Mozilla cancels plans for bitcoin donations after the heavy backlash it received this week including some from the founder of the platform, as we reproted in our previous cryptocurrency news.
Mozilla cancels plans for a Bitcoin donation program and the decision came after a week of pushback from the open-source community. The main point of the criticism is the environmental impact of crypto. After a huge wave of criticism from the open-source community, Mozilla the company behind the Firefox browser announced that it paused accepting donations in crypto after an “important discussions” about its environmental impact of digital assets. Mozilla tweeted:
“Last week, we tweeted a reminder that Mozilla accepts cryptocurrency donations. This led to an important discussion about cryptocurrency.”
Dabble in @dogecoin? HODLing some #Bitcoin & #Ethereum?
We’re using @BitPay to accept donations in #cryptocurrency https://t.co/EOsLD1Z88O
— Mozilla (@mozilla) December 31, 2021
The organization said it is reviewing how the current policy on crypto donations fits with the broader climate goals and it is pushing the ability to donate crypto for its 211 million active users. The backlash started at the end of 2021 when Mozilla posted a tweet reminding followers they can use crypto to make donations to the foundation. Mozilla’s tweet cited Bitcoin, Ethereum, and DOGE and most users on Twitter were not happy to learn that Mozilla accepts bitcoin but was unaware that the foundation has been doing so since 2014.
The chorus of dissent included Mozilla’s co-founder Jamie Zawinski who noted:
“Hi, I’m sure that whoever runs this account has no idea who I am, but I founded @mozilla and I’m here to say fuck you and fuck this. Everyone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed of this decision to partner with planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters.”
Dabble in @dogecoin? HODLing some #Bitcoin & #Ethereum?
We’re using @BitPay to accept donations in #cryptocurrency https://t.co/EOsLD1Z88O
— Mozilla (@mozilla) December 31, 2021
Blockstream CEO Adam Back pushed back on Zawinski saying that more early coders apparently were living under a rock about Bitcoin:
“Turns out some early coders having been living under a rock about #bitcoin. Someone brain-dump @jwz , he blocked me already and all I suggested was some ex-Mozilla people to talk to for a brain dump. That’s weak sauce for the famed @jwz hacker dude.”
But Zawinski was alone in his complaint. Peter Linss who designed the Gecko browser engine used in the Firefox browser joined in. He noted:
“Hey @mozilla, I expect you don’t know me either, but I designed Gecko, the engine your browser is built on. And I’m 100% with @jwz on this. What. The. Actual. Fuck. You were meant to be better than this.”
Hey @mozilla, I expect you don’t know me either, but I designed Gecko, the engine your browser is built on. And I’m 100% with @jwz on this.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
You were meant to be better than this.
— Peter Linss (Parroty) (@plinss) January 3, 2022
Last month, the Game World GSC canceled the plans to integrate NFTs into its game after getting a lot of negative pushback from the gaming community. The same month gamers criticized Ubisoft for the same thing.
DC Forecasts is a leader in many crypto news categories, striving for the highest journalistic standards and abiding by a strict set of editorial policies. If you are interested to offer your expertise or contribute to our news website, feel free to contact us at [email protected]
Discussion about this post