Binance Donates $60,000 to Help Rebuild and Restore Notre-Dame

Binance Charity is donating 3.211 bitcoin (worth about $60,000) to Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris to contribute to the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral’s Mays paintings, which were damaged in a disastrous fire in April 2019. 

The cryptocurrency donations were raised from the Binance community in the days and months following the fire, in response to President Emmanuel Macron's call for donations to restore the cathedral. As a pioneer of using blockchain technology for social good, Binance Charity launched a crypto-fundraising channel that attracted donations from across the globe.

The Mays of Notre-Dame de Paris are large paintings, accompanied by poems in honor of the  Virgin Mary, which were ordered nearly every year between 1630 and 1707 from famous artists of the Court by the Guild of Blacksmiths of the City of Paris. They were originally hung in the arcades of the nave, the choir and in the chapels. Following their restoration, the Mays will be reinstalled in the arcades of the cathedral at its reopening.  

Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity, commented, “The fire that damaged Notre-Dame in 2019 was a tragedy, causing huge damage to an important global landmark of massive cultural importance. We are grateful to the Binance community who gave generously to the project and we’re delighted that we’re able to put their donations to good use in the restoration of the Mays. At Binance Charity we are great believers in transparency in philanthropy and it’s important to us that donors are able to see how their funds have been used to directly benefit the recipients, working with Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris means we are able to deliver on that.”

Michel Picaud, President of Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris commented, “Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris is very grateful to Binance Charity and to its donors for joining the ranks of the tens of thousands of donors from all over the world who support the restoration of our iconic Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. Restoring the historical May paintings will contribute to bring her back to her past glory.”