This Friday, the Kingdom of Tonga was rocked by a huge volcanic eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano. After the first eruption, the situation intensified, threatening the residents of Tongatapu, Tonga’s biggest island, with a tsunami. Despite the obstacles, crypto enthusiasts expressed their condolences and pledged to donate Bitcoin (BTC) to aid relief efforts.
Bitcoin advocate and former Tongan politician Lord Fusitu’a was asked by Twitter user onair_blair to set up a wallet address where people can give bitcoins to Tonga’s relief money.
People began fleeing to higher ground as waves of up to 1.2 meters (about 4 feet) covered highways and houses. There have been no recorded casualties as of the time of writing. Contamination of the air and water, on the other hand, is now one of the most pressing problems for humanitarian agencies.
The Crypto community has donated over $5,000 worth of Bitcoin
Lord Fusitu’a responded with a Bitcoin wallet address and a link to a page where individuals can send money to aid relief efforts. Since yesterday, the address has received a total of 0.11728659 BTC (around $5,008 as per current market movement).
This is not the first time that the crypto community is helping the world. Recently, USDC stablecoin developing firm Circle and public charity organization Endaoment brought a disaster relief fund.
Even before that, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin made one of the biggest trending meme token SHIB donations to help India in fighting against the COVID-19 crisis.
Lord Fusitu’a said that the country’s finances might benefit from using geothermal energy from the volcanoes to fuel Bitcoin mining companies. The country has 21 volcanoes. The lord points out that a single volcano may produce $2,000 in Bitcoin each day, which will be distributed to Tongan families.
According to the former congressman, the country is planning to follow El Salvador’s lead and make Bitcoin legal tender. Lord Fusitu’a indicated in Twitter posts on Jan. 12 that this may happen before 2022 ends.
