The Philanthro-Bit Tech entrepreneur Ismael Dainehine is on a mission to solve one of the charity sector's most urgent problems: financial instability. His solution? A Bitcoin-backed reserve designed to make social impact sustainable.

At first glance, Bitcoin and charity may seem like odd bedfellows. One conjures images of high-stakes trading and blockchain bros; the other, bake sales and donor forms. But in an office in London, Ismael Dainehine is building something that defies both stereotypes - a new kind of financial foundation for the charitable sector, powered by Bitcoin, rooted in purpose, and born of hard-won lessons in tech, scale, and soul.

Dainehine is the co-founder and CEO of EverGive, a bold new venture aiming to reshape how we think about long-term philanthropy. Not by simply raising more money - but by questioning the very systems that leave charities scrambling for survival. "The tech industry is all about solving problems," Dainehine says. "But the most important work is when technology addresses the biggest societal challenges facing humankind." And for him, this work is personal.

From E-commerce to Empathy
Long before EverGive, Dainehine had what many would consider a textbook tech success story. He built an e-commerce business that scaled to $35m in revenue - an entrepreneurial dream by most standards. But somewhere along the way, something didn't sit right. "In the early stages this was fun and creative, but over time it became soulless," he reflects. "I wanted to get back to my roots of community and charity."

That search for meaning led to MyTenNights, a Ramadan-focused giving platform Dainehine launched in 2017 as a side project. It took off globally, raising over £100m for causes around the world. For many founders, that would be the final act - a story arc that ends in mission-aligned success. But for Dainehine, it was just the beginning. "I discovered that I could use what I'd learned in the tech space and apply it to making a real difference," he says. "However, as I was building in the charity tech space… I realised the real problem wasn't just about raising money. Financial instability was eroding the sector and holding back long-term change." And just like that, a founder known for building efficient digital systems began thinking more like an activist. "That's when I moved from being a social tech entrepreneur to adopting a more activist mindset - focusing less on patching symptoms and more on tackling the root financial problem head-on."

The Bitcoin Epiphany
To understand what EverGive is doing, it helps to understand what it's not doing. This isn't about simply accepting crypto donations or tokenizing philanthropy. Instead, it's about seeing Bitcoin not as speculative currency, but as infrastructure - a decentralised, durable store of value that could fundamentally rebalance the financial instability in the charity sector. "We started to ask ourselves how technology could address this problem and that's when we realised the potential of Bitcoin as more than just an investment for tech bros, but as a powerful humanitarian technology." From that insight, EverGive was born: the world's first Bitcoin Reserve for the charity sector. It's a radical idea, and like any radical idea, it comes with resistance. "There is so much noise about [Bitcoin] as an investment or get-rich-quick scheme," he says. "The challenge is to shift the conversation from speculation to its potential as a financial freedom technology that can underpin long-term social good."

Building the World's First Bitcoin Reserve for Charity
What does that look like in practice? Think of EverGive as a long-term financial reserve for charities - backed by Bitcoin, immune to inflation, and built to last. But building something entirely new brings a familiar mix of excitement and friction. "Whenever you are creating something truly new, there are always going to be challenges," Dainehine says. "From a technology perspective it's about the model we use to drive donations and whether we concentrate on building our own platform or integrating with existing platforms and charities' channels."

That part, at least, is familiar territory. With his experience in charity-tech, Dainehine feels confident in navigating the nuts and bolts. But the real challenge - the one that has shaped the company's entire strategy - isn't tech. It's trust. "The unique challenge for EverGive is reframing Bitcoin itself as a force for good. Education in the charity sector is essential, so they don't miss out on the opportunity."

Culture, Not Code
This is where EverGive starts to feel less like a fintech and more like a movement. The mission may be powered by Bitcoin, but it's being driven by a deeper understanding of how people feel about technology. "We had to get pragmatic very fast," Dainehine says. "It's all about educating people about the mission and the reasons why we believe in building EverGive on a Bitcoin-only foundation." He adds: "We realised early on that the real challenge was not technological but educational - framing the solution and bringing people with us on the journey towards financial freedom." Two lessons emerged: First, simplify the message. "We refined and simplified our messaging to strip away complexity so that the idea of 'making social good last forever' could be understood in its purest form." Second, choose the right entry point into the marketplace. Should they start with donors or charities? For Dainehine, the answer quickly became clear. "Over time, it became clear that starting with donors was the most effective path, and so we resolved to focus on acquiring that side of the marketplace first. It's a strategy that shows a rare blend of idealism and pragmatism - common in the best kind of founders, and essential for those trying to reshape broken systems. Ask Dainehine what the hardest part of building EverGive has been, and he'll pause - but not for long. "The hardest problems are very rarely technical – they're cultural," he says. "Culture determines how much change people can absorb, how much simplicity they need, and how far they're willing to trust a new idea."

And so much of EverGive's energy has gone into creating a cultural bridge between a cutting-edge financial tool and a deeply human cause. "We discovered the real work was not building the infrastructure, but cultivating a mindset people could step into." "Once you solve for culture – once you align with how people think, feel, and trust – the rest follows."

Start with What Matters
For other entrepreneurs facing similar problems, Dainehine offers his advice - start not with the tech, but with the truth. "Ask yourself the difficult questions. What are the real problems in the world that you care about? How can you help to solve them? And what barriers must you tear down along the way?" And then, he says, prepare to confront the real challenge - not in your codebase, but in the hearts and minds of your users. "Don't mistake the hard part for technical ones - they're almost always cultural."

For founders raised on the mythology of innovation-through-complexity, Dainehine's next words cut through like a sharp wind: "The instinct is to keep building, keep adding features, keep engineering your way through the problem. But what really moves the needle is understanding how people absorb new ideas, where their trust lies, and how much simplicity they need to feel safe enough to engage." what's the takeaway? "Obsess over clarity, not complexity," he says. "And choose the cultural entry point that lowers the most resistance."

A Quiet Revolution in Philanthropy
That mantra - make social good last forever - is now EverGive's rallying cry. It's more than a tagline. It's a reimagining of what philanthropy could be in an era of decentralised finance, long-term thinking, and global crises. And perhaps the most powerful line Dainehine shares in our interview isn't about Bitcoin, tech, or even charity. It's about the spark that fuels every meaningful start-up - the intersection between purpose and personal desire. "Paul Graham offered great advice when he said, 'make things people want'. I'd just add that the real magic lies somewhere between that advice and 'make something YOU want'. You're a formidable force at that intersection." At its best, technology doesn't merely solve problems; it uplifts people, refines systems, and, when shaped with vision, has the ability to make lasting impact.