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Chronicles

The story behind the story

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Mozilla pauses accepting crypto donations following a widespread backlash, mostly over carbon emissions, including from co-founder Jamie Zawinski

Mozilla is the latest company to take heat for its involvement with cryptocurrency  —  Mozilla, the nonprofit organization that makes …

The Verge Jay Peters

Context & Ripple Effects

Mozilla's reversal made crypto-donation policy a reputational issue for nonprofit technology organizations: the backlash centered on emissions concerns and included criticism from co-founder Jamie Zawinski. The related coverage shows the decision became a reference point when the Wikimedia Foundation ended crypto donations after community feedback.

First-order effects

  • Mozilla stops taking cryptocurrency through its donation channel, removing that payment option while it addresses the emissions-driven criticism.
  • Jamie Zawinski's public criticism gains immediate weight as Mozilla responds to the concern he raised about the environmental cost associated with crypto donations.

Second-order effects

  • Wikimedia's later decision to discontinue crypto donations, citing Mozilla's January move, shows peer nonprofit institutions treating community acceptance as a constraint on payment-method policy.
  • Crypto donors seeking to support organizations such as Mozilla and Wikimedia face a narrower set of accepted donation methods, while those organizations prioritize reputational alignment over that channel.

Third-order effects

  • If peer institutions continue to follow Mozilla and Wikimedia, nonprofit crypto acceptance will increasingly be governed by community and environmental scrutiny rather than by the availability of the payment rail alone.
  • The pattern points to donor-payment choices becoming part of an organization's public values and governance posture, particularly where a payment method carries contested environmental implications.

The trend: Mission-driven technology organizations are subjecting crypto-payment access to the same community and environmental accountability applied to their broader public commitments.

Discussion

  • @mozilla @mozilla on x
    So, starting today we are reviewing if and how our current policy on crypto donations fits with our climate goals. And as we conduct our review, we will pause the ability to donate cryptocurrency. 3/4
  • @plinss Peter Linss on x
    @jwz @mozilla 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.
  • @smdiehl Stephen Diehl on x
    Think we sent a very clear message to any more companies that try to hitch themselves to planet destroying pyramid schemes. https://techcrunch.com/...
  • @paoloardoino Paolo Ardoino on x
    Can we check how much Firefox JavaScript engine is impacting climate? I could cook an egg on my laptop. https://twitter.com/...
  • @smdiehl Stephen Diehl on x
    A crystal clear message got sent to the tech industry last week. We don't want your digital pyramid schemes, and there are serious reputational consequences for companies that try to push these scams on users. https://www.theverge.com/...
  • @vers_lalune @vers_lalune on x
    I dont understand how no one at these companies are smart enough / not pussy enough to tell idiots they dont know what theyre talking about. Why does everyone succumb to the mob now? https://twitter.com/...
  • @deadalnix @deadalnix on x
    Immagine being the only widely popular browser that is not webkit based. You have a key role to play keeping the internet open. And instead, you distract yourself with random unrelated crap. Do you really aim for 0% market shares? https://twitter.com/...
  • @ben_mckenzie Ben McKenzie on x
    I'll save you the trouble. Unless one of your “climate goals” is the destructive of said climate, it doesn't. Good luck with your review. And I hope you have a good bot filter. https://twitter.com/...
  • @mikeinspace @mikeinspace on x
    You're a fucking web browser, why do you have “climate goals”? https://twitter.com/...
  • @harryhalpin @harryhalpin on x
    So you are angry @jwz when @mozilla takes cryptocurrency DONATIONS but didn't lift a finger when @mozilla implemented and supported #w3c DRM, locking MILLIONS of users out of media content? What. The. Actual. Fuck. You. Virtue-Signaling. Hypocrite. P.S. You too @plinss https://tw…
  • @parismarx Paris Marx on x
    There are a lot of people who want us to believe that resistance is futile when it comes to crypto bullshit, yet it's actually very common that backlash forces companies and people to reconsider their crypto and NFT plans. https://twitter.com/...
  • @algodtrading @algodtrading on x
    People acting like they care about the climate while typing from their iphones You realize they were most likely made by little children in very poor conditions right? People should learn to keep their mouth shut, jfc https://twitter.com/...
  • @j4vv4d @j4vv4d on x
    All I'm saying is “planet-incinerating ponzi grifters” is my favourite new phrase ever! https://twitter.com/...
  • @aridavidpaul @aridavidpaul on x
    @jwz @mozilla Bold public stances are commendable, but maybe spend 5 minutes learning about the electricity side? Crypto has been the world's largest ever green energy subsidy and we've seen the beneficial effects already. PoW has a more renewables heavy energy mix than any indus…
  • @dwr Dan Romero on x
    Wait until they find out how the Internet is powered. https://twitter.com/...
  • @jgarzik Ser Jeff Garzik on x
    🤦‍♂️ Noted: The backlashers provided plenty of comments, but zero dollars in donations. In fact, monetarily, this reaction was net negative for Mozilla as well as freedom and privacy. https://twitter.com/...
  • @nneuman Nick Neuman on x
    It's insane to see how easily companies buckle to pressure from people spouting uninformed opinions about the environmental impact of crypto. Bitcoin will be one of our best tools for accelerating adoption of clean energy. More education is critical. https://www.theverge.com/...
  • @jwz @jwz on x
    @mozilla 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.