Progressive International, a global organization supporting progressive left activists and regulators, is moving to cryptocurrencies in response to the debanking of major payment companies and banks.
On Monday, the organization took to Twitter to announce that it is now accepting donations in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) to protect itself from attempts to exclude it from the global financial system.
A spokesman for Progressive International told Cointelegraph that Dutch bank ING and payment giant PayPal blocked the organization’s donations as well as their solidarity campaign with Cuba to help people get vaccinated against COVID-19. According to a spokesperson, ING and PayPal worked “to support the US ban.”
The vaccination campaign, announced last month, aims to draw attention to the Cuban government’s progress in developing COVID-19 vaccines and host a panel of experts to showcase their efforts.
“Progressive International relies on small donations from the public to fund our work,” the spokesperson said, adding:
As a safeguard against attempts to exclude us from the international financial system, we now also accept donations in cryptocurrencies as well as fiat currencies. We are grateful for the donations we have received in cryptocurrencies. ”
The spokesperson also said that this is the first time the organization is allowing donations in cryptocurrencies. “We plan to continue accepting donations in crypto to support our work, including but not limited to Cuba, and may expand to other currencies as needed,” the person said.
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The spokesperson said the organization will soon update its website to include information about donations in cryptocurrencies.
At the time of writing, Progressive International has announced on Twitter that a total of 0.008 BTC ($307) has been raised to a BTC wallet address and 0.715 ETH ($1979) to an ETH wallet address.
