Bitcoin and Ether Donations Dropped by Wikipedia After Backlash
Bitcoin

Bitcoin and Ether Donations Dropped by Wikipedia After Backlash

2ในการอ่าน
2 years ago

It follows a three-month discussion within the Wikimedia Foundation's community, which included a poll that asked whether support for crypto donations should be withdrawn.

Bitcoin and Ether Donations Dropped by Wikipedia After Backlash

สารบัญ

Listen to the CoinMarketRecap podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts

The Wikimedia Foundation has announced that it will no longer accept crypto donations.

Wikipedia's parent company had first started accepting Bitcoin all the way back in 2014 — as well as Ether and Bitcoin Cash in later years.

But in a new statement, the organization said it was pulling the plug after receiving feedback from volunteers and donors… and closing its BitPay account.

It follows a three-month discussion within the Wikimedia Foundation's community, which included a poll that asked whether support for crypto donations should be withdrawn.

Although just 326 people took part, 71% voted yes — indicating there was "strong support" to ditch crypto altogether.

A Big Deal?

The pressure that the Wikimedia Foundation came under is likely linked to concerns over Bitcoin's impact on the environment.

It seems that the ban is more of a symbolic gesture than one that will hit the organization in the pocket.

Data suggests that, over the whole of 2021, just 0.08% of the foundation's revenues actually came from crypto donations — and in any case, the digital assets it received were immediately converted into cash.

Earlier this year, Mozilla also announced that it would no longer accept crypto donations after facing a backlash on Twitter.

One of the nonprofit organization's own co-founders, Jamie Zawinski, had tweeted:

"Hi, I'm sure that whoever runs this account has no idea who I am, but I founded @mozilla and I'm here to say f*** you and f*** this. Everyone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed of this decision to partner with planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters."
14 people liked this article