Anonymous Bitcoin Millionaire Funding MDMA Therapy for PTSD
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By Matt Agorist
Over the past year, the world watched as Bitcoin shot up in value turning those who had the foresight to invest in it into millionaires. Now, we are seeing the true power of this new creation of wealth as it manifests into charity. One charity, in particular, is paradigm-shifting as it doesn’t seek to hold extravagant dinners or events to pat themselves on the back and get notoriety. Instead, the Pineapple Fund remains entirely anonymous and donates to causes governments wouldn’t go near—like MDMA.
As the NY Times wrote last month, the organization was started in December by an anonymous donor who goes by the nickname “Pine” and claims to be among the 250 largest holders of Bitcoin in the world. The fund aims to give away $86 million worth of Bitcoin, and has already given $20 million worth of the currency to 13 organizations, including million-dollar donations to the Water Project, which provides clean water to people in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights watchdog.
The Pineapple Fund has bankrolled everything from clinical trials of psychedelics for PTSD to teaching kids to read and write. The man, or woman, behind the curtain has shown that they intend on making the world a better place by challenging the status quo and couldn’t care less about taking any credit for it.
One of Pine’s funding projects is a group founded in 1986, called the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). MAPS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.
As TFTP reported last year the government granted “breakthrough therapy designation” to a drug which was previously in the Schedule 1 category—MDMA or ecstasy—to treat PTSD.
The ‘party drug’ was used in Phase 2 trials on roughly 200-300 patients with severe PTSD. Results showed a remarkable improvement in most patients, with 61 percent reporting no PTSD symptoms after 2 months and 68 percent being PTSD-free after a year.
With the “breakthrough” status granted by FDA, Phase 3 trials can proceed much more quickly, and with input on “design, primary endpoint, and statistical approach” from FDA.
“For the first time ever, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy will be evaluated in Phase 3 trials for possible prescription use, with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD leading the way,” said Rick Doblin, PhD. Executive Director of MAPS at the time.
The only problem with the FDA legalizing clinical trials is the fact that these trials cost money. That’s where MAPS steps in.
The very next day after going to the Pineapple Fund website, MAPS received a whopping 59.8 bitcoins or roughly one million dollars. This donation created a trend and the very next day they received 51.54 bitcoins from another anonymous donor. Only a few days after that, Lunyr (LUN) tokens worth over $769,000 were anonymously given.
The response was so overwhelming that Pine stepped up the game and announced last week that they would match the next $4 million donated to MAPS for the shared goal of attempting to cure PTSD with MDMA.
“PTSD is a severe condition that affects everyone from sexual assault survivors to military veterans,” wrote “Pine,” the Pineapple Fund’s founder in a statement last week. “Existing treatments have so much room for improvement, and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has shown great promise. We’re offering the matching grant because we think the psychedelic and cryptocurrency communities can work together to finish funding Phase 3 clinical trials.”
The money raised and donated by Pine will allow MAPS to make MDMA-assisted psychotherapy legally available to millions of people suffering from PTSD. Because their research challenges the status quo, they receive no government funding and the group relies entirely on contributions from individuals, businesses, and foundations.
“The Pineapple Fund’s support is a dream come true,” says Doblin. “With no funding available for these trials from government agencies or major medical research foundations, legally available MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD will indeed be a gift to the world from the psychedelic science and cryptocurrency communities.”
As the cryptocurrency haters come out of the woodwork to claim there is “no value” in Bitcoin or other altcoins, this is one of many scenarios that prove them wrong. As the world continues to wake up to the value of decentralized money, we can expect more amazing stories like this one. Please share this story to show others the true power and value of good people coming together and working outside of the centralized monetary system.
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project, where this article first appeared. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.