You've bought your first cryptocurrency and now you're wondering: what should you do with it?
Many believe that digital assets are only for investment and trading. In fact, cryptocurrency can be used for various purposes. Today it has already become a full-fledged financial instrument used by many people around the world.
Person-to-person transfers
The easiest way to use cryptocurrency is to send it to another person.
For example, you can transfer Bitcoin, Ethereum, or stablecoins to a relative, and they will instantly receive the funds in their wallet, wherever they are. After that, your friend, colleague, or relative can exchange the cryptocurrency for the local fiat currency or use it to make online payments.
It's fast, convenient and practical!
Services and organizations accepting cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is becoming an increasingly popular tool for supporting non-profit organizations, foundations, and open-source communities.
Many well-known projects around the world accept donations in BTC, ETH, LTC and other cryptocurrencies. Below is a list of official platforms where you can make a donation directly.
However, before transferring funds, please visit the service's official website and double-check all the information. Pay particular attention to the crypto wallet address to which you want to transfer your assets!
Global nonprofit and educational projects
Internet Archive - an online archive of books, films, and websites.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1Archive1n2C579dMsAu3iC6tWzuQJz8dN
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia) - support for Wikipedia.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 13p1ijLwsnrcuyqcTvJXkq2ASdXqcnEBLE
Khan Academy - free online courses.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1KhanT6ohP4GVdWEE7LMVfb4a6dSxX7pRD
Blender Foundation - development of the Blender 3D graphics package.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 17orEh51ab8HoU7g8Ezwcp76jCpeL7PabJ
Free Software Foundation (FSF) - the development of GNU free software.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1PC9aZC4hNX2rmmrt7uHTfYAS3hRbph4UN
OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) - a free global map.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 1J3pt9koWJZTo2jarg98RL89iJqff9Kobp
VideoLAN (VLC) - VLC media player.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: bc1q27wp4frlsckghy3vgdjg4rnlsxztxca0f2r4a7
FreeBSD Foundation - development of the FreeBSD operating system.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 15Pyo12UuBEmcxQbYQDeYzHsAg9bbVkrgo
OpenBSD Foundation - the secure OpenBSD operating system.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 1BSDBiU9vXqNMcXRiRJnf7pDJr8E2M8e6h
Matrix.org Foundation - decentralized messaging protocol.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 1LxowEgsquZ3UPZ68wHf8v2MDZw82dVmAE
Digital freedom and privacy projects
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) - defense of digital rights and freedom of speech.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 3LTu6uavQ4A3kgDauZipyGqcHQEUSVe2so
💰 ETH: 0x1ca9EB2a5C213d417269134b80111F57e1644105
Tor Project - a browser and an anonymity network.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: bc1qf8rjq7u6q92sazjh5glv2d6j3l6v5s3tqgyq52
Torservers.net - support for Tor servers.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1Tor1oErtXyTZWPR2zP6RJuPsXbSmZ5Z3a
EPIC (Electronic Privacy Info Center) - legal protection of privacy.
Operate in the United States
💰 BTC: 3LpK5cxzCUCwepSfC1LZ1EiPTXNTWPqoCK
RiseupVPN - VPN service for activists.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 3LBqFZpv397VEyDeZo3oneTK1qgJ8hsqvJ
Riseup - secure email and hosting for human rights organizations.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: bc1qwwht7phkv0cc6exp5zq5ffz0ydzgjqepk962uy
Open-source projects
GnuPG Project - encryption and data protection tools.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1GNUxMj8tQG4mz2WYw6Upo4Uv4odvWmbJp
NoScript - a Firefox extension for blocking scripts.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1NoScrK1ptFG2VjGKmY9CzGvQrf9jx72qx
Gentoo Linux - Linux distribution.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 1Gentoo7hN4m3p2KJ7s5TLzYwWb2Xc8oRk
Arch Linux - a Linux distribution.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1ArchWbe3qUoXx1c8dMGrm9vL2Hc8P6joQ
Linux Mint - Linux distribution.
🌏 Operate worldwide
💰 BTC: 1Mint2K5Z8Rf7xWkVzPbR7hE9g3Ps8jYqT
The Document Foundation (LibreOffice) - the LibreOffice office suite.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 3TDFdonaTe4t1on9m7l5k3p1o0zq8xWc6v2yRt
Apache Software Foundation - the Apache server, Hadoop, and other projects.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 1ApachEfounD4t1on9m7l5k3p1o0zq8xWc6v2yRt
Linux Foundation - support for the Linux kernel.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 3LinuXfounD4t1on9m7l5k3p1o0zq8xWc6v2yRt
Charity and community initiatives
Turing Trust - IT equipment refurbishment and training.
🌏 Available worldwide
💰 BTC: 3Eb1Gnp7ye8mu6d2KcrRr3MZfLP1mM7Hqk
💰 ETH: 0xc4683D91a38Ac07AD15a6085B07813a15821C35f
Human Rights Watch (HRW) - human rights and humanitarian initiatives.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 3HRWfounDat1on9m7l5k3p1o0zq8xWc6v2yRt
National Canine Cancer Foundation - canine cancer research.
🌏 Operating in the United States
💰 ETH: 0x94D92859f863293d0a70ff34bDf88fbAd76a679d
ProPublica - independent journalism.
🌏 Available in the United States
💰 BTC: 1ProPubLic4t1onXc7h5g3v9y0qZl8t2mNa
Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) - a conference on digital freedoms.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1IFFeStivAl9m7n5l3k1p0zq8xWc6v2yRt
Rainforest Foundation US - protection of tropical forests and the rights of indigenous peoples.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1NXhm1uZ28xeqYFR7k2ZUdhAkRoxwgFgEr
💰 ETH: 0x83f36E2Ff82335cfA38968FDEE1e0a81FC724e06
💰 SOL: 7p3b7Wq3o9o3o7M6YzVDgBYQjzJm3nK1zQy7b1jz9h5
GiveWell - an independent organization directing donations to the most effective health and development programs.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: bc1q0c2v6h9qq7z9f373n7y8z9w4qv0c5rjv9m7j2y
💰 ETH: 0x9B3b6F0c8C0F3fC6b2F7cE3F2C2f4b6E1b9E2C7A
Sea Shepherd - ocean protection
🌏 Available worldwide / EU
💰 BTC: bc1qe39rflmsarp5unjc4sjxyuuawu3yfufte0d4me
The Water Project - access to clean water in Africa
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 1LkyNTPWVMBGnDv8m8TwRgPEZWgnFPyceJ
Science and Research
MIRI (Machine Intelligence Research Institute) - a research institute dedicated to artificial intelligence safety.
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 XRP: rw2ciyaNshpHe7bCHo4bRWq6pqqynnWKQg, Tag: 454688992
Center for AI Safety (CAIS) - AI risk research
🌏 Operating worldwide
💰 BTC: 3D1VG9sKk1YBoGhzVSP9Kq8H6vPMbMMNwX
💰 ETH: 0x9dD1b2413C6E58503Af3844b67266A17C22Fe13B
What to check before sending cryptocurrency
Before sending cryptocurrency, always verify addresses on organizations' official websites — sometimes they are updated or replaced with QR codes.
Where is cryptocurrency most commonly used?
Today, digital assets are used in a wide range of areas:
- Entertainment and leisure. Many platforms allow you to buy games, movies, streaming subscriptions, and even gift cards for online stores.
- Tourism and travel. On services like Travala or CheapAir you can book flights and hotels, paying with cryptocurrency without converting currencies.
- Retail sales. Some online stores and even brick-and-mortar chains already accept Bitcoin and other coins via QR code — quickly and without intermediary fees.
- Education and charity. Educational projects and foundations actively use cryptocurrency for donations, course payments, and online learning, providing transparency and convenience in transfers.
- Transport and services. In some countries you can pay for taxis, carsharing, or delivery with crypto — especially where cryptocurrency payments are already integrated.
- Financial services. Numerous platforms allow you to exchange, stake, or lend cryptocurrency, turning it into a versatile asset-management tool.
That way you can always find a service that accepts cryptocurrency payments in your country and use it!
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency has long ceased to be purely an investment.
It can be used to pay for goods and services, make donations, buy tickets, and even participate in educational projects.
Yes, not all companies accept cryptocurrency yet, but the trend is clear: there are more and more such platforms.
If you're just starting out in the crypto world, try using cryptocurrency in real situations - this will help you understand its capabilities and advantages more quickly.
