Green groups drop bitcoin donations as awareness of the leading cryptocurrency’s high energy consumption grows leads to them withdrawing bitcoin donation facilities. This follows recent reports that environmental campaign group Greenpeace USA has stopped accepting bitcoin donations over the cryptocurrency’s carbon footprint.
Why Green Groups Drop Bitcoin Donations
When giving reasons for the decision, Greenpeace said the amount of energy needed to run bitcoin became clearer in recent times, coupled with the fact that supporters had not extensively used the crypto donation facility.
Greenpeace is one of the early adopters of crypto. In 2014, it created a facility to accept bitcoin donations. The group also regularly promoted its policy of onboarding the digital community.
Since then, other environmental groups have enabled similar facilities to accept donations with bitcoin. However, Greenpeace is not the only group that has decided to quit BTC donations.
It was also reported that Friends of the Earth would be withdrawing its facility for accepting BTC donations by June, with several other high-profile organizations expected to make similar announcements in the coming weeks.
The recent lineup of environmental groups disabling the ability to accept donations with Bitcoin could be linked to Elon Musk.
Musk revived the longstanding concerns about bitcoin’s high energy usage when he backtracked on the ability to purchase Tesla cars with Bitcoin. The billionaire had cited the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining as reasons for this decision.
According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin uses even more energy than entire countries like Sweden and Malaysia.
Founded in 1971, Greenpeace has established itself as a frontrunner in environmental preservation. From its efforts to stop nuclear testing to its protection of the Arctic, its protests have been key in pushing awareness and discussion of environmental issues.
ESG Concerns And The Campaign For Greener Alternatives
ESG, or environmental, social, and corporate governance, has become a growing trend in financial markets, with portfolio managers increasingly incorporating sustainable investments into their strategies.
It has led companies who accept Bitcoin to be conscious of their ethical and environmental responsibilities. This recent condemnation of Bitcoin’s high energy consumption has led to a new consensus that focuses on shifting to coins with sustainable investing strategies.
While the ESG energy concerns affect cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, it favours the alternatives, also known as ‘green coins’ like Cardano, Stellar, Nano, and Chia.
Last month, Save the Children non-profit organizations (NPO) teamed up with Cardano to accept ADA donations in East Africa.
The Cardano foundation teamed up with the Save the Children’s team in Rwanda to accept donations for initiatives targeted at children.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder also recently donated 50 trillion Shiba Inu coins to the India Covid Crypto Relief Fund.
Bitcoin donations have been known to provide a much-needed lifeline for charities and good causes. Recall how the gender equality group, Feminist coalition, and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey teamed up to set up a platform for people to donate bitcoin during the EndSars protest in Nigeria last year.
However, with the recent concerns on bitcoin’s energy usage, it appears digital currencies with less energy-consuming consensus may be used more for this cause than bitcoin.
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