Cryptocurrency

3rd February 2022

Following an internal policy review, International Animal Rescue (IAR) will stop accepting crypto donations from any currency immediately and conclude all relationships with NFT projects aiming to donate to us.

As a conservation charity, we pride ourselves on our integrity and values. While crypto currency transactions have become more common and there has been a demand for individuals and communities to support our mission by making crypto and NFT donations, there are some underlying concerns about the environmental sustainability of these blockchain technologies.

The issue with blockchain technologies is industry wide, it uses a vast amount of energy to verify transactions which, environmentally  is problematic. As we all look to limit global warming to 1.5C, we need to be working towards a technology framework which dramatically reduces power consumption. There have already been moves to reduce the environmental impact of these emerging financial technologies but, at present, there is not an ‘eco-friendly’ blockchain that we feel has really addressed the problem.  

We know that many crypto and NFT communities are genuinely interested in conservation and wildlife protection; therefore, there is clearly demand for an alternative approach.  We strongly encourage more innovation from the sector so that it can prosper in a sustainable way. The potential for blockchain technology is vast, as is the potential for fundraising, but the technology needs to be more aligned with our values before IAR can begin accepting crypto donations again.