$20,000 Binance Donation To Malta Grows To $39M, Remains Unclaimed: Coinbase Exec

[Redator]

In 2018, Binance and crypto donors gave $200,000 in donation to Malta’s cancer fund. That donation has now ballooned to around $39 million and yet it remains unclaimed. 

Coinbase’s Conor Grogan has urged Maltese citizens to notify their government, saying that the money could pay for medical specialists.

In 2018, Binance and crypto users donated $200,000 in BNB to Malta Terminal Cancer Patients.

The funds were never withdrawn and remain untouched, now worth $39M due to the appreciation of BNB!

Any Malta citizens, please let your government know that these funds are accessible pic.twitter.com/jRqLz7vy4M

— Conor (@jconorgrogan) October 13, 2025

The last known update was in 2021, when a lawsuit was dropped after the funds were found.

All of this started in 2018, during Malta’s push to become a blockchain island. Binance, then pledged $200,000 in BNB to the Malta Community Chest Fund, with more donations added for cancer patients and people with disabilities.

As crypto prices rose, the total value reached was over $8 million by 2021. Binance had then iterated that it was shutting down the foundation to avoid duplicate costs, since a similar one already existed in the US.

Malta’s charity watchdog later threatened legal action over missing annual reports, but found the documents days later in a digital folder.

The lawsuit was dropped and the dispute finally moved towards a resolution. All through this, the donated funds remained untouched.

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$38 Million Binance Donation For West Japan Disaster Lays Dormant

Similar to Malta, Grogan revealed that $38 million of a Binance donation, meant for West Japan’s disaster relief is sitting unused in a dormant wallet. Of the $1.4 million donated in 2018, the authorities withdrew half over time and the remaining half grew to more than 50x in value.

Grogan stated that he wishes for the authorities to put the funds to good use.

Here's another one: $38M of West Japan Disaster Relief funds are sitting in a dormant wallet.

It looks like about ~50% of the original $1.4M donated were withdrawn in 2018 at various times. But the remaining 50% appreciated 50x+.

Hopefully some good can come of this! https://t.co/sg5OIltqO4 pic.twitter.com/xSmkMf4F3M

— Conor (@jconorgrogan) October 14, 2025

The discovery comes as Binance continues its global charity efforts under CEO Richard Teng and Co-Founder Changpeng Zhao or CZ as he is known in the crypto world.

This year, In April, CZ donated 1000 BNB, worth nearly $600,000 to support earthquake recovery in Myanmar and Thailand. During this time, Binance Charity added $1.5 million BNB airdrop, sending $50 to verified users in Myanmar and $10 to those in Thailand’s hardest hit areas.

Sent 1000 BNB for the donation for Myanmar and Thailand. https://t.co/3b9ngdEGta https://t.co/cdvVTvzP3F

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) April 3, 2025

Also, in August, Binance launched another relief program worth up to $1.2 million in BNB for flood victims in Southern Taiwan. Verified users in affected cities received $80, while 15000 newly verified users got $30 each.

Teng noted that Binance Charity has also helped victims of disasters in Taiwan, Turkey, Argentina and cross Europe.

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Malta Pushes Back On EU Crypto Reforms

Meanwhile, Malta is opposing a proposal from France, Italy and Austria to give the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) more power to directly regulate major crypto firms across the EU.

Although Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA) supports better coordination among national regulators, it has argued that centralizing control under ESMA would add unnecessary bureaucracy to will effect quick decision making.

Malta Rejects ESMA’s Crypto Oversight Plan

Malta’s financial regulator, the MFSA, is pushing back against a proposal to grant ESMA direct supervisory powers over crypto firms. While France, Italy, and Austria argue centralized oversight is needed due to inconsistent MiCA…

— Adya Crypto (@Adya_crypt) September 19, 2025

In the meantime, France has also voiced concerns regarding inconsistent crypto licensing across EU countries, warning that it might block firms licensed elsewhere from operating within its borders.

In July, ESMA had criticized Malta’s crypto licensing process after a peer review found that the MFSA had only partially met expectations when approving crypto asset service providers.

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Key Takeaways

• Binance’s donation to Malta grew from $20K to $39M but remains untouched
• Similar $38M crypto relief for Japan also sits idle in a dormant wallet
• Malta is against expanding ESMA’s authority to directly regulate major crypto firms across the EU

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