Update (20:10 UTC, Aug. 23 2019): After the publication of this article, BitPay said it had resolved the situation with Amazon Watch and verified the charity to accept unlimited donations.
A large donation to a non-profit working to protect the Amazon rainforest and the environment has been blocked by compliance rules at crypto payments firm BitPay.
The charity, Amazon Watch, took to Twitter on Friday to appeal to BitPay to let the $100,000 payment through.
@BitPay @BitPaySupport a donor, no doubt upset about horrific #AmazonFires tried to donate $100,000 to our account today and it was rejected as too high. We want to reach out to this person to resolve this issue, but have no way to do so. We need your help, ASAP. Thank you.
— AMAZON WATCH (@AmazonWatch) August 23, 2019
BitPay responded in the Twitter thread, saying:
“Hi! We will escalate this issue ASAP to see if the donor can be contacted. In the meantime, if you wish to upgrade your approved volume to accept donations of this size, please go to your merchant dashboard Settings > Approved Volume.”
Amazon Watch said it had tried to increase its approved volume, but was requested to go through a further compliance process via email.
The donation comes as the Amazon is being ravaged by thousands of fires, many reported to have been lit on purpose by farmers and loggers after Brazil’s controversial president, Jair Bolsonaro, relaxed environmental rules after coming into office last October.
Bolsonaro has claimed he isn’t responsible, pointing a finger at NGOs against all the evidence.
Amazon forest fire image via Shutterstock