Cryptocurrency and Wikipedia

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There are various intersections of cryptocurrencies and the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

In 2021, a non-fungible token (NFT) of the First Wikipedia edit was sold. This attracted significant controversy from the Wikipedia community.{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Stephen |date=2021-12-09 |title=Jimmy Wales Is Auctioning the "Birth of Wikipedia" as an NFT |url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/12/jimmy-wales-birth-of-wikipedia-nft-auction.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202203528/https://slate.com/technology/2021/12/jimmy-wales-birth-of-wikipedia-nft-auction.html |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |access-date=2022-02-01 |website=Slate}} In early 2022, a group of Wikipedia editors voted to not categorize NFTs as art.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-15 |title=Wikipedia Doesn't Think NFTs Are a Form of Art |url=https://hypebeast.com/2022/1/wikipedia-editors-vote-against-nft-art-info |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Hypebeast}}{{Cite web |last=McGreevy |first=Nora |title=Should NFTs Be Classified as Art? Wikipedia's Editors Vote 'No' |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wikipedia-editors-vote-no-on-nft-art-definition-180979405/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}} According to Artnet, "The conclusion angered some in the crypto community, in particular."{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-01-13 |title=Wikipedia Editors Have Voted Not to Classify NFTs as Art, Sparking Outrage in the Crypto Community |url=https://news.artnet.com/market/wikipedia-editors-nft-art-classification-2060018 |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US |archive-date=2025-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118025636/https://news.artnet.com/market/wikipedia-editors-nft-art-classification-2060018 |url-status=live }}

The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, began accepting Bitcoin donations in 2014.{{Cite magazine |last=Rayman |first=Noah |date=2014-07-30 |title=You Can Now Donate to Wikipedia in Bitcoin |url=https://time.com/3059325/wikimedia-wikipedia-bitcoin-donations/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |magazine=TIME |language=en |archive-date=2024-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108083334/https://time.com/3059325/wikimedia-wikipedia-bitcoin-donations/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Quiles |first=Emily |title=There's a growing chorus of tech people who dislike crypto. A Wikipedia editor has spelled out the case against it. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/wikipedia-editor-argues-against-crypto-bitcoin-environment-scams-2022-2 |access-date=2025-06-09 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} The nonprofit organization stopped accepting cryptocurrency donations in 2022. The change followed a proposal started by American Wikipedia editor Molly White and a community vote.{{Cite web |last=Meyer |first=David |title='Extremely risky' and 'inherently predatory': Wikipedia organization decides to stop accepting crypto donations |url=https://fortune.com/europe/2022/05/02/wikipedia-wikimedia-foundation-no-crypto-donations-environment-climate-bitcoin-ethereum/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Fortune Europe |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Wikipedia Editors Don't Want Your Bitcoin |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-04-14/wikipedia-editors-don-t-want-your-bitcoin-btc-bloomberg-crypto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504035134/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-04-14/wikipedia-editors-don-t-want-your-bitcoin-btc-bloomberg-crypto |archive-date=2022-05-04 |access-date=2025-05-29 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/13/wiki_community_votes_to_stop_crypto/|title=Wiki community votes to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations|work=The Register|access-date=2025-05-29|archive-date=2025-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121025852/https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/13/wiki_community_votes_to_stop_crypto/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Timothy B. |date=2022-04-13 |title=Wikipedia community votes to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations [Updated] |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/04/wikipedia-community-votes-to-stop-accepting-cryptocurrency-donations/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Ars Technica |language=en |archive-date=2025-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250514145024/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/04/wikipedia-community-votes-to-stop-accepting-cryptocurrency-donations/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Vynck |first=Gerrit De |date=2022-05-29 |title=First she documented the alt-right. Now she’s coming for crypto. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/29/molly-white-crypto/ |access-date=2025-06-09 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

In October 2023, the Wikipedia article about Bitcoin saw a readership spike during the trail of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-07 |title=Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX fallout and a sudden interest in Bitcoin's Wikipedia page |url=https://www.cityam.com/sam-bankman-frieds-ftx-fallout-and-a-sudden-interest-in-bitcoins-wikipedia-page/ |access-date=2025-06-06 |website=City AM |language=en-GB}}