The growth of digital currencies has seen several organisations invest in their own versions of Bitcoin. Samsung’s Blockchain and Kodakcoin are but two examples. Religious groups are now also starting to embrace virtual currency along with blockchain technology. The migration towards this technology provides alternative financial payment options for congregants who want to contribute to their respective churches, while connecting them on a global scale. Below are some examples of how blockchain and cryptocurrency are being used by Christian organisations around the world.
Churches accept Bitcoin
The Church of St. John the Evangelist in the town of Goshen, New York State is thought to be the first Catholic church in the world to accept Bitcoin donations, as far back as 2013. Fern Creek United Methodist Church in Louisville, Kentucky is another big church accepting virtual currency. The ICF Zurich evangelical church in Switzerland has followed suit by accepting virtual offerings from parishioners in the form of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple and Stellar.
Christian-based Bitcoin
The faith-based financial education institution, Christian Traders developed its own bitcoin called CT Global Coin in 2017. The coin was created to provide additional financial options for unbanked congregants. The virtual coins are limited to a million units and are marketed to the global Christian community. Christ Coin, another faith-based cryptocurrency, aims to ‘revive hope’ and ‘repair lives’ by financially rewarding people for interacting with content and bible readings on the Life Change app. While Cathio cryptocurrency was created to encourage donations among the younger generations.
Use of blockchain
The Santo Tomas Church in the town of the same name in the Philippines partnered with the blockchain search engine OVCode to digitise its records. Church information is secured through the use of Microsoft Azure cloud technology and can be accessed instantaneously from anywhere, rather than by paging through the record books stored in the church. Catholic Blockchain , a platform for the Catholic community, has been developed to provide congregants around the world with an alternate payment systems for church contributions. The use of blockchain allows the Catholic church to store vital information such as marriage, baptism and death certificates and to connect with believers on a global scale.
By Khumo Theko
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Image source: David Shares AND Humphrey Muleba AND Christian Traders AND Pixabay
