Nepal Relief Fund Accepts Crypto Donations

A new initiative launched on September 4, 2026, allows cryptocurrency donations to be channeled directly into Nepal's Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund, following catastrophic flooding caused by a glacier collapse on August 26. Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal spearheaded the effort, creating a platform that accepts various digital tokens and converts them into Nepalese Rupees for the official relief fund. The initiative aims to enhance transparency and efficiency in disaster relief fundraising. Donors can contribute using cryptocurrencies, which are routed through Polygon's Open Money Stack. This infrastructure handles the conversion of incoming tokens into USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, on either the Ethereum or Polygon blockchain. All donations are directed to a public USDC wallet, which is auditable on-chain. The conversion of cryptocurrency to Nepalese Rupees and the subsequent transfer to the government's relief account are managed by Engage Nepal, a U.S.-based 501c3 organization led by former U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Scott DeLisi.