Wikipedia Set to Stop Accepting Cryptocurrency Donations
The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that owns Wikipedia, said it will no longer accept cryptocurrency as a operating of donating. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that is run off reader donations.
“We began our impart acceptance of cryptocurrency in 2014 based on requests from our volunteers and donor communities,” the foundation said on Sunday. “We are making this decision based on recent feedback from those same communities. Specifically, we will be closing our Bitpay account, which will prefer our ability to directly accept cryptocurrency as a diagram of donating. We will continue to monitor this impart, and appreciate the feedback and consideration given to this undulating matter by people across the Wikimedia movement.”
This decision-making comes after three-months of discussions within the Wiki public weighing the advantages and drawbacks of crypto donations. Many in the Wiki public argued against the usage of crypto due to environmental affairs and also argued that accepting crypto “constitutes implicit endorsement of the progenies surrounding cryptocurrencies.”
Cryptocurrency, often called crypto, is any form of currency that exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to hide it from being counterfeit or double-spent. Popular cryptocurrencies concerned bitcoin, ether, dogecoin and litecoin — all of which were previously approved by the Wikimedia Foundation. Some critics see crypto as a risky and volatile form of investment due to fluctuating prices and lack of regulation.
Crypto donations have been a very miniature part of Wikipedia’s overall fundraising, reportedly accounting for only 0.08% of last fiscal year’s donations.
