German software developer donated $1.2M in ‘undeserved’ Bitcoin to political party

A German national who reportedly sees his Bitcoin profits as “undeserved wealth” has donated more than $1 million to the country’s green political party.

According to Hamburg-based news outlet Die Zeit, Moritz Schmidt, a software developer from the northeastern town of Greifswald, has sent 1 million euro — roughly $1.2 million — to Germany’s green party, known as The Greens or Alliance 90. A party spokesperson said Schmidt had made significant gains during the Bitcoin (BTC) bull run but wanted to contribute to causes related to environmental and climate protection rather than hodling his crypto.

“The donor has made it clear to us that he sees these profits as undeserved wealth that he does not claim for himself, but wants to use socially, for something that corresponds to his convictions,” said the Greens spokesperson. “In the meantime he sees the Bitcoin system critically, among other things against the background that the necessary arithmetic operations consume huge amounts of electricity.”

Records for the Greens show that Schmidt’s donation is the biggest the party has received this year, with the next highest contribution at 500,000 euro, or roughly $600,000. The funds will reportedly be used for the party’s federal election campaign and the state election campaigns in 2021.

The software developer is not alone in seemingly hoping that the crypto industry will become greener. Many have criticized Bitcoin mining for its impact on the environment, with some estimates indicating the network consumes more energy than the entire country of Argentina. However, Mike Colyer, CEO of crypto mining firm Foundry Digital, said this week that he believes mining Bitcoin could eventually help the transition to a “world where 100% of our energy is produced from renewables.”