Encyclopedic platform Wikipedia has announced the stoppage of crypto donations over concerns about high energy consumption. On Thursday, the community voted against the continuation of receiving crypto donations, with the final tally ending 71% in favor of the opposition.

Based on reports, the reason for the halt is the high energy consumption of Proof-of-Work networks like Bitcoin, which harms the environment and climate. The debate for some time now has been banning Proof-of-Work coins like bitcoin. The Wikipedia Foundation will act upon the voting result recorded today.

Cryptos Occupy Only a Fraction of Total Wikipedia Donations

Wikipedia data shows that crypto donations only occupied a fraction of the total donations made to the Foundation. Last year, Wikipedia received approximately $130k worth of virtual currencies, representing about 0.1% of the total $150M revenue. 

But, this fact wasn’t the only reason for the proposal. Crypto’s high rate of volatility is also responsible. According to them, it makes financial transactions somewhat unsuitable for donors. 

The poll showed that about 30% were in opposition. A common argument was that not all virtual currencies were energy-intensive, primarily Proof-of-Stake models like SOL and ADA. 

They also noted that digital currency has become a crucial means for people in oppressive nations and those with high inflation. The proposal was raised by GorillaWarfare, a popular critic. 

Proof-of-Work Ban Remains a Keenly Contested Debate

The argument over the last couple of months has been about how Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies are affecting the climate and whether they should be banned or not. Current world leaders are treating the issue of carbon footprint seriously, and have put some strategies down to curtail carbon emissions within the next 25 – 30 years.

Research shows crypto mining consumes more power than several countries, such as Belgium, The Netherlands, Argentina, Chile, and Sweden. The high energy consumption forced China and Kazakhstan to ban crypto mining. However, there’s also proof that TradFi takes far more energy than crypto mining on a broader scale. 

Pro-crypto enthusiasts argue that crypto mining only takes about 50% of the world’s carbon emissions – an argument presented during the hearing of MiCA’s report on the Proof-of-Work Bill in the EU Parliament in February. Critics opine that miners are now incentivized to use renewable energy sources to drive the use of low-cost power. 

Thankfully, crypto is attempting to shift from the energy-intensive Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake – a more energy-efficient algorithm than PoW. Ethereum, the most deployable blockchain in the ecosystem, will upgrade to the PoS mechanism later this year.