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Two of the biggest names in fintech, Stripe and Circle, made big moves this week that say a lot about where blockchain is headed. Both announced they are building their own Layer 1 blockchains: Stripe’s “Tempo” (in stealth with Paradigm) and Circle’s “Arc.” Each is designed for payments, with a stablecoin baked in at the protocol level, giving the companies full-stack control from issuing the coin, to custody, to running the rails it moves on.
For the humanitarian and impact space, this moment is telling. When companies of this scale decide the base layer is worth building, blockchain in payments is no longer a side experiment. It has become a core strategy. That could mean faster settlement, lower transaction costs, and the ability to move funds across borders at scale, which in theory could transform how aid is disbursed, remittances are sent, or crisis response is coordinated. But it also sharpens the question of who controls the rails. A corporate-owned chain may deliver speed and compliance, but it is not censorship-resistant. In politically sensitive contexts, that distinction matters.
We are seeing the internet of money split into two clear camps: infinite censorship resistance or zero censorship resistance. Corporate L1s like these are choosing the latter. Ethereum and the rollups that derive their security from it own the former. That choice is not just philosophical; it will shape what is possible for NGOs, grassroots groups, and vulnerable communities in the years ahead. The question is whether the future of payments will be built on open, permissionless infrastructure anyone can use, or whether access will depend on permission from whoever runs the chain.
Reminder: we are building the future internet. We can choose to build in freedom, openness, and impact from the start.
WAGMI (we are going to make an impact!)
What’s Inside
📣 Latest News
📚 What We’re Thinking About
🔈 Podcasts & Spaces
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
🎪 Events
📡 On Our Radar
📣 Latest News
Celo Public Goods Season 1 funding proposal passes with 96% community support
HoneyCoin Raises $4.9M to Transform Stablecoin-Powered Payments Across Africa and Global Markets
DeFi Education Fund launches nonprofit that accepts tax-deductible donations
Harvard pours $117m into Bitcoin ETF, topping its stakes in Google and Nvidia
Global Policy, Regulation, and Adoption News
Morocco's central bank explores digital currency cross-border payments
US Will Not Be Purchasing Any Bitcoin, Treasury Secretary Bessent Says
Stablecoin News
Reports & Project Updates
The August Edition of the Crypto Altruists Newsletter - Crypto Altruists
The 2025 Stablecoin Playbook - Dynamic
Human Rights and Financial Freedom: Bitcoin’s Impact in Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos - Bitcoin Policy Institute
📚 What We’re Thinking About
🔥 Ethereum
It’s having a moment (finally). As of writing, ETH is inching closer to its all-time high as institutional money pours in, transaction activity spikes, and the Pectra upgrade delivers performance gains that finally feel real (Cointelegraph, MarketWatch). The result? A perfect storm of optimism and momentum At the heart of the surge: spot Ethereum ETFs saw massive inflows—over $2.3 billion in just six days—and U.S. investors poured in another $729 million on Wednesday alone.
While many watch the markets, Ethereum’s visionary founder Vitalik Buterin is in the (crypto world) spotlight again, publishing not one, but two essays this week ("I support it only if it's open source" should be a more common viewpoint and On idea-driven ideas) and reminding us Ethereum isn’t just a protocol, it's a thinking machine. His writing is a call to arms: Ethereum stands for ideation, community, and future-facing openness. When Vitalik speaks, the web3 world takes action. Ethereum is more than a software layer; it’s a philosophy in motion. As its price climbs and attention sharpens, Vitalik’s essays offer clarity on why Ethereum thrives: because it’s open, reflective, and refuses absolutes. For the Web3 ethos, especially in sectors like humanitarian or public-interest tech, that foundation isn’t optional. It’s the difference between infrastructure that serves all, and tools that serve a few.
🌊 Crypto joined TeamWater, the $40M clean water drive
One of the biggest creator-led fundraising campaigns ever is underway, with MrBeast, Mark Rober, and global nonprofit WaterAid teaming up to raise $40 million in just one month to bring clean water to 2 million people across five continents. Donors can contribute in cryptocurrency or mobilize their communities to fundraise through Tiltify. Every contribution supports long-term, community-led water solutions backed by WaterAid’s 40 years of expertise. The crypto community is stepping up as a driving force in this global push for clean water (#TEAMWATER)
🔗 Onchain FX
Foreign exchange is the largest market in the world with over $7.5 trillion traded daily, yet it still runs on slow, opaque, and costly infrastructure. Finally, onchain FX is breaking out of niche DeFi circles and into mainstream focus (LAVA Writing)Putting FX onchain could set up credibly neutral markets where no one can collude to fix rates, ensuring fair execution regardless of sophistication (@yosephayele). For the humanitarian sector, the implications are big. On-chain FX could mean faster and cheaper cross-border transfers, transparent and tamper-proof rates in politically sensitive environments, and easier local currency access for aid recipients without relying on intermediaries that can block or delay funds. The rails for borderless, always-on, and more equitable currency exchange are being laid right now. The question is how quickly global aid infrastructure will start using them.
👤 ZKPs
Two weeks ago, we covered big news in zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) (Web3forGood). Things are not slowing down, and the number of use cases keeps growing. This week, Billions + ChainCode Consulting LLP promoted how ZKPs could be used to stop welfare fraud, “ensuring benefits reach the right citizens: securely, privately, and even without internet” (Billions Network). Even TikTok is using ZKPs (TikTok for developers).
The need for trustless attestation is only getting more urgent. As more countries roll out age verification laws for digital platforms, current age verification methods like ID uploads, manual checks, facial scans remain clunky, invasive, and often ineffective (The Verge). And as AI becomes more prevalent, it's becoming increasingly harder to detect what is human vs what is bot. ZKPs flip that script by making it possible to prove “I am over 18” or “I am a unique human” without handing over an entire identity file. From proof-of-humanity to age verification to secure computing, the throughline is clear: ZK is evolving from a crypto-native privacy tool into mainstream critical infrastructure for trust on the internet.
🗽 The freedom to code
Last week we wrote about the Roman Storm verdict and the chilling precedent it could set for open-source developers (Web3forGood). This week brought another reminder of how fragile that freedom can be when an Ethereum dev was briefly detained in Turkey under unclear circumstances before being released, later donating $500K to Storm’s defense (CryptoSlate, The Defiant).
The right to write and publish code underpins everything from privacy protocols to humanitarian payments infrastructure. When developers fear legal risk simply for creating tools, the internet’s open, permissionless foundation starts to crack. Whether in a Manhattan courtroom or a Turkish holding cell, the stakes are the same: without the freedom to code, there is no freedom to build.
Plus:
🛠️ From Laws to Ledgers: Why Protocols—Not Policy—Must Tame Self-Sovereign AI. “If the governance terrain will not yield, the strategy must. We argue that governance must move inside the substrate—what Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin calls “protocol science.” Instead of policies that sit above the network, we need constraints below the application layer, enforced automatically and economically rather than administratively.” (Decentralization Research Center)
🔍 AI will soon be able to audit all published research – what will that mean for public trust in science? “A more humble and honest portrayal of the scientist as a contributor to a collective, evolving understanding will be more robust to AI-driven scrutiny than the myth of science as a parade of individual breakthroughs.” (The Conversation)
🌐 The interplay between loyalty and legitimacy in blockchain-based metaverses: the case of Decentraland. “Drawing on a qualitative case study of Decentraland, we find that legitimacy and loyalty seem to exhibit a bidirectional, mutually reinforcing relationship which changes depending on the type of user in question and is significantly shaped by an individual's economic self-interest.” (Information, Communication & Society)
🎓 Africa Leads in Crypto Payments for Education – BitGet Wallet July 2025 Onchain Report. “Africa is not just adopting crypto; it’s redefining how digital assets are used to solve practical challenges like costly remittances, lack of banking infrastructure, and access to quality education.” (BitKE)
⚖️ The GENIUS Act is designed to regulate stablecoins in the US, but how will it work? “While the GENIUS Act is a step forward in creating regulatory clarity, there is more progress to be made. Here are three recommendations to ensure consistent and thorough stablecoin regulation around the world…” (World Economic Forum)
🤝 How Stablecoins Could Offer New Opportunities for U.S. Foreign Assistance. “This shift from control to trust has profound implications for the aid sector. ‘The assumption has always been that poor people don’t know what they need. But they do know. They just lack the means.” (Better World Campaign)
🔈 Watch & Listen
Crypto Altruists Podcast - Episode 215 - Onchain Foundation - Tokenization Beyond Finance: How Web3 is Powering Impact and Innovation in Emerging Markets
Crypto Altruists Growing Good on Solana - Episode 1 - Somos Axolotl - How a Solana Validator and Web3-Native Tools are Powering Real-World Conservation
@owocki - A vision for Gitcoin 3.3, exploring how Ethereum’s biggest problems can be solved with smarter, faster, and more pluralistic funding systems.
MetaMedia - Built on Ethereum: The Documentary (2025)
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
Apply: The Ethereum Foundation is hiring a DeFi Protocol Specialist.
Apply: Stripe is hiring a Product Communications: crypto and emerging payments products.
Learn: Kernel is a peer-to-peer learning community for technologists, researchers, builders, and artists shaping the future of the web. KB11 will bring together ~50 fellows to go deep on a clear research or product focus. (We are both Kernel fellows and are happy to share our experiences, if you have any questions about applying).
Incubate: The Blockchain for Good Alliance Incubation Program supports projects leveraging blockchain technology to solve real-world problems by offering expertise, resources, branding, and market support. Autumn 2025 Cohort applications close August 15 -- TODAY.
Build: The Funding the Commons 2025 Builder Residency is a three-week immersive program designed to support collaboration and experimentation in the public goods and blockchain space.
Reside: Edge City Patagonia Regen Haus Residency is a month-long immersive experience running from October 18 - November 15. “This is an open invitation to anyone in the ReFi community — and to those who feel called to explore and get more involved in the movement — to collaborate on shaping it's future through living, learning, and building together in Patagonia.”
Stay: Sterling with Added Value Agency is planning a retreat alongside Devconnect for women who want more out of their conference experience. Learn more and register interest here.
Build: Celo Proof-of-Ship is a monthly contest that rewards builders for actively building on Celo. Proof of Ship 7 is running now until August 29.
Accelerate: Celo Camp offers funding, mentorship, and hands-on support to help you launch & scale your project. Top teams will share an investment pool of $100k. Applications for Celo Camp Batch 10 close TODAY (August 15)
Create: “This is blockchain, for good” is a global UGC campaign powered by Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) and Bybit, inviting students and young creators from across the world to explore how blockchain can drive positive change.
Partner: Bitcoin DADA is looking for bitcoin wallet partners – hardware or software & offramps– to join them in empowering new users, showcasing your wallet, and driving adoption in three key markets.
Funding: Octant Epoch 9 will fund Ethereum Stories, “the journalists, storytellers, content creators, and researchers who’ve helped make Ethereum legible, credible, and engaging to audiences.” Application deadline is August 27.
Incubate: The Blockchain for Good Alliance Incubation Program supports projects leveraging blockchain technology to solve real-world problems by offering expertise, resources, branding, and market support. Autumn 2025 Cohort applications close August 15.
Learn: Kernel is a peer-to-peer learning community for technologists, researchers, builders, and artists shaping the future of the web. KB11 will bring together ~50 fellows to go deep on a clear research or product focus. (We are both Kernel fellows and are happy to share our experiences, if you have any questions about applying).
🎪 Events
🆕= New to the roundup this week
Virtual
2025 Grant Summit by Metagov is happening August 20-21.
The Future of Digital Finance: Emerging opportunities in India, in China and on the African continent is happening September 24-25.
IRL
ETHGlobal New York 2025 is happening August 15-17 in NYC.
DWeb Weekend 2025 is happening August 16-17 in San Francisco. 🆕
Stellar Development Foundation and Friends with Benefits are hosting a private dinner on August 28th in San Francisco. 🆕
ETHAccra is happening September 3-6 in Accra. 🆕
ETHSafari 2025 is happening September 7-14 in Nairobi.
Edge City Bhutan is happening September 14-21 in Paro, Gelephu, Thimphu, and other locations in Bhutan.
PGP* for Crypto Briefings and Roundtable Discussion is happening September 17 in DC. 🆕
Africa Money & DeFi Summit West Africa is happening September 24-25 in Accra, Ghana.
BTC in D.C. is happening September 30 - October 1 in DC. 🆕
The Aptos Experience is happening October 15-16 in NYC.
Progress Conference 2025 is happening October 16-19 in Berkeley.
FIL Dev Summit 7 @ DevConnect is happening November 13 in Argentina.
Devconnect 2025 is happening November 17-22 in Argentina.
ETHBoulder is coming in 2026…
Recurring
Monthly Earth Day is a global event that happens on the 22nd every month, not just once a year. Get involved on August 22 and 🚨 check out the movement’s brand new website 🚨.
Hosting an event that you’d like to see listed? Reply here or send us a DM.
📡 On Our Radar
dClimate Labs is building the world’s first commercial AI-powered digital twin of Earth—EarthOS—a planetary intelligence system designed to power actionable, real-time climate insights across nature, agriculture, and asset risk.
Celo Sepolia is Celo’s New Ethereum L2 Testnet.
BiomeAI is an AI health companion (in very early stage development).
Payy is a stablecoin-native banking platform with unrivaled privacy.
✨ And One Two More Thing(s)
Vibe Coding for Human Rights 101
Join HRF’s AI for Individual Rights technical lead Justin Moon, HRF chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein, and HRF freedom fellowship director Jhanisse Vaca Daza as they vibe code a website in a matter of minutes using Replit (aka, build a website entirely using AI tools, no coding experience required). See the website draft they vibe-coded in minutes: https://hrf-freedom-fellows.replit.app/.