SINGAPORE, May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Huobi Charity, the philanthropic arm and blockchain-based charity platform of Huobi Group, today announced a joint initiative with the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC), a non-profit international organization in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations. To support coronavirus relief efforts in South-South countries, Huobi has launched a 15-day charitable campaign in partnership with FCSSC to raise $143,000 USD in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Huobi Token (HT), Tether (USDT), and HUSD.

The new campaign comes as global confirmed coronavirus cases exceed 4 million. Many South-South countries, which refer to developing countries located primarily in the Southern Hemisphere across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, have especially vulnerable populations. The region's relatively fragile healthcare infrastructure poses a grave risk as the pandemic spreads, and rural areas have overloaded healthcare systems that are ill-equipped to deal with an influx of COVID-19 cases.

"The new coronavirus epidemic has become a global problem and needs to be addressed by all countries," stated Wu Zhong, Director General of FCSSC. "It is a beneficial attempt and exploration to apply blockchain technology to international public welfare cooperation and supervision."

By working with FCSSC, Huobi aims to provide much-needed medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPP) to frontline healthcare workers and residents in those countries with insufficient medical resources to fight against the pandemic. The charity campaign aims to raise enough funding to supply between 300,000 and 500,000 face masks to affected regions.

Huobi is leading global donation efforts on cross-border charity platform Bithelp. To kick off the charity campaign, Huobi has contributed 17,711 HT worth an estimated $69,000 USD—nearly half of the target raise. Over the next week, Huobi will leverage its network and blockchain community to help raise the remainder. FCSSC will provide operational and logistical support to ensure medical supplies are sent to the areas and regions with the highest need.

"The COVID-19 is an unprecedented health crisis that requires global collaboration across private and public sectors," said Ciara Sun, Head of Global Business at Huobi Group. "As a leading global digital asset and blockchain institution, we want to do our part and rally the crypto and blockchain community around a global cause that can help save thousands of lives."

The current campaign marks Huobi Charity's third initiative since its launch earlier this year. During the Wuhan outbreak in late January, Huobi committed $1.4 million USD to source and donate hundreds of thousands of medical masks, protective suits, oximeters, and other medical supplies to over 135 hospitals and community healthcare centers in affected areas. Last month, Huobi donated $50,000 USD in HT to the Indonesia-China Association of Economic, Social and Cultural Cooperation for the purchase and distribution of medical supplies to Indonesian hospitals.

About Huobi Group

Consisting of numerous upstream and downstream enterprises, Huobi Group is a leading global blockchain company. Established by Leon Li in 2013, the company's Huobi Global exchange accumulative turnover exceeds US $3 trillion. Huobi proudly provides safe, secure, and convenient cryptocurrency trading and asset management services to millions of users in 170+ countries.

About Finance Center for South-South Cooperation

Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC) is a non-profit international organization registered and founded in Hong Kong in April 2014. Since 2017, FCSSC has been in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations. FCSSC is a comprehensive international hub for governments, international organizations and the private sector to promote and help achieve sustainable development in countries from the Global South.

SOURCE Huobi Charity