After Wikipedia editors voted to drop cryptocurrency as a donation choice final month, the Wikimedia Foundation has confirmed that it’s going to not settle for Bitcoin or different types of crypto, The Verge reported. As a part of that call, it is closing its Bitpay account to forestall any future donations.
“The Wikimedia Foundation has decided to discontinue direct acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of donating. We began our direct acceptance of cryptocurrency in 2014 based on requests from our volunteers and donor communities. We are making this decision based on recent feedback from those same communities. Specifically, we will be closing our Bitpay account, which will remove our ability to directly accept cryptocurrency as a method of donating,” the WMF wrote in an update.
“We will continue to monitor this issue, and appreciate the feedback and consideration given to this evolving matter by people across the Wikimedia movement. We will remain flexible and responsive to the needs of volunteers,” it added.
Wikipedia editor GorillaWarefare (aka Molly White) wrote a proposal for the inspiration to cease accepting cryptocurrencies, calling them “extremely risky investments.” She additionally identified that they could not align with the inspiration’s dedication to environmental sustainability, as annual crypto manufacturing makes use of extra power than total nations. White additionally cited the Mozilla Foundation’s change of coronary heart in its resolution to simply accept Bitcoin after going through a heavy backlash from customers.
Wikimedia welcomed requests for feedback (RfC) to GorillaWarfare’s proposal, with 232 voting in favor of it and 94 towards. The WMF stated it might take all that under consideration earlier than making a remaining resolution. “I’m really proud of my community for making what I feel was the ethical decision after a lot of thoughtful discussion,” White informed The Verge in an announcement. “There are just too many issues with crypto for any potential donation revenue to be worth the cost of helping to legitimize it.”
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