After the backlash from its community and users over accepting crypto donations, the Wikimedia Foundation says it will still be accepting them saying people should choose the method they feel most comfortable with.
After users suggested that Wikimedia Foundation stop accepting bitcoin donations, the organization stated that it will continue to accept them.
Because of environmental concerns, contributors gathered together to ask the organization to eliminate the opportunity to donate in cryptocurrency. While the group will continue to monitor cryptocurrency discussions in its communities, it will not accept cryptocurrency donations.
Wikimedia’s fundraising strategy, according to Elise Flick of the Wikimedia team, is to meet donors where they are. The foundation’s goal, according to Flick, is to “offer the most requested payment choices in various parts of the world.” This includes addressing donor requests for cryptocurrency donations.
“We want to be as inclusive as possible, and allow people to contribute with the method they feel most comfortable with.”
Wikimedia addresses the environmental concerns
Julia Brungs, the Wikimedia Foundation’s Senior Community Relations Specialist, also replied to Molly White’s (GorillaWarfare) questions in the original proposal. Bitcoin was the most popular cryptocurrency for donations, according to Brungs (BTC).
The organization, on the other hand, quickly transforms it into fiat currency. Brungs added, “We have never kept cryptocurrencies and daily spot-convert donations into fiat currency (USD), which has no substantial environmental impact.”
The statement also highlighted statistics from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, which claims that there is very no evidence linking Bitcoin to climate change directly.
“Even in the worst-case scenario (i.e., mining fueled entirely by coal), Bitcoin’s environmental footprint is currently minor at best,” according to the statistics.
Meanwhile, after hearing the anti-crypto community response, not all organizations are willing to continue bitcoin donations. After hearing feedback from a co-founder, Mozilla put a halt to accepting cryptocurrency donations in January.
“Thank you for submitting to an uneducated, reactionary online crowd,” Dogecoin’s inventor said in response to Mozilla’s decision.
