A non-fungible token (NFT) painting by a 14 year-old art prodigy has fetched nearly $23,000 at auction. The artist has since donated those proceeds to students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Painter Xeo Chu from Vietnam raised more than 500 million Vietnamese dong (VND) after auctioning his painting The Lucky Apricot Blossoms on Binance. According to reports, the work sold for 22,899 Binance USD (BUSD).

The proceeds were raised to aid college students that the COVID-19 pandemic left disadvantaged. More specifically, the artist donated 20 laptops, as well as ten scholarships, to senior students. Xeo Chu made these donations via the non-profit organization VietSeeds, whose mission statement revolves around giving equal access to college education in Vietnam.

This is not the artist’s first effort to help people impacted by the pandemic. Back in July, Xeo Chu started up an online exhibition called Pandemic Paintings. This exhibition raised funds to aid frontline COVID-19 workers based in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

NFTs sell for good causes

NFTs have taken the world by storm this year, finding their feet in most branches of lifestyle, including the arts, entertainment, and sport. While in many of these cases NFT collections have been launched for commemorative or merchandising purposes, some have been released in support of good causes. Much like Xeo Chu’s painting.

For example, singer Michelle Phillips, vocalist for the iconic ’70s folk rock group The Mamas & the Papas, auctioned off original NFT artworks back in June. This was to benefit The Painted Turtle, a charitable organization that sets up free camps for children with serious medical problems. The corporation ViciNFT, who managed Phillips’ auction, require all of their NFT auctions to have a philanthropic underpinning.

Even earlier in the year, leading business magazine Forbes auctioned off an NFT cover for charity. A first for the publishing industry, as they professed at the time. The NFT depicted leading crypto industry figures Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose NFT platform, Nifty Gateway, hosted the auction. Ultimately, the auction raised more than $300,000 for two journalistic charities. Namely, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), set up to promote worldwide press freedom; and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), which works to support, protect, and recognize the roles of female journalists.

Much more recently, even BeInCrypto has jumped on the NFT train for charity. To celebrate its third anniversary, BeInCrypto will mint and auction off nine new NFTs to benefit the Open Earth Foundation. The NFTs will go alongside an article from a cryptocurrency expert, and digital artwork from the Exquisite Workers project.