Bitcoin and Ether Donations Dropped by Wikipedia After Backlash
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Bitcoin and Ether Donations Dropped by Wikipedia After Backlash

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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the Wikimedia Foundation's community, which included a poll that asked whether support for crypto donations should be withdrawn.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

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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the Wikimedia Foundation's community, which included a poll that asked whether support for crypto donations should be withdrawn.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."
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