Mozilla is accepting crypto donations again, but only from PoS-validated blockchains

At the beginning of the year, Mozilla stopped accepting donations in cryptocurrency. Crypto donations are now being accepted again, but only those whose transactions on the blockchain are validated using the proof-of-stake mechanism – Bitcoin is out with that.

Mozilla, the US nonprofit foundation behind the Firefox internet browser, has resumed donations in cryptocurrencies. However, only donations in proof-of-stake cryptos such as Solana, Cardano and Polkadot are now accepted. This means that donations in Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptos like Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Litecoin are still no longer possible. The foundation has also stated that it plans to update the list of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies accepted for donations in Q2 2022.

Mozilla had been accepting donations in Bitcoin since 2014, until serious criticism of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies for their high carbon emissions due to their extreme power consumption. Now the foundation also wants to review the environmental impact of crypto mining. However, many independent studies have long established that PoW mining of cryptocurrencies also consumes an exorbitant amount of electricity.

Ethereum, for example, is said to use about 112 terawatt hours of electricity per year, more than Pakistan and the Philippines use.

Mozilla announced:

“Our decision not to accept proof-of-work donations ensures that our fundraising activities remain aligned with our issuance commitment.”

Mozilla Crypto-Politics

Mozilla has previously pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so the decision to donate is based on the foundation’s commitment to climate protection.

“In our climate commitments, we also promised to help develop, design and improve products from a sustainability perspective. We believe Mozilla can play a positive role in the industry by encouraging the organizations behind cryptocurrencies that we accept to be transparent about their energy consumption patterns.”

Mozilla founder Jamie Zawinski, who hasn’t worked for Mozilla since 1999, and Peter Linss, the developer of the Mozilla Internet browser’s Gecko engine, praised the decision to no longer accept crypto donations in general. zawinski wrote:

“I’m glad for the part I played in getting her to reverse that terrible decision. Cryptocurrencies are not only an apocalyptic ecological catastrophe and an even more stupid pyramid scheme, but also incredibly damaging to the open web, another ideal Mozilla once promoted. So I hope that after their “review” they’ll come to the obvious conclusion: “Bury it in the desert. Wear gloves.”

However, the campaign against Bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptocurrencies has not abated as several gaming platforms have been heavily criticized for their NFT activities. Tesla also faced significant criticism last year, prompting the company to reverse its decision to accept Bitcoin as a payment currency for its electric cars.