Compiled by: Felix, PANews
On January 8, local time, a severe wildfire occurred in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, destroying thousands of homes and burning over ten thousand hectares. So far, the fire has burned over 15,000 acres of land, forcing nearly 180,000 residents to evacuate, with an additional 200,000 receiving 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.
Southern California cryptocurrency companies and users are affected.
The wildfire has burned over 15,000 acres of land in Southern California, including major areas such as Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Pasadena. In addition to residences, several cryptocurrency companies were also affected.
The staff of the Bitcoin office in Santa Monica is located south of the ravaged Palisades and Sunset. Several Swan Bitcoin staff members hosting the Pacific Bitcoin Conference in Santa Monica are also located south of the fire.
The headquarters of blockchain service provider BlockDaemon is located in Los Angeles, as is another crypto game developer, SuperVerse. The headquarters of blockchain-based ID and tokenization company Spring Labs is located nearby in Marina del Ray. These companies reported significant losses, including the destruction of hardware wallets containing cryptocurrency assets.
Some companies are 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) also escaped the wildfire.
But the impact of the wildfire is not limited to cryptocurrency companies; it also affects cryptocurrency users, as some residents lost 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 mnemonic phrase, with no backup. Comments indicated that her wallet primarily held Bitcoin.
Nonprofit organizations are accepting cryptocurrency donations.
To provide assistance to those affected, some charities and nonprofits providing aid locally are accepting donations in cryptocurrency and stocks.
The cryptocurrency donation platform The Giving Block has launched an 'Emergency Fundraising Campaign' to donate to nonprofits actively assisting with Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts. The fundraising campaign allows the public to choose to donate cryptocurrency from seven nonprofits.
These include the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the First Responders Children's Foundation, Global Empowerment Mission, the San Diego Humane Society, All Hands and Hearts, and Direct Relief.
During the fundraising event, the platform encourages the public to do what they can to help by donating cryptocurrencies, stocks, DAF (Donor-Advised Fund, where donors can set up a DAF account to receive immediate tax benefits and have advisory rights over fund usage), or cards to organizations providing food, shelter, and medical services.
Another donation website focused on cryptocurrency, Givepact, shared details of foundations accepting donations of crypto assets.
These include Baby2Baby (a charity that provides diapers and clothing for children from low-income families), Wildland Firefighter Foundation, California Fire Foundation, Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation, and California Community Foundation.
The platform stated that the public can donate over 30 types of cryptocurrencies to these charities and nonprofits, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avax, Dogecoin, and more.
Prediction platform betting criticized as 'morbid'.
It is worth mentioning that a prediction platform was questioned due to 'morbid' predictions during the wildfire event, as several users on the platform created various prediction markets based on the wildfire, predicting the spread of the fire, when it would be contained, 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 successfully place bets, it might encourage gamblers to start more fires.
In response, the platform issued a disclaimer stating, 'The devastating Palisades fire is such an event where the platform can provide valuable real-time answers for those directly affected, which traditional media cannot do.'
