Crypto Community Buzz | Wikipedia Considers Classifying NFTs as "Non-Art," Wikimedia Foundation Proposes Ceasing Crypto Donations

A group of Wikipedia editors are currently discussing whether to remove NFTs from the art category. The Wikimedia Foundation has also initiated a proposal to cease cryptocurrency donations due to environmental concerns, both of which have garnered attention from the crypto community.

Should NFTs Have Their Own Wikipedia Category?

Wikipedia has been discussing since December last year whether NFTs should be categorized under art, with all six editors currently opposing the inclusion of NFT sales in the art category, according to a tweet from an NFT promoter and co-founder of Nifty Gateway.

The main argument stems from a list of the most expensive art pieces, where despite digital artists like Pak and Beeple making headlines at traditional art auctions like Sotheby's and Christie's with impressive sales, the editors feel that NFT sales should not be part of that list.

Given Wikipedia's global reach, Duncan Cock Foster believes that categorizing NFTs outside of art on Wikipedia would be a disaster.

🚨 Art Emergency!! 🚨

There is a debate happening rn on @Wikipedia that has the potential to * officially categorize NFTs as ‘not art’ on all of Wikipedia. *

Wikipedia is a global source of truth. Having NFTs categorized as ‘not art’ would be a disaster!

🧵:

— duncancockfoster.eth | Nifty Gateway (@dccockfoster) January 12, 2022

Foster points out that based on Wikipedia's precedent, excluding NFTs from this list of the most expensive art pieces would lead to their classification as "non-art" in other Wikipedia categories as well. He urges the NFT community to unite to help Wikipedia editors understand that NFTs are indeed art.

In reality, Wikipedia editors have extensively discussed this issue, but overall find it challenging as they believe Wikipedia should not define what constitutes art. Therefore, distinguishing NFTs from traditional art forms like paintings and sculptures would simplify matters.

Wikimedia Foundation

Aside from the NFT categorization debate, the non-profit organization Wikimedia Foundation has also solicited opinions to cease accepting cryptocurrency donations.

Since 2019, Wikimedia Foundation has been accepting cryptocurrency donations through the payment processor BitPay, but now they are referencing data like the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index to emphasize the environmental impact of Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions.

Furthermore, the foundation mentions the high risks and speculative nature of cryptocurrencies, stating that supporting such volatile assets through donations does not align with their values and could tarnish their reputation by contributing to the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.

The foundation currently accepts Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ether, with BitPay converting the donations immediately, so the foundation does not actually handle cryptocurrencies directly.

The proposal initiator, Molly White, claims they are still awaiting relevant data but anticipates that discontinuing cryptocurrency donations would not result in a significant loss of contributions.