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UNICEF CryptoFund

UNICEF’s CryptoFund provides funding in cryptocurrency to startups developing open-source technology in emerging economies. Transfers made in ETH are recorded on Ethereum, where they can be independently verified and traced.

$4m+ equivalent invested since 2019, including 2,602 ETH and 5.82 BTC

Innovation finance · Global

Institutional context

UNICEF established the CryptoFund in 2019 to receive, hold, and provide funding in cryptocurrency. The fund opens an additional channel for donations, supports startups developing open-source technology in emerging economies, and gives UNICEF practical experience with emerging forms of digital finance. The aim was to improve the traceability of funding and support cross-border disbursement for technology benefiting children and young people.

System design

The CryptoFund operates within the UNICEF Innovation Fund, with startups selected through its existing assessment and due diligence processes. Contributions are held and disbursed to selected startups in the same cryptocurrency in which they were received, so UNICEF does not need to convert them into conventional currency first. This preserves a publicly traceable record of the transfers.

UNICEF also developed Juniper, a set of tools that helps staff monitor cryptocurrency holdings and makes donation and investment transactions easier for the public to review. These tools make transaction records more understandable to people without specialist blockchain knowledge.

In 2026, UNICEF added USDC as a funding option. USDC is a stablecoin designed to maintain a value close to the US dollar, helping make grant values more predictable.

Ethereum’s role

For funding provided in ETH, Ethereum processes the transfer and records the sending and receiving addresses, amount, time, and status. This gives UNICEF, recipients, funders, and others a shared transaction record they can independently check.

UNICEF remains responsible for custody, recipient selection, due diligence, agreements, accounting, compliance, and project reporting.

Status and milestones

  1. 2026

    UNICEF reported more than US$4 million equivalent invested through 2,602 ETH and 5.82 BTC, and announced support for USDC.

  2. December 2022

    A 2022 internal audit found the cryptocurrency disbursement controls adequate, and UNICEF approved the CryptoFund as an ongoing funding mechanism after its pilot phase.

  3. October 2020

    UNICEF reported 12 investments across eight countries during the fund's first year.

  4. June 2020

    Eight companies in seven countries each received 125 ETH. UNICEF reported completing the transfers in under 20 minutes, with transfer fees below US$20.

  5. October 2019

    UNICEF launched the first cryptocurrency-denominated fund within the United Nations.

Implementation considerations

Running a digital-asset fund requires secure ways to hold and manage the assets, clear legal and accounting procedures, trained staff, and recipients who can use or exchange the funds locally.

Cryptocurrency price changes can affect the purchasing power of a grant, though stablecoins such as USDC can make the value of funding more predictable.

Sources