The Wikimedia Foundation, which backs Wikipedia, will shut down its BitPay account and has announced it will stop accepting cryptocurrency donations based on community feedback. The decision to end crypto donations was made after 232 members, or 71% of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) community, voted in favor of a Jan. 10 proposal that cited energy consumption, ease of use for sanctioned individuals, exposure to crypto scams and environmental sustainability as reasons to stop it. These issues raised concerns about how accepting crypto could damage the foundation’s reputation in the long run. Wikipedia is an open-source online encyclopedia and BitPay is …

Requests for comments on a proposal urging the Wikimedia Foundation to stop accepting donations in cryptocurrency have closed, with the majority of users voting in favor. According to a Tuesday update on the proposal, roughly 71%, or 232 out of 326, Wikimedia contributors who responded requested that the Wikimedia Foundation — the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia — stop accepting cryptocurrency donations. The arguments in favor of the proposition included environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin (BTC) transactions and “the risk to the movement’s reputation for accepting cryptocurrencies.” The community first opened the proposal to comment on Jan. 10, expanding the discussion to …

Following a proposal from users to stop accepting crypto donations to Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit confirmed that it would proceed with crypto donations. Contributors banded together to urge the foundation to disable the option to donate in crypto because of environmental concerns. However, while the organization will continuously monitor the conversations around crypto within its communities, it will not budge on accepting crypto donations. Elise Flick from the Wikimedia team told Cointelegraph that Wikimedia’s fundraising approach is meeting donors where they are. Flick mentioned that the foundation aims to “provide the most desired payment options in different parts of the …

A group of editors on Wikipedia, the free user generated encyclopedia, have voted against classifying NFTs as a form of art and have come to a consensus to shelve the issue until a later date. A survey and debate started on the platform at the end of December revolving around the most expensive art sales by living artists and whether NFT art sales should be deemed as “art sales” or “NFT sales.” “Wikipedia really can't be in the business of deciding what counts as art or not, which is why putting NFTs, art or not, in their own list makes …

After celebrating its 20th anniversary in January, the free Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia continues making history by selling its first nonfungible token (NFT) via auction giant Christie’s. On Dec. 15, Christie’s completed an auction of two Wikipedia-related objects directly from Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. Titled The Birth of Wikipedia, the online sale included two lots, an NFT of Wikipedia’s first edit, which sold for $750,000, and a Strawberry iMac used by Wales to create Wikipedia, sold for $187,500. The NFT lot features the first message posted on Wikipedia by the site’s co-founder back in 2001, marking a unique moment in the …

A decentralized blockchain project has launched a new contest as it vies to build the next Wikipedia. Free TON says there are a number of issues that are holding the online encyclopedia project back. It claims that the current rules and social mechanics of Wikipedia actively discourage people from making a contribution — and all this means the community is much smaller than it potentially could be. Because of this, the site misses out on experienced potential contributors who could have added valuable knowledge. Some of the issues that Free TON wants to resolve in Freecyclopedia contest include the fact …

Bitcoin (BTC) has gained 30% in a week and topped out at $23,777 on Dec. 16 — but hardly anyone in the world knows yet, data suggests. According to charts tracking public awareness of what Bitcoin has done recently, interest is still a fraction of what it was during its run to previous all-time highs exactly three years ago in 2017. Twitter sleeping on BTC Outside "CT" Anyone who regularly reads crypto Twitter, also known informally as "CT," may have the impression that the entire social network revolves around Bitcoin price action in 2020. This is not the case, however, …

Anti-crypto activist David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain, has once again used his influence as a senior Wikipedia editor, this time to remove a blockchain-related entry about Australian firm Power Ledger. In his latest blog posting, the Wikipedia editor appeared to boast about his success in having the Power Ledger article deleted, which he said was "on the basis of being a pile of press-release churnalism, and the only genuine press coverage was about how Power Ledger was a scam.” A publicly available discussion between Wikipedia editors debating the Power Ledger page shows Gerald arguing that …

Are there decentralized file sharing use cases already in operation? Two examples where IPFS has been used are with Wikipedia and the Android version of the Opera browser. The Turkish government previously attempted to ban Wikipedia, citing it as a national security threat. Hacktivists uploaded a version of Turkish Wikipedia and posted it using IPFS as a way of circumventing the ban. IPFS has also been integrated into the Android version of the Opera web browser as part of its bid to introduce Web 3.0 capabilities. BTFS is integrated into decentralized video streaming network DLive, enabling fast and censorship-resistant livestreaming. …

On March 24, Cardano (ADA) founder, Charles Hoskinson, streamed a YouTube video titled “On Wikipedia,” in which he berated Wikipedia for applying arbitrary commercial censorship against Cardano. Wikipedia’s censorship of Bitcoin may have led to Satoshi’s disappearance Censorship of cryptocurrency projects is as old as the industry itself. Back in 2010, even Satoshi Nakamoto was frustrated with Wikipedia’s editors for removing Bitcoin’s wiki entry several times. After PayPal severed ties with WikiLeaks, one of Bitcoin’s supporters suggested that becoming the site's new source of donations would generate enough publicity to gain entry into Wikipedia. Satoshi strongly opposed WikiLeak’s adoption of …

Intellectual of the innovative industry, innovator of the concept of intellectuality, experimentator with technologies and educator by dedication, before co-founding Wikipedia in 2001, Larry Sanger studied and taught philosophy, being interested especially in epistemology — i.e., the science of knowledge. It was in college that he started thinking of the internet as a potential way of decentralizing knowledge. His early project in this regard was a web forum for discussions between tutors and students, who could thus communicate outside the usual academic environment. Sanger explained: “The thing that drives me forward is all of the possibilities that the internet makes …

United States crypto payment processor BitPay and the non-profit and charitable organization that operates Wikipedia, the Wikimedia Foundation, have partnered to accept crypto donations, according to the official press release published on Jan. 29. The Wikimedia Foundation had already accepted Bitcoin (BTC), but the aim of the new partnership with BitPay is to be able to accept donations in Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the press release states. BitPay’s chief commercial officer, Sonny Singh, commented on the new partnership: “Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are one of the cheapest payment options available so more money goes to charity rather than paying fees. Wikimedia …