Wikipedia to Stop Accepting Crypto Donations on Environmental, Other Grounds
The announcement follows a vote by the Wikimedia community in which 71.2% voted in favor of a proposal to stop accepting cryptocurrency.
May 1, 2022 at 6:38 p.m. UTC
/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/LXF2COBSKBCNHNRE3WTK2BZ7GE.png)
Wikimedia, the non-profit foundation that runs Wikipedia, has decided to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations following a three-month debate in which the environmental impact of bitcoin (BTC) was a major discussion point.
- The decision came in response to a community vote on a proposal to the foundation from contributor Molly White, who goes by the user name GorillaWarfare, argued that accepting donations in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, bitcoin cash (BCH) and ether (ETH) signals endorsement of digital coins, which are “inherently predatory” as investments and don’t align with the foundation's commitment to environmental sustainability.
- Excluding new accounts and unregistered users, of the fewer than 400 users who voted, 232 to 94, or 71.17%, supported no longer accepting crypto.
- White argued that Wikipedia risked damaging its reputation by accepting crypto donations, citing the decision earlier in the year by non-profit peer, Mozilla, to pause accepting donations in crypto.
- Wikimedia accepts bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and ether via BitPay. White singled out bitcoin and ether’s need for enormous amounts of energy, while noting that there are other “eco-friendlier” cryptocurrencies, although they are less widely used.
- Crypto miners, which use tremendous amounts of computing power to validate transactions using proof-of-work, have been criticized for damaging the environment.
- However, miners have been actively countering such criticism by using more sustainable energy sources for their mining operations. Furthermore, bitcoin supporters argue that miners can help drive a change to clean energy.
- Meanwhile, the Ethereum network has been working towards transitioning to a proof-of-stake model for validating transactions, which uses less energy, although the switch has faced prolonged delays.
- Wikimedia left the door open to possibly resuming accepting crypto, saying it will continue to monitor the situation.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, institutional digital assets exchange. Bullish group is majority owned by Block.one; both groups have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.
:format(webp)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/coindesk/83b3bbdb-5508-48a9-a9d9-2d7dd460fd5b.png)
Aoyon Ashraf is managing editor with more than a decade of experience in covering equity markets
:format(webp)/www.coindesk.com/resizer/V6XgCkzU9bPyDNOHE1ls_jvnIrs=/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/HTEM5NBEFVFDDGGLJVAFF7E3Y4.png)
Kevin Reynolds is Editor in Chief at CoinDesk. He owns bitcoin, ether, polygon and solana.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.