Giving Cryptocurrency

The IEEE Foundation currently accept more than 100 cryptocurrencies, including:

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), 0x (ZRX), 1inch (1INCH), Aave (AAVE), Alchemix (MIST), Amp (AMP), Ankr (ANKR), ApeCoin (APE), API3 (API3), Audius (AUDIO), Avalanche (AVAX), Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), Balancer (BAL), Bancor Network Token (BNT), BarnBridge (BOND), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Binance USD (BUSD), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bonfida (FIDA), ChainLink (LINK), Chiliz (CHZ), Civic (CVC), Compound (COMP), Curve Dao Token (CRV), Dai (DAI), Decentraland (MANA), DeFi Pulse Index (DPI), Dogecoin (DOGE), Dogelon Mars (ELON), Enjin Coin (ENJ), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Eulder Finance (EUL), Fantom (FTM), Fetch.ai (FET), Filecoin (FIL), Gala (GALA), Galxe (GAL), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Injective (INJ), Keep3r (KP3R), Kyber Network (KNC), Lido (LDO), Liquity (LQTY), Liquity USD (LUSD), Litecoin (LTC), Livepeer (LPT), Loopring (LRC), Magic Internet Money (MIM), Maker (MKR), Maple Finance (MPL), Mask Network (MASK), Merit Circle (MC), Metis (METIS), Moss Carbon Credit (MCO2), Numeraire (NMR), Orchid (OXT), PAX Gold (PAXG), Polkadot (DOT), Polygon (MATIC), Qredo (QRDO), Quant (QNT), Radicle (RAD), Rally (RLY), Raydium (RAY), Ren (REN), Render Token (RNDR), REVV (REVV), Saber (SBR), Samoyecoin (SAMO), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Skale (SKL), Smooth Love Potion (SLP), Solana (SOL), Somnium Space (CUBE), Spell Token (SPELL), STEPN (GMT), Storj (STORJ), SushiSwap (SUSHI), Synthetix (SNX), Tezos (XTZ), The Graph (GRT), The Sandbox (SAND), Tune.FM (JAM), UMA (UMA), Uniswap (UNI), USD Coin (USD), Wrapped Centrifuge (WCFG), Yearn.finance (YFI), Zcash (ZEC), Zebec Protocol (ZBC)

We are continually in the process of adding support for new cryptocurrencies, so please check back soon for more giving options.

If you don’t see a cryptocurrency you would like to donate in, please fill out this form to be connected with our Crypto Philanthropy partners at The Giving Block.

Yes! Crypto donations are one of the most tax-efficient ways to give to charity. Your crypto donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law if you pay taxes in the U.S. By making a charitable gift, you may also be eligible to significantly reduce what you would otherwise owe in capital gains taxes. 

As with any tax-related questions, be sure to consult with a qualified, professional tax advisor.

According to US IRS guidelines, the fair market value of the cryptocurrency is determined as of the date and time the transaction is recorded on the distributed ledger, or would have been recorded on the ledger if it had been an on-chain transaction. The IRS will accept as evidence of fair market value the value as determined by a cryptocurrency or blockchain explorer that analyzes worldwide indices of a cryptocurrency and calculates the value of the cryptocurrency at an exact date and time. If you do not use an explorer value, you must establish that the value you used is an accurate representation of the cryptocurrency’s fair market value.

If a cryptocurrency is not traded on any cryptocurrency exchange and does not have a published value, then the fair market value of the cryptocurrency received is equal to the fair market value of the property or services exchanged for the cryptocurrency when the transaction occurs.

Cryptocurrency gifts of $500 or more require the donor to file a Form 8283 with the IRS and when the gift is in excess of $5,000 or more, a qualified appraisal is required for submission with the 8283. 

If you have questions on valuing a cryptocurrency gift, we highly recommend you consult with your own tax advisor.

Learn more about Virtual Currency Transactions on the US IRS FAQ website

Individuals, partnerships, and corporations use IRS Form 8283 to report information to the IRS about noncash charitable contributions when the amount of their contribution for all noncash gifts is more than $500. 

For donors giving between US$500-4,999.99 in value, you are required to file IRS Form 8283. If you need more assistance, please contact a professional tax advisor.

For donors giving the equivalent of US$5,000 or more in value, The Giving Block will automatically distribute an IRS Form 8283 pre-filled for U.S. tax filings. If you need the document signed by an IEEE Foundation representative, please reach out to donate@ieee.org.

While we are happy to honor requests for anonymity outwardly, the IEEE Foundation requires that all donors identify themselves when making a charitable gift.

All cryptocurrency gifts to the IEEE Foundation are automatically sold and converted to USD. The funds are then held in USD in an FDIC insured account at the Gemini Trust Company, LLC until they are transferred to the IEEE Foundation bank account. The transfer occurs about once per week.

No, the IEEE Foundation invests donated funds into impactful IEEE programs, not cryptocurrency or crypto exchanges. In addition, we do not create and/or market a cryptocurrency coin or exchange.

The Foundation’s investment assets are commingled and broken down into two pools: short-term and long-term. The short-term pool is invested only in secure short-term instruments focused on preservation and availability of cash. The long-term pool is diversified and invested in a conservative fashion to satisfy the primary objective of preservation of capital with the secondary objective of maximizing the total returns on investment assets.

The IEEE Foundation invests its long-term investment pool primarily in the IEEE Long Term Investment Fund. The Long Term Investment Fund is invested in an asset allocation mix approved by the IEEE Board of Directors - based on the recommendation of the IEEE Investment Committee. IEEE staff monitors external manager compliance with the investment guidelines, including asset mix ranges.

More information on how IEEE Foundation Funds are invested and held can be found in the IEEE Foundation Investment Operations Manual. 

The Giving Block is used by a variety of reputable nonprofit organizations, including; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, American Cancer Society, University of Arizona Foundation, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and many others. You can learn more about cryptocurrency giving through their blog.

Learn more about the Giving Block through their website: https://thegivingblock.com. The Giving Block’s parent company, Shift4 is a publicly traded company. More information can be found on their website: https://www.shift4.com/

The Gemini Trust Company, LLC is a fiduciary and qualified custodian under the New York Banking Law and is licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The NYDFS imposes certain excess capital requirements for all assets held on Gemini. At any given time, Gemini is required to hold capital in excess of customer deposits and must report any material changes in this capital to the NYDFS. More information can be found in the Gemini Trust Center. 

FTX Trading Ltd. (commonly known as FTX) operated a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund.

Thank you for your interest in supporting the IEEE Foundation. To contact us about making a crypto donation, please send us an email at donate@ieee.org with the subject line, “Crypto Donation.”