Spanish Red Cross Taps Ethereum to Protect Privacy of Aid Recipients

The official Spanish affiliate of the International Red Cross, also known as Creu Roja in Catalonia, has rolled out a blockchain-based aid platform aimed at improving transparency while keeping recipient data private, according to a press release shared with The Defiant.

The system uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify donations without exposing who receives them. Francisco López Romero, Creu Roja’s chief technology officer in Catalonia, Spain, said in the press release that with blockchain, donors can confirm their contributions make an impact, while beneficiaries retain privacy.

The platform replaces paper workflows with digital aid credits in the form of ERC-20 tokens stored in mobile wallets. Recipients can spend these tokens at authorized local merchants using QR codes. “People seeking assistance shouldn't have to choose between getting help and protecting their privacy,” Romero said.

According to the press release, the technology stack includes a Go backend with REST API, Angular for administrative and merchant web interfaces and Ionic for the mobile wallet.

BLOOCK, the Barcelona-based partner behind the technology, anchors cryptographic proofs on Ethereum smart contracts without storing personal information on-chain, per the release.

Why Ethereum?

Lluís Llibre, BLOOCK’s CEO, told The Defiant that the platform allows organizations “to use blockchain as a certification and trust layer without having to build or manage blockchain technology themselves.”

Explaining the choice of blockchain network, Llibre said that Ethereum was chosen because it’s “the most widely trusted and battle-tested public blockchain, with a long track record of security.”

Llibre also explained that ERC-20 aid credits can be redeemed within a controlled network of participating merchants, starting with a supermarket chain and expanding once operational reliability is confirmed.