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Cryptocurrency & Conservation: A New Approach 

Rescuing apes and monkeys is complex, expensive work. Significant support from the cryptocurrency community will help.

By Gregg Tully

We have some big news to share. For the last few months, we’ve been in conversations with a cryptocurrency called FEG Token. FEG stands for “feed every gorilla.” They are now an official PASA sponsor and have made a $1.1 million dollar pledge to us, in the cryptocurrency.

I’m excited about this for several reasons, some obvious, some perhaps less so. If going through the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it’s that as an Alliance, it’s time to diversify our finances. The pandemic hit our members hard, and through our traditional fundraising methods, we are proud to say that we raised over $330,000 in emergency support, an amazing achievement. For comparison’s sake, in a “regular” year, we would normally provide about $20,000 in emergency grants.

At the same time, the pandemic did not slow down the threats to primate survival in Africa. Wildlife crime continued. Logging and mining operations felled more forest habitat. And while, thankfully, we did not see a COVID-19 outbreak among the animals getting care from PASA members, disease is always a threat.

We came through this experience more committed than ever to working together to solve these big, challenging and interrelated threats. And this is where the FEG Token team comes in.

They approached us to become a beneficiary of their charitable giving, which is part of how their cryptocurrency works. They are holding the funds for us in a digital wallet, and we receive payouts in US dollars on a regular schedule. It’s a new addition to our financial mix, one we hope will help us stay strong, no matter what happens next.

“FEG stands for ‘feed every gorilla’,” said Collin Casey, the guy I’ve been working closely with on all of this. “So it was a natural for us to sponsor PASA. Their network of sanctuaries and caregivers have rescued thousands of apes and monkeys. We want to be part of that.”

We are excited about the possibilities this sponsorship unlocks and we’re incredibly grateful for the support. Several other cryptocurrency projects have contacted us, and we’re exploring how we can best work with them as well. We are also testing ways to take donations in crypto, for those who’d like to give that way. More to come on that.

Now, it’s time to get back to work. There’s a lot to do and no time to waste, and it’s going to take all of us working together to protect these remarkable animals for generations to come.

 

It’s going to take fresh thinking to protect gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and monkeys. 

A baby chimpanzee

FEG Token is an official sponsor of PASA.