Crypto Fuels Record Donation to Brain Tumor Lab
After 5-year-old Mira was diagnosed last year with adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma, her dad, Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Siqi Chen, made a simple plea on social media.
“ This Christmas, I am humbly asking for your help to support Dr. Hankinson’ s research.”
Chen discovered that Todd Hankinson, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Children’ s Hospital Colorado Neurosciences Institute, is an international expert in the field of pediatric craniopharyngioma research, having studied these tumors for more than 15 years. Although Mira isn’ t a patient of Dr. Hankinson’ s, she is participating in a national clinical trial being led by Dr. Hankinson to discover less invasive treatment options for kids with these tumors.
Siqi Chen, with daughter Mira.
Craniopharyngioma tumors don’ t typically spread to other parts of the body but often injure structures of the brain located near the tumor. Debilitating symptoms, such as impaired vision, stunted growth, memory problems, excessive thirst, and many others, can significantly affect kids’ quality of life.
Chen launched an online fundraising campaign and in just two days, donors contributed more than $ 230,000 for Dr. Hankinson’ s tumor research.
Todd Hankinson, MD
What Happened Next Was a Complete Surprise
An anonymous person heard about Chen’ s online fundraiser, created a memecoin called $ MIRA, and gave Chen half the supply. Chen donated $ 1 million from the cryptocurrency on behalf of the $ MIRA Community to support Dr. Hankinson’ s research in the quest for a cure for Mira. It is the largest donation the lab has ever received, and this philanthropic support will accelerate Dr. Hankinson and his team’ s ability to drive their research efforts forward.
DONATING CRYPTOCURRENCY AND OTHER ASSETS
You can make a difference for kids through engaging your personal network, as Chen did, and through the donation of personal assets, such as cryptocurrency, shares of appreciated stock, real estate properties, business interests and valuable personal items and collections. Donating assets can be one of the most simple and impactful ways you can support Children’ s Hospital Colorado.
Donating cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, directly to Children’ s Hospital Colorado Foundation is easy and can also offer tax advantages. By directly donating crypto rather than selling it and then donating the proceeds, you could avoid paying capital gains tax and receive a tax deduction based on the fair market value of the cryptocurrency at the time of the donation.
For more information, visit supportchildrenscolorado. org / ways-to-give / asset-giving.
Information provided is general and educational in nature and should not be construed as legal, investment, or tax advice. Please consult a tax advisor regarding your specific legal or tax situation prior to taking any action based on this information.
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