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Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has launched its inaugural philanthropic fund in a bid to inject digital assets cash into charitable pursuits.
The venture, Future Fund, will distribute at least $100 million — and perhaps as much as $1 billion — this year, “depending on how many outstanding opportunities we find,” the company said Monday.
The fund falls under the umbrella of the FTX Foundation, a philanthropic organization funded primarily by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. It also counts major contributions from Alameda Research’s Co-CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang, and FTX’s Head of Engineering Nishad Singh.
“There are billions of people alive today,” Bankman-Fried tweeted. “There are trillions of people who could live great lives if we leave behind a better world to our children.”
The team compiled a list of 38 potential projects, including artificial intelligence ethics, pathogen sterilization technology, alternative voting systems, a new university or publishing house and support for movies and documentaries.
“We’re particularly keen to launch massively scalable projects: projects that could grow to productively spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars per year,” the announcement said.
The move signifies the crypto exchange’s expansion beyond the digital asset world and into other real world industries. To date, FTX has set aside over $18 million for charity — including $8.7 million of user contributions and $9.5 million from user fees.
The company says its corporate lines and employees have made more than $10 million of charitable donations overall.
Bankman-Fried, a 29-year-old worth $22.5 billion, last year donated $50 million and plans to donate $500 million next year, according to a video interview.
“I wanted to get rich not because I liked money, but because I wanted to give that money to charity,” Bankman-Fried said in the interview.
Last week, the company gave $25 to every Ukrainian registered on its platform after the country’s central bank temporarily suspended its currency market and limited withdrawals.