A group of cryptocurrency users has come together to provide support and raise relief funds for victims affected in Beirut last week. 

According to the official website, the Crypto Disaster Relief for Beirut Explosion was organized by a group of Lebanese expats living in Europe. The web page allows users to donate bitcoin, ethereum, XRP, and other crypto-assets to provide support for victims of last week’s explosion. 

According to the organization, user funds will be used by over-the-counter traders in Beirut and Lebanon to support local nonprofits such as Beit el Baraka and Baytak to provide food and shelter for displaced victims. 

The site, first reported on by CoinDesk, is also promoting the use of crypto as a workaround for the disastrous Lebanese banking system, running under the tagline “embracing cryptocurrency services to bypass Lebanon’s corrupted financial system.”

The August 4th explosion came on the heels of a spiraling financial crisis in Lebanon. The relief organization said the country’s economic crisis was “slipping out of control” and being driven by a currency collapse. 

The post concluded, 

While politicians and bankers trade blame on the airwaves, the country’s pound has lost nearly 75% of its value on the black market in the past nine months, sucking the economy into a hyper-inflation spiral.

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