Key Takeaways:
- Wikipedia has stopped accepting donations in cryptocurrency.
- It withdrew its support for Bitcoin and other digital assets.
When all the big names like Tesla, Microsoft, and Starbucks have been showing their support for digital currencies, the news of Wikipedia thinking otherwise came as a blow.
Recently, news of Wikipedia deciding to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations made a run on the internet, and people are not happy about it. Wikipedia opened a request for a comments section from January 10, 2022, to April 12, 2022, before deciding on it. Though they have raised arguments to support their decision, the netizens are mocking them instead.
Wikipedia has made three strong arguments. It has been stated that supporting digital assets might give off an idea that they are supporters of the illicit activities that go around in the crypto space. As investments in crypto are risky, showing its support will be normalizing investments and technology that are “inherently predatory”.
The concerns about cryptocurrencies being environmentally friendly have been raised earlier. Wikipedia showcases this issue as one of the reasons for withdrawing their support. They also mention that it does not align with their goals and commitments which involve saving the environment.
In the report, it is also mentioned that further supporting cryptocurrencies will put their reputation in danger. It reads, “One of our peers in the non-profit, FOSS space (Mozilla) is reevaluating their choice to accept cryptocurrency donations after considerable backlash from their supporters, including from their own founder Jamie Zawinski.”
Questions have been raised regarding the previous donations it received in crypto. The report includes a section explaining the amount lost won’t make a huge difference. However, the data regarding this is still awaited.
