After a strong proposal from the users to stop accepting crypto donations to Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit confirmed that it would continue receiving crypto donations. Crypto donations will still be accepted at the foundation since it wants to be ‘as inclusive as possible.’
The contributors banded together to request the foundation to stop the option of accepting crypto donations due to environmental issues. But, while the organization will continually monitor the conversations surrounding crypto within its thriving communities, it will not stop accepting crypto donations.
Elise Flick from Wikimedia told reporters that the foundation’s fundraising approach is meeting the donors wherever they are. Flick also said that the foundation wants to offer the most desired payment options in various parts of the world. It includes catering to the requests that the foundation got from the donors requesting to donate in crypto.
“We want to be as inclusive as possible, and allow people to contribute with the method they feel most comfortable with.”
The Senior Community Relations Specialist from Wikimedia Foundation, Julia Brungs, also responded to Molly White’s (GorillaWarfare) questions published in the original proposal. Based on a statement by Brungs, the most used cryptocurrency for donations was Bitcoin (BTC).
Nevertheless, the organization quickly changes it into fiat. Brungs wrote:
“We have never held cryptocurrency, and spot-convert donations daily into fiat currency (USD), which doesn’t have a significant environmental impact.”
The response also said that data from Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index says that there is quite minimal evidence that connects Bitcoin directly as a contributor to climate change:
“The data “shows that even in the worst-case (i.e., mining powered exclusively by coal), Bitcoin’s environmental footprint currently remains marginal at best.”
In the meantime, not all organizations want to continue crypto donations after receiving anti-crypto community feedback. Earlier in January, Mozilla stopped its acceptance of crypto donations after getting a reaction from a co-founder. Due to that decision, the Dogecoin creator slammed Mozilla stating:
“Thank you for succumbing to an ignorant, reactionary internet mob.”
