Firefox developers stop accepting cryptocurrency donations after being bombarded with scammers

On January 7, Mozilla Corporation joined the ranks of companies and organizations that have abandoned the use of cryptocurrencies after a backlash from users.

Mozilla said Thursday that it will temporarily stop accepting donations to the Mozilla Foundation through the BitPay platform. The Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary Mozilla develop the Firefox browser.

Last week, Mozilla drew the ire of big influencers in the open source community when it tweeted that it called for donations in cryptocurrency. Jamie Zawinski, co-founder of Mozilla, Netscape, and several core internet technologies, responded: "Everyone involved in this project should work for the Ponzi that is burning the planet. I am deeply ashamed of the decision.”

Firefox developers stop accepting cryptocurrency donations after being bombarded with scammers

Zavinsky's focus is on the environmental concerns posed by cryptocurrencies. Last January, Mozilla's "sustainability chief" Cathleen Berger released a list of climate commitments, claiming that "the most effective climate mitigation strategy is to avoid emissions."

After the criticism, Mozilla said in a Twitter post that it needed to assess how cryptocurrency donations align with their stance on climate.