The Mozilla Foundation’s throwback to crypto has already drawn a reaction from the creator of the world’s first meme cryptocurrency.
On December 31, 2021, Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox internet browser, tweeted that the company is accepting cryptos like Dogecoin (DOKE), Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) as donations, along with A BitPay-donation link.
However, less than a week later, Mozilla co-founder, user and programmer Jamie Zawinski strongly opposed the campaign, and the campaign was halted. According to Zavinsky, everyone involved should be “ashamed of this decision, which is in partnership with a Ponzi scheme that is burning the planet.”
Zavinsky didn’t stop there. As a follow-up, he published a blog post on his website, writing that the business model of the crypto industry is unrealistic. “They only create pollution and nothing else, they turn pollution into money,” Zavinsky wrote.
Subsequently, Mozilla decided to suspend crypto donations and hold internal discussions about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies. Mozilla said it will review its crypto donation policy to see if it aligns with its climate goals.
In response, Dogecoin founder Billy Markus tweeted his disapproval of the move, noting the impact of paper money and traditional banking infrastructure.
In early 2021, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would stop accepting bitcoin, citing environmental concerns as the main reason for the move. Since then, efforts to make encryption more environmentally friendly have begun to gain traction.
Alex Salnikov, co-founder and head of product at NFT marketplace Rarible, told Cointelegraph in November that pressure to be greener could be good for the industry. “The extra pressure is a good thing, as the field is accelerating the push to achieve energy efficiency through proof-of-stake blockchains,” Salnikov said.