Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Partners with Engiven to Accept Crypto Donations – Cryptopolitan
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC is extending its ministry and support to 139 parishes and regional initiatives to help those in need by accepting cryptocurrency donations. These donations will be facilitated through Engiven, a corporate donation platform that uses blockchain technology to enable non-profit organizations to receive cryptocurrency donations. Engiven has already helped more than 400 faith-based groups accept crypto donations, including a $10 million Bitcoin donation, the largest single BTC donation ever recorded.
Archdiocese of Washington introduces cryptocurrency donations
Joseph Gillmer, executive director of development in the Archdiocese of Washington, noted that introducing cryptocurrency donations is intended to increase their ability to engage with parishioners and enable them to better carry out their mission. Engive’s cryptocurrency donation platform will be instrumental in this process, allowing donors to donate digital assets such as Bitcoin to over 300 parishes, schools and ministries in the Washington DC area – while enabling anonymous donations from individuals around the world. Despite this being part of a wider trend of acceptance of blockchain and cryptocurrency use in non-governmental organizations, the Vatican has yet to issue clear guidelines on the matter or officially recognize their use.
In November 2022, the first Catholic Crypto Conference was held in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. It brought together over 250 participants from diverse backgrounds, including theologians, philosophers, cryptocurrency advocates, and financial services professionals, to discuss and promote the relationship between Catholicism and cryptocurrencies. In addition, the conference explored the potential opportunities and risks associated with crypto-assets and how the Catholic Church should view blockchain technology and its uses beyond the financial industry, such as the secure storage of parish records.
Blockchain technology is an immutable, distributed ledger that can accurately store and track assets such as coins, documents or artifacts according to their origin. However, this can provide safe custody of church funds or documents, and help prevent fraud by maintaining accurate records of who has access to them and when.
In 2019, Pope Francis said, “a better world is possible through technology if it is accompanied by ethics and guided by a vision of the common good.” His sentiments emphasize how technological progress can be beneficial as long as it promotes the public welfare.
While the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is currently embracing technological development and cryptocurrencies, the United States is cracking down on crypto companies. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a Wells Notice to Paxos, which issues the BUSD stablecoin, claiming that it is an unregistered security.
