Crypto isn’t just for day traders and tech bros anymore. Big-name charities are now taking Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets as donations. And not just a few scrappy nonprofits experimenting with new tech. We’re talking household names.
According to The Giving Block, 56 of the 100 largest U.S. charities were ready to accept crypto donations in 2024. That’s up from 49 the prior year. The numbers keep climbing. Slowly, sure, but the direction is clear.
56 of the 100 largest U.S. charities accepted crypto donations in 2024. That number was 49 the year before.
The list of crypto-friendly charities reads like a who’s who of American philanthropy. Feeding America sits at rank one on The Giving Block’s 2024 Top US Crypto-Friendly Charities list. United Way Worldwide is on there. So is American Red Cross. Habitat for Humanity. Salvation Army. American Cancer Society. American Heart Association. Doctors Without Borders USA. The list goes on.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is one of the more visible examples. They accept Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and several other cryptocurrencies. St. Jude even has a dedicated donation form where donors select a currency and enter an amount.
They offer receipts for tax purposes, which matters to people. For donations over $500, donors may need to contact the organization directly regarding IRS Form 8283 acknowledgment. St. Jude also lists a direct contact specifically for crypto questions at cryptocurrency@stjude.org. That’s not an afterthought. That’s infrastructure.
Now, not every charity handles the crypto itself. Some use third-party processors that convert digital assets into cash before the organization ever sees the money. The charity gets dollars. The donor gives crypto. Everyone’s comfortable. It’s a workaround, but it works. Compared to credit card processors that can charge up to 6.75%, crypto donations typically incur fees around 1%, meaning more of each donation actually reaches the cause.
The disaster relief angle is worth noting too. Organizations like American Red Cross and Americares are on the list, and crypto is often pitched as useful for rapid-response situations. Funds can move quickly through conversion partners. Unlike traditional banking systems, cryptocurrency operates on decentralized blockchain networks, which allows transactions to process without relying on centralized financial institutions that may face delays during crisis events.
Whether that speed actually makes a meaningful difference in practice is a fair question, but the argument exists.
What this really signals is a shift. Crypto acceptance was once a niche fundraising experiment. Now it’s becoming a standard option alongside credit cards and bank transfers. Major food-security organizations, medical charities, international relief relief groups, and broad-service nonprofits are all part of it. One in four American adults owns cryptocurrency, meaning over 67 million people in the U.S. alone represent a potential donor base that these charities are increasingly positioned to reach.
People holding digital assets now have more places to direct them. Whether that translates into meaningfully more money for charities remains to be seen. But the infrastructure is being built either way. Old philanthropy is making room. Reluctantly, maybe. But it’s making room.
