Wikipedia is the go-to choice for information for millions of people and even search engines and bots today. The platform is non-profit and thrives on donations from its regular users. Given the many forms that money is present in today, Wikipedia embraced the change. It allowed its users to donate in an array of ways too! One of these ways is cryptocurrency.
Recently, Wikipedia revealed that it would no longer be accepting donations in cryptocurrency. This announcement came after the community voted to remove the crypto donate option. Do not worry, as this update will not affect other modes of donation and is only limited to crypto as of now.
What drove Wikipedia to adopt this change? One thing is for sure this decision did not come as. It took almost three months of long and intense debates to decide on dropping the cryptocurrency feature altogether finally. The platform proposed that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and risky investments. They are not going away any time soon and have become the standard choice for donation. Wikipedia editors feel that they should not be endorsing such risky investments that may be fatal for the platform’s future.
The decision is not just limited to risky investments. Still, it also considers the environmental aspect of the contributions being made to the platform. Cryptocurrency is not easy in the environment, and its impact is enormous. The platform’s most donations being in Ethereum and Bitcoin was of particular concern for the community involved. These two cryptocurrencies require a lot of energy when being mined. It does not fit well with Wikipedia’s goals for the environment. Estimates for Bitcoin’s network are thought to be around 200 terawatt-hours of energy. This is almost 2000 kilowatt-hours per transaction. This ultimately led to being one of the key factors when it came to dropping the cryptocurrency donation feature.
The news certainly did not sit well with Bitcoin and Ethereum users. They defended the energy usage by adding that it is because of the mining and does not necessarily increase because of the transactions processed in the said currency. A donation in Bitcoin will not result in an increase in carbon emissions. Critics also added that Wikipedia’s endorsement is of particular importance to Bitcoin and Ethereum. It increases the price of the coin and will result in higher competition amongst their competitors. Miners will shift towards creating new coins to tackle this problem.
Some even pointed out that one can easily prevent this hassle by converting their cryptocurrency into standard currency before donating to the platform. However, laws, specifically those in the USA, are designed in such a way that an individual will benefit more if they contribute to a charity in cryptocurrency. People in the debate also stated that banking services are not available for many of them, and they turn to alternatives.
Wikipedia has already announced its decision regarding donations made in cryptocurrency. It looks like they will not be changing it anytime soon. Especially considering the increasing controversies surrounding cryptocurrency.
Read next: New Study Shows Most People Don’t Know How Big Tech Uses Their Private Data
Recently, Wikipedia revealed that it would no longer be accepting donations in cryptocurrency. This announcement came after the community voted to remove the crypto donate option. Do not worry, as this update will not affect other modes of donation and is only limited to crypto as of now.
What drove Wikipedia to adopt this change? One thing is for sure this decision did not come as. It took almost three months of long and intense debates to decide on dropping the cryptocurrency feature altogether finally. The platform proposed that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and risky investments. They are not going away any time soon and have become the standard choice for donation. Wikipedia editors feel that they should not be endorsing such risky investments that may be fatal for the platform’s future.
The decision is not just limited to risky investments. Still, it also considers the environmental aspect of the contributions being made to the platform. Cryptocurrency is not easy in the environment, and its impact is enormous. The platform’s most donations being in Ethereum and Bitcoin was of particular concern for the community involved. These two cryptocurrencies require a lot of energy when being mined. It does not fit well with Wikipedia’s goals for the environment. Estimates for Bitcoin’s network are thought to be around 200 terawatt-hours of energy. This is almost 2000 kilowatt-hours per transaction. This ultimately led to being one of the key factors when it came to dropping the cryptocurrency donation feature.
The news certainly did not sit well with Bitcoin and Ethereum users. They defended the energy usage by adding that it is because of the mining and does not necessarily increase because of the transactions processed in the said currency. A donation in Bitcoin will not result in an increase in carbon emissions. Critics also added that Wikipedia’s endorsement is of particular importance to Bitcoin and Ethereum. It increases the price of the coin and will result in higher competition amongst their competitors. Miners will shift towards creating new coins to tackle this problem.
Some even pointed out that one can easily prevent this hassle by converting their cryptocurrency into standard currency before donating to the platform. However, laws, specifically those in the USA, are designed in such a way that an individual will benefit more if they contribute to a charity in cryptocurrency. People in the debate also stated that banking services are not available for many of them, and they turn to alternatives.
Wikipedia has already announced its decision regarding donations made in cryptocurrency. It looks like they will not be changing it anytime soon. Especially considering the increasing controversies surrounding cryptocurrency.
Read next: New Study Shows Most People Don’t Know How Big Tech Uses Their Private Data
