The cryptocurrency group has been doubling down on its assist to privacy-centric functions like Tor Browser in 2020, in accordance with new knowledge.
The Tor Undertaking, a non-profit group behind the nameless Tor Browser, noticed a 23% enhance in cryptocurrency donations in 2020. A spokesperson on the Tor Undertaking instructed Cointelegraph that crypto-powered donations surged from $189,637 in 2019 to $233,019 in 2020.
In response to a Jan. 25 announcement by the venture, crypto donations made up almost 26% of complete particular person donations, which amounted to $913,110. In response to a Tor Undertaking consultant, Bitcoin (BTC) was the most well-liked cryptocurrency for his or her donors in 2020, adopted by Ether (ETH) and privacy-focused altcoins like Monero (XMR):
“We have now seen that Bitcoin stays the most well-liked cryptocurrency for our donors, adopted by Ethereum and Monero — these two currencies are about evenly break up for second hottest. Subsequent hottest is Zcash.”
The Tor Undertaking has emerged as a serious Bitcoin-friendly nonprofit, having began accepting BTC donations again in 2013. In March 2019, the Tor Undertaking expanded the variety of supported cryptocurrencies for donations, including eight altcoins together with Ether, Bitcoin Money (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) Sprint (DASH), Stellar Lumens (XLM) and others.
The venture’s transfer to assist extra cryptocurrencies for donations was apparently broadly appreciated within the crypto group as Bitcoin holders bought a possibility to maintain their BTC and donate in different digital currencies as a substitute. In September 2019, Matt Odell, a Bitcoin maximalist and co-host of the Tales from the Crypt podcast, urged the group to assist the Tor Undertaking with altcoins, not Bitcoin. “Donate shitcoins. stack sats,” Odell wrote in his XLM transaction to the Tor Undertaking.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin had been changing into more and more widespread as a software for donations in 2020. Dave Portnoy’s Barstool Fund — an initiative to assist small companies impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic — began accepting crypto donations by means of The Giving Block in late 2020.