Mozilla Foundation hits pause on crypto donation following backlash – TechCrunch

The Mozilla Foundation is pausing accepting donations in cryptocurrency following a backlash from scores of individuals including a founder of the Mozilla Project.

The foundation, which oversees the development of Firefox browser, on Thursday acknowledged conversations around the environment impact that cryptocurrency potentially pose and said it is reviewing whether its current policy on crypto donations “fits with our climate goals.”

“Decentralized web technology continues to be an important area for us to explore, but a lot has changed since we started accepting crypto donations,” the foundation said, adding that will be forthcoming with sharing regular updates from the review.

The foundation started to face backlash following a tweet late last year that invited individuals to donate via using a variety of crypto tokens.

In response to it, Jamie Zawinski expressed dismay at the foundation’s move. “Everyone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed of this decision to partner with planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters,” he said, adding an expletive.

Peter Linss, the founder of Gecko, the engine that powered the browser, joined the conversation in telling Mozilla that it was “meant to be better than this.”

This is a developing story. More to follow…