Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has donated $4 million worth of USD Coin (USDC) to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to help build a tool that would warn of future pandemics. Vitalik Buterin Donates $4m Worth USDC to Kirby Institute According to an official announcement from the Kirby University at University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, the institution has secured a $4 million donation (5.3 million Australian dollars) in USDC stablecoin from Vitalik Buterin. Kirby Institute has received the largest known cryptocurrency donation to an 🇦🇺 higher education institution from #Ethereum co-founder @VitalikButerin to support an open-source tool providing pandemic early warning signals designed by Prof Raina MacIntyre. https://t.co/aYYhI10HiJ pic.twitter.com/rbBWWQCdan — Kirby Institute, UNSW (@KirbyInstitute) May 13, 2022 The funds are a part of Buterin’s self-described “moonshot anti-COVID effort” dubbed Balvi Filantropic Fund in partnership with the Shiba Inu (SHIB) memecoin project and Crypto Relief. The funds will go towards the development of the Shiba Inu Open-Source Intelligence- (OISNT)-based EPIWATCH tool which utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and open-source data to create early pandemic warning signs. Detecting Early Signs of Pandemic Developed by UNSW Kirby Institute’s Professor, and biosecurity research head Raina MacIntyre, the tool scans millions of items of publicly available online data, includ...
