--- title: "Mozilla Founder Horrified by Browser’s Foray Into Cryptocurrency" description: "Mozilla is dipping its toes into cryptocurrency — much to the chagrin of two people who were instrumental in the erstwhile browser's creation." date: "2022-01-05" modified: "2022-01-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mozilla-founder-cryptocurrency" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "crypto" - "crypto mining" - "cryptocurrency" - "the digest" --- # Mozilla Founder Horrified by Browser’s Foray Into Cryptocurrency ![Mozilla is dipping its toes into cryptocurrency — much to the chagrin of two people who were instrumental in the erstwhile browser's creation.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Firenot In an apparent bid for relevance, the maker of the Firefox browser Mozilla is dipping its toes into cryptocurrency — much to the chagrin of two people who were instrumental in the software's creation. Mozilla [announced on New Year's Eve]() that it's accepting crypto donations, garnering strongly-worded responses from two developers who worked on the software that powers the browser. Pulling no punches, programmer-turned-nightclub owner Jamie Zawinski — whose accolades include the coinage of the term "Mozilla" — had harsh words for the account. "Hi, I'm sure that whoever runs this account has no idea who I am, but I founded @mozilla and I'm here to say fuck you and fuck this," Zawinski, better known by his handle jwz, [tweeted](). "Everyone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed of this decision to partner with planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters." ## WTF Fellow early Mozilla-er Peter Linss, who created the Gecko browser engine, which Firefox runs on, had an F-bomb of his own for the company. "I’m 100% with @jwz on this," [Linss wrote](). "What. The. Actual. Fuck. You were meant to be better than this." It seems that both Zawinski and Linss' anger stems from the increasingly-common criticism that cryptocurrency mining is [very harmful to the environment](), as evidenced by both of their Twitter feeds. Futurism has reached out to both programmers for comment on the subject. As [companies]() and [celebrities]() embrace cryptocurrency, it seems that the vocal minority pushing back against it is getting louder — and at this point, the most the rest of us can do is grab some popcorn and tag along for the ride. **READ MORE:** [*It Would Be Incredibly Hard to Make Bitcoin Sustainable, Experts Say*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()