The Los Angeles wildfire incident caused damage to some crypto companies and user wallets, and prediction market-related bets were controversial

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

On January 8, local time, serious wildfires broke out in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, burning thousands of homes and over 10,000 hectares. So far, the fires have burned more than 15,000 acres of land, forcing nearly 180,000 residents to evacuate, and another 200,000 people have received evacuation orders.

The rapidly spreading fires not only threaten millions of California residents, but also several cryptocurrency companies and members of the crypto community. In fact, many people have already lost their homes and belongings, including hardware wallets.

Southern California Cryptocurrency Companies and Users Suffer

The wildfire has burned more than 15,000 acres of land in Southern California, including major areas such as Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Pasadena. In addition to residential properties, several cryptocurrency companies have also been affected.

The Santa Monica Bitcoin office staff is located just south of the raging Palisades and Sunset fires. Several Swan Bitcoin staff members who host the Pacific Bitcoin Conference in Santa Monica are also located just south of the fires.

Blockchain service provider BlockDaemon is headquartered in Los Angeles, as is another crypto game developer SuperVerse. Blockchain-based ID and tokenization company Spring Labs is headquartered in nearby Marina del Ray. The companies reported significant losses, including the destruction of hardware wallets containing cryptocurrency assets.

Some companies are luckier. So far, the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, a cultural landmark in Los Angeles, has not caught fire. Crypto entertainment venues DaBank (Hawthorne) and Jungla (North Hollywood) have also been spared from the wildfires.

But the wildfires affected not only crypto companies, but also cryptocurrency users, and some residents lost their crypto wallets in the wildfires. Crypto KOL Monty said on the X platform that her 70-year-old aunt lost her apartment in the Los Angeles fire. Most of her savings were in cryptocurrencies, but she lost her wallet and mnemonics, and there was no backup. According to comments, her wallet mainly contained Bitcoin.

Nonprofits are accepting cryptocurrency donations

To provide aid to those involved, some charities and nonprofits providing local assistance are accepting cryptocurrency and stock donations.

The Giving Block, a cryptocurrency donation platform, has launched an “Emergency Response Fundraiser” to donate to nonprofits actively assisting in Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts. The fundraiser allows the public to choose from seven nonprofits to donate cryptocurrency.

These include the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, First Responders Children’s Fund, Global Empowerment Mission, San Diego Humane Society, All Hands and Hearts and Direct Relief.

During the donation campaign, the platform encourages the public to help in any way they can by donating cryptocurrencies, stocks, DAFs (Note: Donor Advised Funds, donors can set up DAF accounts to immediately obtain tax deductions and have the right to advise on the use of funds) or cards to organizations that provide food, shelter and medical services.

Another cryptocurrency-focused donation website, Givepact, shared details of foundations that accept donations in crypto assets.

These include Baby2Baby (Note: a charity that provides diapers and clothes to children from poor families), the Wildland Firefighters Foundation, the California Fire Foundation, the Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation and the California Community Foundation.

The platform said the public can donate more than 30 cryptocurrencies to these charities and nonprofits, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avax, Dogecoin, etc.

Betting on prediction platforms is accused of being "sick"

It is worth mentioning that a prediction platform was questioned for its "morbid" predictions during the wildfire incident. Many users on the platform used the wildfire incident to create various prediction markets to predict the spread of the fire, when it can be controlled, and the potential resignation of politicians. One user X claimed: "Betting on wildfires is morbid," and another user said that betting on such a tragedy is "undoubtedly shameless." Some users even worry that in order to bet successfully, gamblers may be stimulated to cause more fires.

In response, the platform issued a disclaimer saying: "The devastating Palisade Fire is an event where the platform can provide valuable real-time answers to those directly affected in a way that traditional media cannot."