Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox Internet browser, is attempting to appease its environmentally concerned community by only accepting cryptocurrency donations to proof-of-stake (PoS).
The company initially suspended all cryptocurrency donations in January, but has now reopened them after a review period. to gauge community sentiment and conduct research on the use of crypto energy.
An update to our policy on accepting cryptocurrency donations.
We got it wrong, we heard you, and we’ve evolved. https://t.co/0bSThVJsCC
— Mozilla (@mozilla) April 7, 2022
An update to our cryptocurrency donation acceptance policy. We were wrong, we have listened to them and we have evolved.
PoS blockchains consume less than 1% electricity than Bitcoin, although they vary from one another in efficiencyas a February report showed.
Mozilla announced in a blog post that, following a review, it was changing its donation policies to align with its “climate commitments.” It said that: “Mozilla will no longer accept ‘proof-of-work’ cryptocurrencies, which are more energy intensive.”
“’Proof-of-work’ cryptocurrencies can significantly increase our GHG footprint due to their energy-intensive nature.”
The company also said that the move was made based on his self-imposed climate commitments in January 2021, which aim to “significantly reduce our greenhouse gas footprint year over year” until it becomes carbon neutral.
“Mozilla’s decision not to accept ‘proof-of-work’ donations ensures that our fundraising activities remain aligned with our emissions commitment.”
By rejecting all non-PoS cryptocurrencies, Mozilla is blocking both Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, and Ether (ETH), at least until the merger happens in the next few months and that blockchain adopts PoS.
Mozilla stated that it would publish a list of accepted cryptocurrencies by the end of the second quarter of 2022.. Some popular PoS chain native currencies are BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX).
Among the staunchest critics of Mozilla’s new cryptocurrency donation policy is its own founder, Jamie Zawinski. The tweeted on Jan. 4 that those at Mozilla who are complicit in accepting Bitcoin “should be ashamed” of associating with “planet-incinerating ponzi scammers.” Zawinski left Mozilla in 1999.
Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital strategy at US investment firm VanEck, strongly criticized Mozilla’s decision to block Bitcoin donations. In a Tuesday tweet, qualified the measure of “misguided and performative in nature,” adding that “Bitcoin is one of the greenest industries out there.”
While Bitcoin consumes some 204.5 Terawatt hours (TWh) of energy annually, according to data from Digiconomist blockchain researchers, the actual effect on climate is much more disputed. Its proponents contend that miners securing the grid are helping to strengthen power grids and improve carbon efficiency, while operations themselves are increasingly switching to renewable energy.
As Cointelegraph already reported last month, flexible data centers can be used for Bitcoin mining. Flexible data centers can switch between self-generated green power and using the public grid to reduce overall environmental impact and pressure on the public power grid.
The cryptocurrency storage company Blockstream and Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin development firm announced on Friday that they would work with Elon Musk’s Tesla to build a solar-powered BTC mining facility in Texas, a new hotbed of clean energy mining operations.
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