A new stablecoin called Catholic USD is set to launch in December, aiming to facilitate donations to Catholic organizations and aid the poor through blockchain technology. Businessman Eddie Cullen, leading the initiative, emphasizes prioritizing human suffering in line with Christian teachings. Advocates highlight its potential for efficient international transactions and yield-based charitable giving.
The cryptocurrency landscape is seeing a faith-inspired innovation with Catholic USD, a fiat-backed stablecoin pegged one-to-one with the U.S. dollar. Scheduled for a December launch, it seeks to leverage blockchain's speed and transparency for donations to parishes, universities, hospitals, and nonprofits focused on the needy.
Eddie Cullen, the businessman driving the project, stresses a moral focus. “We have to make sure the poor and human suffering is the thing we’re focused on at all times first,” Cullen told the Register. “Treating the poor like Jesus Christ would – that has to be the first priority.” He envisions it bypassing traditional banks to directly alleviate needs like shelter, water, and food, avoiding profit extraction from the vulnerable.
The stablecoin's design includes holding unused tokens in a yield-generating account on BitGo, with 100 percent of yields donated to the Catholic Global Mercy Trust for global poverty relief, schools, and hospitals. Cullen's presentation projects $40 million in annual giving if circulation hits $1 billion.
Matthew Pinto, founder of Ascension Press and organizer of the 2022 Catholic cryptocurrency conference, urges hopeful engagement. “As Catholics, I think our first response should be one of hopeful expectation that God is doing something unique, in this new technology, and within his plan of salvation,” he said, while advising prudence.
Adoption is growing modestly in the Church. The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in southern Missouri accept bitcoin for their chapel. Devin Rose, a Catholic advocate, notes that direct crypto donations preserve full value, avoiding conversion losses to fiat. Brantly Millegan sees it aiding the unbanked globally, aligning with Catholic social thought.
Eric Sammons praises bitcoin's morality through verifiability, scarcity (capped at 21 million), and decentralization, surpassing fiat currencies. Cullen warns that without a human-centered approach, society risks losing its essence.
