The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia, has announced that it has stopped accepting crypto donations.
In an update by WMF, the organization said it has “decided to stop direct acceptance of cryptocurrency as a donation tool.” He also stated that he will close his Bitpay account.
The decision was made after a long debate among some 300 WMF members. 234 members voted to remove donations, while 94 members voted to keep donations.
WMF has been accepting crypto donations for nearly 8 years since launching its service in 2014. Some of the reasons that inform WMF’s decision to discontinue crypto donations include Bitcoin’s environmental impact, fraud risks, and the very small amount of crypto donations WMF receives compared to traditional ways of giving. For example, in 2021, WMF raised just $130,100 in Bitcoin donations, accounting for only 0.08% of total donations.
Voting by WMF members prompted WMF to reconsider its policy of accepting Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum contributions.
Molly White, longtime Wikipedia editor and creator of Web3 Is Going Just Great, was the first to recommend in January that Wikipedia stop accepting crypto donations. Molly also argued that accepting crypto donations shows Wikipedia supports “inherently risky” investments. Molly’s proposal was accepted in February and resulted in a fresh vote.
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