December 09, 2025
Leading crypto companies, with deep links to the Hong Kong SAR rally around survivors of the Tai Po blaze with more than US$ 8,900,000 in relief pledges
By Joe Pan
Top 10 crypto donors have pledged more than HK$6,900,000 (about US$ 8,900,000) for the relief of the Wang Fuk Court inferno. The group includes Binance, the worldâs largest crypto exchange, and Animoca Brands, the Hong Kongâheadquartered holding company behind more than 600 portfolio companies and organizations, as well as individual founders and the wider crypto community. The blaze is the deadliest in the cityâs history since 1948. The November 26 fire at the Tai Po estate has claimed at least 159 lives and injured 79, turning the housing complex into a symbol of systemic safety failures as investigators probe combustible materials, renovation practices and possible corruption.
| Rank | Company / Initiative | Donation (HK$) | (USD) approx. | Main Beneficiary Agencies |
| 1 | Bitget | 12,000,000 | 1,540,000 | Yan Chai Hospital; The Salvation Army Hong Kong; Po Leung Kuk |
| 2 | Avenir Group & charitable foundation | 10,000,000 | 1,280,000 | Emergency and community relief programs (unspecified) |
| 3 | Binance | 10,000,000 | 1,280,000 | Tai Po relief teams and NGOs (unspecified) |
| 4 | HashKey Group | 10,000,000 | 1,280,000 | Emergency response and resettlement efforts (unspecified) |
| 5 | HTX / TRONâlinked pledge | 10,000,000 | 1,280,000 | Rescue, resettlement and living assistance (unspecified) |
| 6 | Animoca Brands & crypto communities | 2,602,516.64 | 333,000 | Hong Kong Red Cross Tai Po Fire Emergency Appeal |
| 7 | BingX | ~5,000,000 | 642,000 | Hong Kong relief efforts (unspecified) |
| 8 | MEXC | ~5,000,000 | 642,000 | Hong Kong relief efforts (unspecified) |
| 9 | KuCoin | ~2,000,000 | 257,000 | Hong Kong relief efforts (unspecified) |
| 10 | Joint: Nano Labs, BitMart founder, ME Group CEO | 1,000,000 | 128,000 | Digital-currency donation to Tai Po relief (unspecified) |
| Total | 69,602,516 HKD | 8,970,000 USD |
Bitget sits at the top of the crypto donation league, wiring HK$12 million (US$1.54 million) through three established Hong Kong charities to support emergency care, temporary housing and long-term counseling for affected families. Bitget has provided a screenshot of their transaction record since Blockwind Newsâ last report on their pledge.
In a Q&A with Blockwind News, Bitget confirmed that its entire HK$12 million relief package has already been wired to Yan Chai Hospital, The Salvation Army Hong Kong and Po Leung Kuk, with receipts and tax references in place for all three transfers. Yan Chai Hospital received HK$5 million (US$640,000) for emergency medical services and rehabilitation; The Salvation Army and Po Leung Kuk each received HK$3.5 million (about US$450,000) for financial assistance, temporary housing, basic necessities, psychological counseling and long-term case work.
Bitget declined to disclose how many staff it has in Hong Kong, noting Asia as a key market and the tragedy has âdeeply affected people close to our communityâ, and that the relief fund is part of a wider effort to provide help âquietly and respectfullyâ to those who need it.
Gracy Chen, Bitgetâs chief executive, said the company sees the disaster as a moment for large platforms to behave less like speculative casinos and more like âa new kind of âbig fourââ bearing real-world responsibilities. âOur hope with this relief fund is to give real, immediate support to families in Hong Kong who are going through something no one should ever have to experience,â she said, adding that Hong Kong is home to many of Bitgetâs users, partners and colleagues and that the firm intends to keep stepping up when crises strike.
Tied for second place at HK$10 million (US$1.28 million) each are Avenir Group and its charitable foundation, HashKey Group, Binance and HTX’s TRON-linked pledge, each mobilizing relief funds through Hong Kong’s emergency response and resettlement networks. The four firms represent a mix of regional crypto heavyweights and Web3 ecosystem players with established ties to the Hong Kong market, underscoring how the city’s digital-asset sector moved in concert when the disaster struck.
Further down the list, Hong Kongâheadquartered Animoca Brands and its global Web3 community The company said a total of HK$2,602,516.64 was raised and donated to the Hong Kong Red Cross, with roughly HK$869,067.70 â around one-third of the total â contributed by global crypto users via dedicated wallets on EVM-compatible and Solana chains.
âAs a Hong Kong-headquartered company, we were heartbroken by the tragedy in Tai Po,â Yat Siu, Animocaâs co-founder and executive chairman, said, noting that the firm deliberately called on its worldwide digital asset community to join in supporting relief efforts, resulting in an âimmediate and generousâ response that helped raise more than HK$2.6 million for critical aid to those affected. Siu, in a statement announcing the close of the donation campaign, added that âour donation period for the Tai Po fire has concluded, however, for the next several days we will keep monitoring the wallets for any late contributions and continue to donate any proceeds to the Red Cross.â
Platforms such as BingX, MEXC and KuCoin also committed seven-figure sums, helping to push disclosed crypto and Web3-related donations from the top 10 firms past HK$69 million (around US$8.9 million), on top of hundreds of millions pledged by banks, insurers and traditional corporates.
For crypto firms that have been courting Hong Kong as a prospective Web3 hub, the response has doubled as a public test of whether âfast moneyâ can meaningfully translate into fast, accountable relief. Survivors and advocates say the true measure will be whether these high-profile pledges translate into sustained support over months and years, rather than a brief spike in generosity that fades once markets move on.
About the Author
Joe Pan is an editor and producer at Blockwind News. An early adopter of blockchain technology, he has covered major crypto conferences globally since 2019 and moderated Web3 events across Asia. Joe is part of the founding team of Blockwind News and teaches Asiaâs first Master of Journalism course on âCovering Cryptocurrency and Blockchainâ at Hong Kong Baptist University.
