GSR, the global crypto market maker and liquidity provider, has pledged an initial $10m to establish the GSR Foundation, an independent grantmaking charity that will support non-profit organisations across the world. This donation serves to formalise and grow an integral and long-standing commitment by the firm to ESG and positive social impact, alongside building a best-in-class trading business.
With a pedigree of established tech and financial leaders at the helm, GSR understands the importance existing and emerging technologies play in accelerating progress toward, and solving, some of the world’s problems. However, there are currently many barriers to participation, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities, including BIPOC communities, women, LGBTQ+, refugees, populations within less-developed economies, and many others.
GSR finds this situation unacceptable and, in response, has launched, and is committed to growing, the GSR Foundation. By making strategic grants and sharing thought leadership, the Foundation will build a strategic response to facilitate both equity and equality regarding access to tech opportunities.
James Newell will serve as GSR Foundation’s first Executive Director. Newell brings over 16 years of experience leading global non-profit organisations and social businesses from an array of management positions – as a consultant, executive, and non-executive director.
“The barriers that exist in communities today stem from a number of things – a practical lack of hardware to a cultural lack of precedent – and may be general to whole populations or targeted to specific demographics,” said Jakob Palmstierna, CEO, GSR and Founding Patron of the GSR Foundation. “Through our commitment to fund the GSR Foundation, we will have confidence that GSR lives its commitment to making social value creation an integral part of our DNA.”
“I am thrilled to be joining the GSR Foundation as Director,” said Newell. “I am excited to join a company genuinely solving problems with its philanthropy and working directly with our grantees to co-create solutions to challenging problems. Ultimately, sharing what we learn and building viable, scalable solutions that last.”
GSR believes emerging technologies have the potential to resolve entrenched problems in the philanthropic landscape and looks forward to building a best-in-class Foundation to work on this.