Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal opens an encrypted channel to raise funds for Nepal Flood Fund

Polygon co-founder launches stablecoin donation campaign to help post-disaster reconstruction in Nepal

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal launched a stablecoin donation campaign to fund the disaster relief fund initiated by the Prime Minister of Nepal. The program provides a direct on-chain channel for donors around the world to assist governments in rescue and recovery efforts after the glacier collapsed on August 26, killing more than 1,250 people.

Nailwal posted the news on Platform X (formerly Twitter) on September 4, claiming that stablecoins are the best tool when rapid distribution of aid is needed. As of the time of writing, the websites have raised a total of US$168,176.

How funds arrive in Kathmandu

Donations will not be deposited directly into government wallets. Instead, funds will be received online, converted into USDC stablecoins, and then pooled into public relief wallets on the Ethereum or Polygon networks. The next and final step is to transfer the funds into official Nepal government funds. Scott DeLisi will lead Engage Nepal in charge of fund collection and accounting. Engage Nepal is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the United States, and DeLisi was the former U.S. ambassador to Nepal.

Polygon is not the only project involved in this initiative. Open Money Stack will be responsible for bridging, routing and conversion, Cross River Bank will ensure the smooth transfer of fiat currency to Nepal, and Coinme will provide payment infrastructure and crypto-cash services. In addition, Blockchain For Impact has pledged to donate $100,000.

There are two main support methods: Donors can use any token on any chain to make anonymous donations; or donors based in the United States can verify their identity through Coime to ensure that the donation is associated with their name. Users who want to avoid complex interfaces can also use the single USDC address published on the website, which works on both the Ethereum and Polygon networks.

Damage caused by floods

The extent of damage caused by floods is still being counted. On August 26, a glacier above the Trisuli River collapsed, causing ice, sediment and rock to pour about 80 kilometers down the valley, affecting places such as Noakot, Dading and La Soua. The disaster affected seven areas, destroying 41 bridges, severely damaging 42 kilometers of roads, and damaging six hydropower stations.

The United Nations estimates are even more severe. The United Nations issued a statement on September 4, 2026 stating that the collapse of a glacier blocked the border between Nepal and Xizang, killing more than 1,250 people and missing thousands more. The United Nations estimates that the number of people affected is approximately 84,270, involving 19,284 families, and plans to raise US$49.6 million in cash to support the affected people.

Response from other cryptocurrency industries

Nailwal's fund is not the first commitment from the cryptocurrency industry to the disaster in Nepal. Ripple had pledged to donate $300,000 to assist relief groups in the region, but did not say whether the payment would be in XRP, fiat or its RLUSD stable currency. The Solana Foundation and NFT Marketplace Mallow auctioned nine advertising spaces to raise US$166,946.50 in USDC, which Mallow transferred to Engage Nepal and eventually remitted to the same government fund.

This is not a precedent in the cryptocurrency space. In 2024, the total amount of cryptocurrency donations exceeded the US$1 billion mark and became the preferred method of emergency assistance after earthquakes in Myanmar and Thailand in March 2025. Binance founder Zhao Changpeng also donated 1,000 BNBs (worth approximately US$600,000) for disaster relief efforts in Myanmar and Thailand. Because blockchain is seen as a faster alternative when banking infrastructure fails, it has a large number of supporters.

However, Nailwal has not announced a conversion timetable for concentrated crypto assets, nor has it mentioned when each batch of funds will enter government funds. The final step still depends on the conversion service and the processing of traditional banks. However, every deposit, conversion and outgoing batch can be easily verified on-chain.