Binance Charity Poker Cup Raises Over US$170,000, Delivers Solar Panels for Children in Africa

Binance Charity, the philanthropic arm of Binance, delivered solar panels and school materials to 15 schools in Uganda, funded through more than US$170,000 raised via the first annual Binance Charity Poker Cup. hosted by TronBet. Thanks to the proceeds from the event, which was participated by some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency space, including the founders of Binance, Litecoin, and TRON, Binance Charity was able to spend US$22,155 for the materials sent to schools in Masaka District, Uganda. About 9,123 children are immediately benefited from this donation, the first of many that will be funded by the amount raised in the charity event.

Solar panels donated by Binance Charity to 15 schools in Uganda.

H.E Vice President of Uganda Edward Ssekandi graced Binance Charity’s event for the turnover of materials, passing the textbooks, stationarities, and solar panels directly to the end beneficiaires. Tron Founder Justin Sun expressed his best wishes to the children through a video message.

School supplies donated by Binance Charity to 15 schools in Uganda.

During the Binance Charity Poker Cup, organized by TRONbet, nine players competed on TRONbet’s blockchain poker platform, including Earth Protocol Founder Davis Yu, who won the seat with 888,888 TRX (US$28,000 equivalent) by public auction to play with other eight players.

The two-hour event was live-streamed by CryptoLove and NicolasLive on YouTube. Poker players, such as Binance Founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, TRON Founder and BitTorrent CEO Justin Sun, and Litecoin Founder Charlie Lee, went on camera and interacted with the host while they played. TRONbet provided a prize pool of 2.5 million TRX, with 1 million TRX committed to Binance Charity, and matched about 174,700 TRX and 5.31 LTC in donations from twitter likes and retweets.

“The annual event showcased how social gaming on the blockchain can be tied with charity work to take the concept of wealth redistribution to new heights.  With the fantastic work being done by the Binance Charity team and ensuring transparency of each donation, we know that our efforts will surely reach those in need,” TronBet Co-Founder Soon said in a statement about the event.

Bitguild CEO Jared Psigoda, nicknamed "Bitizen" during the game, won the game with TRX 1,000,000 prize, which he donated fully to Binance Charity, apart from donating TRX 600,000 during the game. Davis Yu and dapp.review Founder Vincent Niu respectively won second and third place, and together, they donated their prize of TRX 500,000 to Binance Charity.

NBA basketball player Spencer Dinwiddle also committed 1 BTC during the game. The public contributed more than 1.3 million TRX, 20 BNB, and 10 LTC through a donation raffle during the game. Together, the game raised about 4.9 million TRX, 10.86 LTC, 21.32 BNB, and 1 BTC, equivalent to a total of over US$170,000, based on the conversion rate of June 17, 2019, for the Binance for Children initiative.

Part of the donation, specifically 4,893,155 TRX, 5.55 LTC, and  21.32 BNB, has already been converted to BNB, and the donation record can be found on the Binance Charity website: https://www.binance.charity/binance-charity-wallet.

A snapshot from the Binance Charity event for the turnover of solar panels and school supplies to Uganda schools.

“The players, who demonstrated the power of blockchain technology for the poker event for charity, generously agreed to donate to Binance for Children as part of our continuing mission to raise the standards of transparency in donations around the world so that the next generation can have equal opportunities for success,” said Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity Foundation. ‘’Binance Charity’s on-the-ground team is dedicated to use the funds in a fully transparent manner by purchasing high-quality goods to serve the urgent need from the local communities. The first batch of delivery is completed, and more batches will follow.’’

Among the tournament players are:

- Binance Founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao

- TRON Founder and BitTorrent CEO Justin Sun

- Litecoin Founder Charlie Lee

- Bitguild CEO Jared Psigoda

- Spencer Dinwiddle, NBA basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets

- ANTE Community representative Tommy Mustache

- ESports champion Lim Yo-hwan

- Dapp.review Founder Vincent Niu

- Earth Protocol Founder Davis Yu

About Binance Charity Foundation

Binance Charity Foundation is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to achieving global sustainable development by unlocking the power of blockchain. BCF develops and tests viable solutions that address the root cause of social problems to guide people out of the poverty trap. The foundation is initiated by Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, headed by Helen Hai, UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador, in collaboration with Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, former President of Malta, as the Chair of the Advisory Board. Please visit www.binance.charity for more information.

About Binance for Children Initiative:

Binance for Children Initiative is a blockchain powered charity program dedicated to providing help to children to improve their health and education condition. All donations are collected and disbursed in cryptocurrency to demonstrate transparency over the entire process. So far, the initiative has benefited 3,990 children in Uganda, and will expand to 100,000 end beneficiaries in 2019.

We select schools that need help and choose reliable suppliers who provide quality and affordable products like healthy food, stationery, LED screens, sanitary products, and solar panels. We open crypto wallets for each child under the custody of their parents.They will then send the received crypto donations to suppliers’ wallet to exchange for goods. By utilizing blockchain technology, all funds raised can be verified and tracked, making sure that children in need are receiving the care and benefits instead of any third party.