Fidelity Charitable, the donor fund connected to mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments, raised nearly $9m in bitcoin during the first half of this year, according to its annual report.

After raising $7m in bitcoin during 2016, Fidelity Charitable recently experienced a marked uptick in donations, bagging roughly $2m more than that figure in the last six months alone. The annual report further revealed that "nearly $2bn" has been committed by all funding methods since the start of the year.

"This is more money given to charities over the first half of the year than ever before in the organization’s 26-year history," the organization said in the report.

The disclosure comes weeks after Fidelity's CEO took the stage at CoinDesk's Consensus 2017 blockchain conference to discuss the firm's deep interest in the technology, particularly in public blockchains and cryptocurrencies.

Fidelity's charity effort first began accepting bitcoin in late 2015, pitching the concept as a way to expand the possible donor pool by opening up to less traditional assets.

Donations jar image via Shutterstock