Turning Bitcoin into Clean Water with Scott Harrison

 
 

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“People would say ‘okay I’m never giving you bitcoin if you’re going to turn it into this cash trash, but if you’re willing to hold it, I’d give it to you now...’ we said we’re going to call it the Bitcoin Water Trust... and we’re going to hold it all until at least 2025.”
— Scott Harrison

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Remotely
Date: Monday 18th October
Project: Charity: Water
Role: Founder & CEO

Non-profit organisations have used Bitcoin to accept donations for a long time. One of the most notable examples of this was Wikileaks in 2011. When Paypal, Mastercard and Visa, refused to accept donations due to political pressure, Wikileaks looked to Bitcoin as a permissionless and censorship-resistant alternative.

Not only did this allow them to continue accepting donations, but they gained immensely from Bitcoin's astronomical price rise since then.

Charity: Water is a charity battling the global water crisis with the mission to bring clean water to every person living without it. They have accepted Bitcoin donations since 2014, but until now, they have almost instantly converted to fiat currencies, missing out on the price appreciation.

However, they have now set up a Bitcoin trust with the goal of collecting as many Bitcoin donations as possible. Ideally, this allows the trust to appreciate in value and in 2025, when they start putting the Bitcoin to work; they can hopefully help a much larger number of people.

In this interview, I talk to the Founder and CEO of Charity: Water, Scott Harrison. We discuss his journey from nightclub promoter to founding the charity, their goal to bring clean water to every person living without it, and the role Bitcoin plays in this.

TIMESTAMPS

00:02:52: Introductions
00:10:41: Charity: water
00:13:01: Bitcoin donations
00:17:03: Details about the water projects
00:22:18: Sickness from contaminated water
00:25:08: The cost of the solution
00:26:52: The toll on life
00:31:42: Ethiopia
00:35:16: Targeting the right projects
00:39:49: Drilling and different types of wells
00:43:39: Scott's story
00:52:13: How Charity: water is impacting people's lives
00:57:48: The economics behind the charity
01:04:23: The charity's Bitcoin Trust
01:08:03: Final comments

 

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SHOW NOTES

PodcastPeter McCormack