Over 70% of the Wikimedia community voted to prevent the Wikimedia Foundation from accepting cryptocurrency donations.

The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) has been engaged in community discussions since the beginning of this year regarding whether the foundation should accept cryptocurrency donations. As of the 12th, according to information from Wikipedia, the supporters of blocking cryptocurrency donations outnumbered the opponents by 232 to 94, with supporters accounting for 71.17% and opponents clearly being in the minority. Therefore, the Wikimedia community will request the Wikimedia Foundation to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations.

The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) has been engaged in community debates since the beginning of this year regarding whether the foundation should accept cryptocurrency donations. According to information from Wikipedia, as of the 12th, the supporters of blocking crypto donations outnumbered the opponents by 232 to 94, with supporters accounting for 71.17% of the total, making the opposition clearly the minority. As a result, the Wikimedia community will request the Wikimedia Foundation to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations.

This discussion took place from January 10th to April 12th of this year, with about 400 users participating in the debate. Those in favor of blocking crypto donations believe that accepting cryptocurrency is equivalent to supporting the environmental issues brought by Bitcoin, acknowledging the various problems behind cryptocurrencies, and endorsing the many negative reputations associated with them. On the other hand, opponents argue that the proof of work of cryptocurrencies does not affect the environment, that cryptocurrencies provide a safer way for people in oppressed countries to participate in finance, and that fiat currencies also have sustainability issues.

The discussion does not include new accounts and unregistered users. The ratio of supporters to opponents of the proposal to block crypto donations is 232 to 94, or 71.17%. The results show that supporters in the community significantly outnumber the opponents. Therefore, the Wikimedia community is asking the Wikimedia Foundation to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations.

Initially, supporters of the proposal believed that cryptocurrencies may not align with the Wikimedia Foundation's commitment to sustainability, as Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two most widely used cryptocurrencies, both based on proof of work and consuming significant energy, causing great harm to the environment. Although there are more environmentally friendly cryptocurrencies, their usage is not as widespread.

Professor Jorge Stolfi from the University of Campinas in São Paulo, Brazil, who opposes Bitcoin, also joined the debate, calling the technology fraudulent.

Founded in 2003, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) funds Wikipedia through non-profit means, aiming to provide information to people globally in open and free languages.

According to a report presented by the foundation in January, they received around $130,000 in cryptocurrency donations in 2020-2021, accounting for 0.08% of their income. Among 347 donors, Bitcoin was the most used cryptocurrency, with donations also made in Ether and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

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