Feb 01, 2019 at 16:54 // News

Coin Idol Author

Many people from all corners of the globe can now support Wikipedia - the well-known free encyclopedia, with Bitcoin Core (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) donations through BitPay. The news was first declared by BitPay via Twitter and their other verified website.

The non-profit framework and worldwide nature of the establishment mean it has to look for a universal, cosmopolitan and cost-effective payment solution, which, in this case, is cryptocurrencies.

Natural Step

The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization which manages Wikipedia and related free knowledge projects, has cooperated with BitPay, the most famous crypto payment processor, to allow BCH and BTC donations.

The foundation started accepting BTC a long time back (in 2014) through Coinbase, and it recently switched payment processors to Bitpay and took the advantage of expanding into allowing BCH.

“Our donors have shown an increased interest for different cryptos, so accepting BCH was a natural next step,” revealed Pats Pena, director of payments & operations at Wikimedia Foundation. “We accept donations worldwide, and we strive to offer a wide variety of donation options. It’s very crucial that we can get international donations processed in ways that are more efficient and cost-effective.”

Cheap Payment Options

BitPay collaborates with several giant nonprofits to enable them to accept digital currency donations. The firm reveals that donations have soared dramatically in the past few years, particularly at the end of the year when users search for tax benefits.

“BTC and BCH are one of the cheapest payment options available so more money goes to charity rather than paying fees. Wikimedia does so much good around the world that it is a privilege to help them raise money,” said Sonny Singh, Bitpay chief commercial officer.

Last year, Wikipedia came out to update its policy in order to add cryptoassets to the section dubbed “conflict of interest,” as Coinidol reported. The section states that the conflict of interest can spring up, among other things, especially when a digital asset trader edits a page dedicated to crypto.