When the Mozilla Foundation announced on Twitter on December 31 that it would start collecting cryptocurrency contributions, it probably did not anticipate the backlash from one of its founding members, but that is exactly what happened. Mozilla has responded by halting virtual currency donations.
Mozilla co-founder Jamie Zawinski, who sent the initial tweet, expressed gratitude on his blog. He stated pushing them to reconsider that dreadful choice. Zawinski has consistently been skeptical of blockchain technology and digital currencies. Apparently, he is writing about Bitcoin’s drawbacks on his blog as early as 2013. Anyone involved in cryptocurrencies in any way is either a grifter or a mark, Zawinski said. It is 100% a con. There is no legitimacy according to him.
Zawinski explained that anybody connected to cryptocurrency in any capacity is either a thief or a target. It is a complete ruse. There is no credibility.
To put it mildly, Zawinski has intense convictions regarding blockchain technology and the cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens that employ it. He’s not the only one who feels this way: Following Zawinski’s statement and Mozilla’s reversal, Wikipedia editor GorillaWarfare made a petition for discussion on Wikimedia’s meta-wiki, requesting that the organization stop taking digital currency payments, referencing Zawinski’s post and Mozilla’s response.
Zawinski claims he saw the Wikipedia discussion page about the debate and hopes it signals the start of a trend. He was startled (and delighted) to discover that the discussion looked to be heading in the anti-cryptocurrency direction. It’s great for them, according to Zawinski.
Mozilla Crypto Donations Upsets People
The initial tweet from Mozilla referenced three types of virtual currency: Bitcoin and Ethereum, and Dogecoin, all of which employ a technique known as proof of work (PoW) to upload entries to their blockchains. The first major stumbling block is what Zawinski refers to as “planet-incinerating” amounts of energy consumption.
The proof of work issue and the ever-increasing environmental impact of the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, which is caused by the escalating energy consumption of their PoW networks, has been acknowledged for some time.
At this very moment, a single Bitcoin transaction consumes the equivalent quantity of power as the typical US household consumes over 77.8 days or nearly two and a half months. Ethereum, despite its small size, consumes the same quantity of energy as a US home uses in eight days.
The Ethereum platform proposes switching from proof of work to proof of stake (PoS), a mechanism in which cryptocurrency holders stake their assets to serve as blockchain verifiers. The migration postponed several times, with the Ethereum Foundation currently aiming for a mid-2022 transition. It’s unclear whether the deadline will be met or whether Zawinski’s appraisal of Ethereum’s strategy is correct: Fox guarantees chicken coop improvement pretty soon.
Tides in favor of Cryptocurrency
With the surge in appeal of NFTs, there has been a worldwide infatuation with cryptocurrencies in recent years. They may fully infiltrate the zeitgeist in 2021.
As the idea of virtual property expands past JPGs and into businesses such as gaming and entertainment, it’s critical to consider if the benefits of developing these innovations exceed the risks.
Also, Mozilla was not the first institution to address cryptocurrency’s ecological consequences worries. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, announced that the firm would stop receiving Bitcoin in May 2021. Although he did say that Bitcoin sales of Teslas would probably come back. That is if the Bitcoin network worked harder to promote green energy. Greenpeace, an environmental organization, said it would stop taking bitcoin donations in May 2021, claiming its energy use was unsustainable in the fight against climate change.
As the popularity of PoW-based digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum grows, so will their corresponding energy demands. The promise and expense of digital currencies were first brought to the public’s attention in 2021. Yet we’re currently in the early stages. Accordingly, organizations like Mozilla and Tesla may set the tempo in the short term. But they don’t anticipate governments to do so for long.
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