The Wikimedia Foundation no longer accepts charitable contributions in cryptocurrency
Wikimedia Foundation – an organization behind Wikipedia – will no longer accept charitable contributions in cryptocurrency. This was first reported on May the 1st on Web3 is Going Just Great.
Later the Wikimedia Foundation announced that it “decided to stop the direct reception of cryptocurrencies as a means of donations.” The organization also closes its Bitpay account so that not to receive crypto contributions in the future.
The decision was made after a long discussion. 234 participants of the community out of 400 voted for. The non-ecology of mining, the risk of fraud, and the very low proportion of cryptocurrency contributions compared to others influenced the decision. In 2021, WMF received $130 100 in cryptocurrency contribution, which was 0.8% of all donations.
The first call to give up cryptocurrency came from Molly White, a perennial editor of Wikipedia and the creator of Web3 is Going Just Great. Now she approved decision made by the community:
“I’m really happy that the Wikimedia Foundation implemented the request from its community, and I’m really proud of my community for making what I feel was the ethical decision after a lot of thoughtful discussion. There are just too many issues with crypto for any potential donation revenue to be worth the cost of helping to legitimize it.”
Wikimedia has received cryptocurrency donations since 2014. In the statement, the organization stated that it would continue to monitor this issue and remain responsive to the needs of volunteers and donors.