Over 30 crypto companies and fundraisers have raised approximately $16 million (HK$124 million) for Hong Kong fire relief efforts.
The fundraising followed a fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district that killed at least 159 people and left thousands homeless. The fire began on 26 November and spread through Wang Fuk Court apartment complex for days, becoming the region’s worst fire disaster since 1948.
Most crypto donations were pledged in the week after the disaster. AB DAO and Bitget led donations with pledges of $1.9 million and $1.5 million respectively. Numerous other services, such as Binance, HTX, OKX, Gate.io, Hashkey and Crypto.com have each pledged $1.3 million.
Other companies pledging donations over $100,000 include MEXC, BingX, OSL, Kucoin, Matrixport and mining pool ViaBTC. The BTSE Cares Foundation also sent volunteers and supplies to those affected by the fire, alongside an undisclosed financial donation.
Bitget and Crypto.com announce donations on X.
Grassroots donations raise almost $1 million
Beyond the major corporate pledges, grassroots donors have also mobilized significant funds. Of the $16 million raised so far, approximately $930,000 constitute grassroots donations to bespoke cryptocurrency wallet addresses issued by Animoca Brands and digital wallet platform Cobo.
Projects making donations to these addresses also include Open Campus, Anichess, The Sandbox, Tower Ecosystem and the Moca Foundation.
The two fundraisers have raised $640,000 and $292,000 respectively, with both directing funds to the Hong Kong Red Cross. Stablecoins donated on Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible chains make up the vast majority of contributions.
Elliptic Investigator showing a selection of donations to the Animoca Brands and Cobo relief fundraiser wallets.
Donations dispersed to various aid agencies
In the ten days following the disaster, donations have been distributed across various causes aiding relief efforts.
The Hong Kong Red Cross remains the most popular recipient, while Bitget dispersed its $1.9 million donation between the Po Leung Kuk charity, the Salvation Army and Yan Chai Hospital.
Elliptic’s internal analysis shows that most crypto donations were converted to Hong Kong Dollars before reaching aid agencies.
The evolution of crypto for disaster relief
The consolidated and timely action taken by major crypto businesses reflects the growing use case of crypto as a tool for rapid disaster relief. Elliptic has previously tracked fundraising efforts for floods or earthquakes in Turkey, Myanmar and Thailand, where similar amounts were raised soon after the disaster.
Crypto has also been used prominently by fundraisers for those affected by conflicts, most notably in Myanmar and Ukraine. We have previously written and spoken about the DMMK, a bespoke central bank digital currency (CBDC) designed to facilitate donations to Myanmar’s opposition government.
Despite these positive developments, Elliptic’s analysis of crypto scam trends throughout 2025 has noted the growth of crypto donation scams that have sought to take advantage of the evolving crypto donation landscape.
In the year following the invasion of Ukraine, an estimated $300,000 was lost by donors inadvertently sending crypto to fake pro-Ukraine fundraisers. This underscores the need for proper diligence.
Elliptic has published guidance on both verifying and facilitating secure and transparent crypto fundraisers, such as those initiated by Animoca Brands and Cobo, to minimize disruption caused by scammers to vital relief efforts.
You can read more in our Crypto in Conflict report, published in the context of crypto fundraising for Ukraine, or our latest 2025 State of Crypto Scams report.
