On March 28, 2025, one of the most severe earthquakes of the 21st century devastated Myanmar (Burma).
The death toll from the 7.7 magnitude tremor is now over 3,600, while more than 5,500 have been injured and 17.2 million are currently living in the affected areas.
To make matters worse, the country is under military rule and the leaders of the junta are both restricting humanitarian aid from reaching some of the most affected areas of the country and bombing war-torn regions of the country to which some of the survivors have fled.
Win Ko Ko Aung, a Burmese refugee who now lives in the U.S. and works for the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) as part of its Global Bitcoin Adoption team (and who is also a contributor to Bitcoin Magazine) explained to me that the situation in his home country is dire.
“High corruption and extremely strict control are not allowing a huge fraction of traditional aid to reach people on the ground,” Aung told me in an email.
Aung also commented that many of the traditional financial rails for getting funds into the country are barely functioning, as many of the physical banks in the region have been destroyed by the earthquake.
Donate Bitcoin Via Geyser Fund
Aung has set up a Geyser Fund page to raise funds in the form of bitcoin for the victims of the earthquake who’ve survived. (Please note that while Aung works with the HRF, this fundraising effort is independent of that work.)
As someone who calls Aung a friend and considers him trustworthy, I’m asking you to please donate to this effort.
To paraphrase what Aung has told me, Bitcoin is currently one of the only ways to get the money or assistance from the West to the victims.
Aung is working with partners on the ground, including vetted community members, digital rights activists, and a reputable foundation based in Thailand that operates in Myanmar (I cannot disclose the name of this foundation as it has asked Aung not to publicly mention their involvement so as to not draw the attention of Myanmar’s government) who is converting the bitcoin into the local currency to purchase food for the victims.
What Your Donations Provide
Aung also provided specifics regarding the amount of food that certain donation amounts can provide:
- 21,000 sats (~$17) covers 25 meals
- 210,000 sats (~$170) covers 250 meals, about three weeks of food for a family of four
Aung and his partner have used the almost 2 million sats that have been donated thus far to purchase food for those in need.
Please donate what you can to this very worthwhile effort, which is being run by a Bitcoiner and which is helping some of the most vulnerable people on the planet right now.
