More often than not you will see major news sites covering Bitcoin as some form of criminal Arcadia. They are quick to point a finger at things like Silk Road, Bitcoin being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, drug dealings and what not.
And sure, they would be right to do so, if that was all that Bitcoin is good for.
Five days ago a post titled “I am donating 5057 BTC to charitable causes! Introducing The Pineapple Fund” popped up on the Bitcoin subreddit, and instantly caught on fire with more 2875 comments and 19k+ karma in five days!
A Redditor that identifies himself as Pine wrote:
“Today, I see $17,539 per BTC. I still don't believe reality sometimes. Bitcoin has changed my life, and I have far more money than I can ever spend. My aims, goals, and motivations in life have nothing to do with having XX million or being the mega rich. So I am doing something else: donating the majority of my bitcoins to charitable causes. I am calling it 🍍 The Pineapple Fund. Yes, donating ~$86 million worth of bitcoins to charities :)”- Pine
Naturally, the first two questions that pop into your mind are: Is this a scam? Also, why call it “The Pineapple Fund”?
The answer to the first question is no, this is definitely not a scam – and there’s plenty of evidence to prove it. And as for the second question, as Pine himself put it:
“I like pineapple. The only bad thing about pineapple is you cannot eat too much :(”- Pine
Some charities were ecstatic to confirm that they did, in fact, receive hefty sums of Bitcoin donations from the Pineapple Fund!
Here are some of them:
- The Water Project, a non-profit organisation that’s been working for 10 years helping communities in Africa gain access to clean and safe water;
- Watsi, a non-profit organization building technology to finance universal healthcare by crowdfunding;
- MAPS, a non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies;
- SENS, a public charity research foundation doing work mainly in age-related disease;
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit founded in 1990 dedicated to defending civil liberties in the digital world;
- Charity: water, a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.
All of these organisations got $1.000.000 each, and it seems like there’s more to come! In case you don’t take their word for it, you can see the transactions on the Blockchain for yourself.
So who is this mysterious hero?
Well, except for the fact that he is a Redditor that got into Bitcoin in the early days when the Bitcoin price was very close to $0, he hodld, and he loves pineapples, we don’t seem to know anything more about him! In a recent interview Pine gave to BitcoinMagazine, he said “I prefer keeping my identity a mystery. The Pineapple Project is not about publicity. In fact, zero people in my life know that I am behind it. It is better for people to think you are well off than super-rich.”
Besides, does it really matter who he is? There’s a greater lesson to be learned here, and it was hinted by Satoshi’s entry in the Genesis block “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”; what was once imagined as a tool, a disruptive technology, a symbol of rebellion against the greed of Wall Street, is now turning into a speculative commodity settled in cash. And the pineapple-loving hero is mad about it.
How to apply for donations?
If you are an individual you do not, so don’t bother sending emails.
If your organization is registered as a nonprofit in your country, and it is well recognized and transparent, you may apply via this three-page form on the PineappleFund website.
Featured image by Chelsea Hendrickson