| Goods |
Chris Larsen, who founded the San Francisco payments company Ripple, has donated cash and XRP — a virtual currency that Ripple holds a large stake in — to the foundation starting in 2013. “They were one of the first organizations to accept donations in digital assets,” he said in an email. “These donations have worked out well for both the Foundation and recipients” of the money, he said, adding that he will continue making donations through them.
Like most cryptocurrencies, XRP had a wild ride last year, rising from six-tenths of a cent on Jan. 1 to $2.32 on Dec. 31. It’s now trading around 44 cents.
In a 2014 article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on Larsen’s cryptocurrency donation, Mari Ellen Reynolds Loijens, the foundation’s former chief development officer, said, “You have to be fearless to work with someone like that and say, ‘OK, we’ve never done that before. I don’t even know if that’s legal.’” |