Compiled by: Felix, PANews
On January 8 local time, severe wildfires occurred in the city of Los Angeles and surrounding areas, destroying thousands of homes and burning tens of thousands of hectares. So far, the fire has burned over 15,000 acres of land, forcing nearly 180,000 residents to evacuate, and an additional 200,000 have received evacuation orders.
The rapidly spreading fire not only threatens millions of California residents but also several cryptocurrency companies and members of the crypto community. In fact, many have already lost their homes and belongings, including hardware wallets.
Cryptocurrency companies and users in Southern California have been affected.
The wildfire has burned over 15,000 acres of land in Southern California, including major areas like Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Pasadena. In addition to residential properties, several cryptocurrency companies have also been affected.
The staff at the Santa Monica Bitcoin office is located just south of the raging Palisades and Sunset. Several Swan Bitcoin staff members hosting the Pacific Bitcoin Conference in Santa Monica are also located just south of the fire.
The blockchain service provider BlockDaemon is headquartered in Los Angeles, as is another crypto game developer SuperVerse. The blockchain-based ID and tokenization company Spring Labs is headquartered in nearby Marina del Rey. These companies reported significant losses, including hardware wallets containing cryptocurrency assets being destroyed.
Some companies have been luckier. So far, the Crypto.com Arena (a cultural landmark in Los Angeles) has not caught fire. Crypto entertainment venues DaBank (Hawthorne) and Jungla (North Hollywood) have also been spared from the wildfires.
However, the impact of the wildfire extends beyond crypto companies; it also affects cryptocurrency users, with some residents losing their crypto wallets in the fire. Crypto KOL Monty stated on the X platform that his 70-year-old aunt lost her apartment in the Los Angeles fire. Most of her savings were in cryptocurrency, but she lost her wallet and seed phrase, and had no backups. According to comments, her wallet mainly held Bitcoin.
Non-profit organizations are accepting cryptocurrency donations.
To provide assistance to those affected, several charities and non-profit organizations operating locally are accepting cryptocurrency and stock donations.
The cryptocurrency donation platform The Giving Block launched an 'Emergency Response Fundraising Campaign' to donate to non-profit organizations actively assisting in Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts. This fundraising campaign allows the public to choose to donate cryptocurrency to one of seven non-profit organizations.
These include the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, First Responders Children’s Foundation, Global Empowerment Mission, San Diego Humane Society, All Hands and Hearts, and Direct Relief.
During the donation drive, the platform encourages the public to help as much as possible by donating cryptocurrencies, stocks, DAFs (Donor-Advised Funds, allowing donors to receive immediate tax benefits and have a say in how funds are used), or cards to organizations providing food, shelter, and medical services.
Another cryptocurrency-focused donation site, Givepact, shared details about foundations accepting cryptocurrency asset donations.
These include Baby2Baby (a charity specifically providing diapers and clothing for children from poor families), Wildland Firefighters Foundation, California Fire Foundation, Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation, and California Community Foundation.
The platform states that the public can donate over 30 types of cryptocurrencies to these charities and non-profit organizations, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avax, Dogecoin, and more.
Betting on the prediction platform is labeled 'morbid.'
Notably, a prediction platform was questioned for 'morbid' predictions during the wildfire event, as several users on the platform created various prediction markets based on the wildfire event, predicting the spread of the fire, when it would be controlled, and potential political resignations. One X user claimed, 'Betting on wildfires is morbid,' while another user stated that betting on such tragedies is 'undoubtedly shameless.' Some users even expressed concern that in order to bet successfully, it might encourage gamblers to start more fires.
In response, the platform issued a disclaimer stating, 'The devastating Palisades fire is such an event that the platform can provide valuable real-time answers for those directly affected, which traditional media cannot do.'
