Comic Relief, the UK charity that raises cash for good causes, is exploring the potential for bitcoin donations at its next biennial telethon.
Since its launch in 1988, Comic Relief's Red Nose Day has become something of a British institution. It's the day, every two years, when people across the land come together and do something funny for money at home, school and work.
Comic Relief spends the money raised by Red Nose Day to help people living tough lives across the UK and Africa.
The 2013 event raised over £100 million through its televised telethon on the BBC, in which stars of the small screen don red noses and inspire the nation to give generously.
Finextra caught up with Zenon Hannick, agile project manager for Comic Relief at the recent Payments Council-sponsored innovation event in London.
Hannick says that 2013 was the first year in which online donations overtook the call centre for fund raising. Sixty percent of the online spend was donated by people using their mobile phones and tablets while watching the event live on TV.
The potential for bitcoin-giving was brought to his attention by a member of the development team who spotted that Comic Relief was getting a bad press online from techno-libertarians for failing to accept bitcoins.
Says Hannick: "I'm looking at the potential for us accepting bitcoins, seeing where the crypo-currency is going, and if that's something we need to address in the near future."