The Wikimedia Foundation, which supports Wikipedia, has announced that it will close its BitPay account and will no longer accept bitcoin payments due to community proposals.
“The Wikimedia Foundation has announced that it will no longer accept bitcoin donations. The decision was taken in response to a community request that the WMF stop accepting cryptocurrency donations, which occurred after a three-month deliberation that ended earlier in April,” Molly White, a Wikipedia editor, tweeted about it.
After 232 members, or 71 percent of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) community, voted in favor of a Jan. 10 proposal that cited energy consumption, ease of use for sanctioned people, exposure to crypto scams, and environmental sustainability as reasons to stop, the decision was made to end crypto donations.
These considerations generated concerns about how adopting cryptocurrency may jeopardize the inspiration’s long-term viability. Wikipedia is an open-source online encyclopedia, and BitPay is a cryptocurrency payment service.
According to the proposal and ensuing discussion, only approximately $130,000 in crypto donations were made in 2021, accounting for 0.08 percent of the foundation’s overall earnings. As a result, the foundation is unlikely to face the financial consequences as a result of its recent decision.
In 2014, the WMF started taking Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum contributions.
“We will continue to watch this problem,” the foundation says, “and appreciate the comments and care provided to this evolving subject by people across the Wikimedia movement.”
In January of this year, Molly White, who is also the developer of Web3 Is Going Just Great, requested that the WMF cease accepting bitcoin payments.
Mozilla To Continue Accepting Pos Cryptocurrencies Only
Mozilla also announced last month that they will no longer accept proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies but will continue to accept proof-of-stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies.
The notion of a scorned crypto neighborhood does not appear to be a concern to supporters of the ban.
