Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has donated $4 million USDC to the Australian University of New South Wales (UNSW) to develop a solution to prevent pandemics.

#Ethereum co-founder @VitalikButerin Donates $5.3 million to UNSW #cryptocurrency to support the development of #Pandemic detection tool designed by @KirbyInstituteProf Raina MacIntyre.https://t.co/aYYhI1iQwR pic.twitter.com/Gy0l1xejel

— Kirby Institute, UNSW (@KirbyInstitute) 12 May 2022

The institution has exchanged the cryptocurrency for 5.3 million Australian dollars. The funds will be used to further develop EPIWATCH, an open source intelligence tool (OSINT) for early detection of pandemics.

Professor Rayna McIntyre of the UNSW Kirby Institute has been developing this solution since 2016. EPIWATCH uses massive amounts of online data and artificial intelligence to detect early signs of outbreaks.

According to the statement, the tool is much faster than official health systems, but does not replace them.

The university said Buterin’s funds will help the McIntyre team make EPIWATCH accessible to low- and middle-income countries.

“Imagine if someone discovered COVID-19 before it spread around the world – it’s our mission. Using artificial intelligence and real-time data from open sources, EPIWATCH is not dependent on reporters. “This is a great equalizer that can overcome poor healthcare systems and censorship.”

Buterin donated to the initiative through the Balvi Philanthropic Fund. He launched the organization in January after India’s COVID-19 focused Crypto Relief fund returned $100 million from nearly $1 billion in grants to SHIBA.

Recall that in April, the co-founder of Ethereum sent 1,500 ETH (more than $4.7 million at the time) to help Ukraine.