There’s no shortage of unbelievable stories posted to Reddit on a daily basis, especially when many tall tales are debunked, but a Redditor and Bitcoin investor turning his fortune into a philanthropic fund is very real.
Last week, Reddit user “Pine” stopped into r/Bitcoin to announce that Bitcoin’s meteoric rise had made him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, and with that wealth came the realization that he also had more money he could ever possibly spend. So, he created the Pineapple Fund, featuring the motto: “Because once you have enough money, money doesn’t matter.”
Pine has committed $86 million (at the time) worth of Bitcoin to charity, taking suggestions from commenters on worthy causes. Thus far, he’s transferred $7 million worth of Bitcoin to nine charities, with Pine himself explaining where his first $3.5 million went:
Donated $1 million to Watsi, an impressively innovative charity building technology to finance universal healthcare.
Donated $1 million to The Water Project, a charity providing sustainable water projects to suffering communities in Africa.
Donating $1 million to the EFF, defending rights and privacy of internet users, fighting for net neutrality, and far far more.
Donated $500k to BitGive Foundation, a charity building projects that leverage bitcoin and blockchain technology for global philanthropy.
Thanks to the suggestions of multiple Redditors, Pine gave $1 million in Bitcoin to Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which studies the benefits of marijuana and psychedelics in combating PTSD. A few days after Pine made his donation, MAPS received another million dollars-worth of the cryptocurrency from an anonymous donor. Quartz has confirmed that MAPS has received the money.
In addition to the above projects, Pineapple Fund is donating to anti-aging research and still has over $70 million to donate. With Bitcoin’s latest dip from nearly $17,000 per Bitcoin to roughly around $12,000 per BTC as of this writing, it’s bringing about a whole new set of rooting interests for those interested in the obtuse currency. Considering the number of good deeds and heartwarming donations towards great causes over the crypto’s boom, here’s hoping the value keeps going up, and more philanthropists are made.