Effective immediately, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) will no longer accept donations in cryptocurrencies.
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The Wikimedia Foundation is no longer accepting crypto donations.
© Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation this week
approved
that the organization will no longer accept donations in cryptocurrencies from now on. To prevent future contributions in cryptocurrencies, WMF also wants to close its Bitpay account.
Small percentage of donations in cryptocurrencies
Almost 400 members of the WMF came to the decision to abolish crypto donations in a three-month discussion. A majority of 234 votes spoke out in favor of the abolition. Compared to other organizations, the WMF receives only a very small part of its donations in cryptocurrencies. Last year, at $130,000, it was just 0.08 percent of total donations.
Environmental hazards and scams
WMF cited the negative impact on the environment and the risk of fraud as reasons against cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, editor Molly White questioned accepting crypto donations, sparking a debate among the organization’s members.
“I’m really glad that the Wikimedia Foundation honored their community’s request, and I’m really proud of my community for making what I believe to be an ethical decision after a lot of thoughtful discussion. There are just too many problems with cryptocurrencies for potential fundraising to be worth the cost of legitimizing it.”
White tells The Verge .
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