund’s website.
OMF outlined the how the bitcoin gift will help –
- “create a diagnostic test for ME/CFS”
- “scale up patient data analysis”
- “accelerate the development of new technology to identify treatment options”
- “research towards a cure”
Just What the Doctor Ordered
The $5 million gift is just what the cryptocurrency industry needed during a spell in which fraud, mistrust and most recently bank bans have been running rampant. Tannenbaum started the OMF to help millions of people who suffer from ME/CFS around the world, including her daughter. They boast some of the top minds and leaders in science and research on the Scientific Advisory Board, including Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Sciences.
OMF must have struck a chord with Pine, whose Pineapple Fund contains the lion’s share of their cryptocurrency holdings.
“I had known about ME/CFS for a while, and I know it is a serious condition without much in the way of treatment or research. I’ve recently received letters of support from esteemed academics in the field strongly supporting OMF, and that helped me make the decision!” — “Pine” via OMF
This wasn’t the Pineapple Fund’s first charitable donation, as they’ve already donated some $37 million, and according to the fund’s website, it won’t be their last. 
Pine was able to make the donation anonymously because of the private nature of the blockchain in which the Pineapple Fund could send the bitcoin to OMF directly, without any banks or payment providers.
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Published at Sat, 03 Feb 2018 01:14:08 +0000
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