The Mozilla Foundation has suspended cryptocurrency donations following a backlash from the community sparked by scathing criticism from co-founder Jamie Zawinski.
Last week, the development company behind the Firefox browser tweeted a call for cryptocurrency donations.
But earlier today, Mozilla announced that it had stopped cryptocurrency donations due to online discussion about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies.
Last week, we tweeted a reminder that Mozilla accepts cryptocurrency donations. This led to a major discussion about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies. We are listening and taking action. 1/4
-Mozilla (@mozilla) January 6, 2022
Mozilla said it will continue to explore decentralized web technology, but will only resume crypto donations if it fits in with its climate goals. He said that in the spirit of open source, Mozilla will be transparent in the review process and share constant updates.
The drama began on December 31 when the organization called for cryptocurrency donations. through the BitPay platform.
The nonprofit's post drew disapproval from some members of its community, including Mozilla co-founder Jamie Zawinski. Although he has not been associated with Mozilla since 2000, he criticized the organization in the strongest possible terms:
"Everyone involved in the project should be terribly embarrassed by this decision to partner with Ponzi scammers who are incinerating the planet."
in a Blog Posted on his website on January 5, Zawinski spoke more about the cryptocurrency industry and what he argues is its unrealistic business model. Zawinski argues that industry manufactures pollution and turns it into money.
Some community members asked Mozilla to drop its call for donations and to explain how accepting crypto was in line with its mission to fight the ongoing climate crisis.
Twitter user Melissa (@mcbyrne) saying, "Bitcoin is bad for [the] weather ", while @seglegs disputed why Mozilla was a "favorable environmental catastrophe" in backing cryptocurrencies.
Some community members pointed to a company blog on the organization's climate commitments on January 21 of last year quoting CEO Mitchell Baker speaking about Mozilla's commitment to protecting the environment and tackling the climate crisis.
According According to the New York Times, Bitcoin mining consumes more than 91 terawatt hours of electricity per year, almost 0.5% of the world's electricity consumption per year.
Mozilla is just the latest high profile example to face the ire of some users after making crypto and NFT related announcements. In recent months, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Kickstarter, and Discord have faced criticism due to the environmental effects of mining and concerns expressed about crypto scams and fraud.
Popular video game company Square Enix faced criticism from gamers on social media when the president Yosuke Matsuda showed appreciation for blockchain games, NFT and the metaverse over the weekend. On the other hand, money speaks louder than keyboard warriors and their comments led to an 8% gain in the stock price.
Related: New LGBTQ token targets fairness but raises red flags with community
Gaming giant Ubisoft faced harsh criticism from its users, announcing the NFT launch in game December 7. Despite a significant backlash, Ubisoft will continue its initiative in the form of dynamic NFTs with Aleph.im.
Also in early December, Kickstarter announced plans to develop a decentralized crowdfunding platform. Some users threatened to leave the platform due to the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies.
On November 9, Discord CEO Jason Citron shared a tweet signaling the company's intention to allow users to connect a crypto wallet with their accounts. Users raised concerns and spoke about the amount of power required to process blockchain transactions and the potential for money laundering and scams in cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Just two days after posting the tweet, Citron retracted, saying the company had no current plans to integrate Web 3.0 concepts and that it is committed to protecting its users from fraud, spam and scams.
Post navigation
