On December 31, the Mozilla software community, founded in 1998, announced that it was accepting crypto-asset donations through Bitpay. However, shortly after the announcement, several people complained about the company’s decision. A week later, Mozilla announced that it would refrain from accepting digital currencies for the time being and « paused the possibility of donating cryptocurrencies ».
Last week Mozilla, the current owner of the Gecko layout engine, announced the Thunderbird Email clients and the Firefox web browser have been known to accept crypto donations through the Bitpay payment processor. « Play in Dogecoin? HOLDing some Bitcoin [and] Ethereum? We use Bitpay to accept donations in cryptocurrency, « Mozilla tweeted at the time.
Mozilla co-founder Jamie Zawinski criticized Mozilla’s decision to accept crypto immediately after the tweet. « Hi, I’m sure whoever runs this account has no idea who I am, but I founded Mozilla and I’m here to tell you the goddamn it, » Zawinski said. « Everyone involved in the project should be ashamed of this decision to partner with the planet-burning Ponzi grabs. »
Many others shamed Mozilla for the so-called impact of the crypto industry on climate change. « Bitcoin is so bad for the environment, » replied Rich Burroughs to Mozilla’s tweet. “Maybe you [want] to reconsider. The planet is certainly more important than a web browser. «
April King, another former Mozilla developer and security engineer at Dropbox, replied, Hey Mozilla. You probably don’t remember me, but I built the Mozilla Observatory, the Mozilla SSL Configuration Generator, redesigned the Firefox Certificate Viewer, and kept Mozilla secure for half a decade. I can’t express how disappointed I am with this decision. ”
It appears that Mozilla did not appreciate the complaints and responded to the criticism on January 6, 2022. “Last week we sent a Twitter reminder that Mozilla is accepting donations in cryptocurrency. This led to an important discussion about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies. We listen and take action, ”said Mozilla. The software company added:
Decentralized web technology remains an important area to research, but a lot has changed since we started accepting crypto donations. From today we will therefore check whether and how our current policy on crypto donations is in line with our climate goals. And while we conduct our review, we will pause the ability to donate cryptocurrencies.
Crypto-skeptics have been claiming for some time that digital assets like Bitcoin are bad for the environment, especially the proof-of-work Mining (PoW) tied to the Bitcoin network. The environmental complaints are said to be unfounded by a number of supporters of crypto assets who believe that « Bitcoin is one of the greenest financial networks ». In fact, many people believe that governments and central banks should be held responsible for the environmental damage. Crypto advocates insist that while energy concerns have increased over the past year, no one is talking about the carbon and military force that sustains the U.S. dollar.
What do you think of Mozilla’s decision to accept cryptocurrencies , due to the complaints the company received last week and so-called environmental concerns? Let us know what you think on this matter in the comments below.
Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a Florida-based financial tech journalist. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for bitcoin, open source code and decentralized applications. As of September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News on the disruptive protocols emerging today.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement for any product, service, or company. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author are directly or indirectly responsible for any damage or loss caused or allegedly caused by or related to the use or reliance on the content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
The Italian Luxury sports car maker headquartered in Maranello, Italy, has announced that it is partnering with Velas Network AG, a company specializing in blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) technology. Ferrari enters into partnership with blockchain company Velas On … read more.
The Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, headquartered in Maranello, Italy, has announced that the company is entering into a partnership with Velas Network AG, a company that specializes in blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) technology. Ferrari enters into partnership with the blockchain company Velas On … read more.
Keywords: