The Internet Archive, one of the most widely known nonprofit organizations in the internet community, has just announced that they intend to start paying a portion of their employees’ salaries in Bitcoin.The Archive describes itself as “a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies & music, as well as 267 billion archived web pages”, and is most well-known for two key projects.First, the Archive maintains the Wayback Machine, a service that allows anyone to access old versions of web pages, including potentially web pages that have since disappeared from the internet, from as far back as 1996.Second, the organization’s website features a collection of millions of works in video, music, audio and text.The Archive is also actively attempting to preserve older works of literature by converting them into a digital form, with 23 scanning centers in 5 countries uploading 1,000 new books to its collection every year, and maintains a number of smaller projects including its collection of NASA images.The Archive is not the only “open-source” digital library out there – the Gutenberg project also comes to mind, but it is one of the largest, and projects like it play an important role in keeping public domain books accessible as we rapidly transition to a digital age.

Although companies like Google have also stepped in to fill the role with projects like Google Cache and Google Books, many are worried about what would happen if the only records of a large number of important cultural artifacts were left in the hands of a single large corporation, and to those concerned about such issues the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine and Open Library projects provide a compelling alternative.The organization first started accepting Bitcoin for donations in December 2012.bitcoin video tamil“At the end of 2011,” Brewster Kahle relates, “we did a fundraiser, we were trying to raise money at the Internet Archive by putting up a banner, and we got a lot of emails saying we should take Bitcoin.bitcoin office torontoI thought, I’m going to try a test.bitcoin virtual currency wiki

I took our head of administration – she’s a capable woman but not technical at all – and said, if you can figure out how to take Bitcoin, we’ll take Bitcoin. is listed by Alexa as the 233rd most popular site in the world, placing it only behind Reddit and WordPress in terms of organizations that accept Bitcoin.bitcoin botnet downloadAs far as organizations paying employees in Bitcoin go, however, the Archive is by far the largest.stampare bitcoinThe only other nonprofit known to do such a thing is the P2P foundation, which announced its plans to pay employees in bitcoin in March 2012, although many Bitcoin-specific nonprofits businesses are likely already paying their employees in bitcoin without feeling the need to explicitly mention it – Bitcoin Magazine itself being one example.When asked why he is so interested in accepting and promoting Bitcoin, Kahle’s response is one that many people in the Bitcoin community can related to.usb bitcoin mining device price

“I think that at the Internet Archive,” Kahle said in a phone interview, “we see ourselves as coming from the net.As an organization we exist because of the internet, and I think of Bitcoin as a creature of the net.litecoin watchIt’s a fantastically interesting idea, and to the extent that we’re all trying to build a new future, a better future, let’s try and round it out.”However, Kahle reminds us, the Internet Archive is a nonprofit organization, and relies heavily on donations to keep its services running.bitcoin airdropThose who support what the Internet Archive is doing and wish to see it continue to preserve and digitize even more content, as well as those who simply wish to help Bitcoin-accepting organizations grow and succeed, are encouraged to donate to its public address, which can be found here on its website (although other methods of payment are also always welcome).bitcoin blockchain nodes

If the Internet Archive continues to receive enough funding to maintain this initiative, it will provide yet another boost to Bitcoin’s legitimacy, and perhaps even encourage other organizations and even businesses to follow suit.With bitcoins flowing around in a closed loop, passing from average Bitcoin users to businesses and organizations like the Internet Archive, and from there directly to their employees who then spend it at other Bitcoin businesses without being converted to and from USD along the way, it looks like Bitcoin is well on its way to becoming a true, self-sustaining currency.In the latest news from bitcoin’s “Why didn’t I think of that first?” department: one lucky college football fan has reportedly received over $20,000 in donations simply for putting his bitcoin wallet address up for the cameras on ESPN’s College Gameday.Holding up "Hi Mom Send Money” signs at college sports events isn’t new, but this fan went a few steps further, replacing ‘money’ with a large bitcoin logo and even larger QR code of his payment address.

He even used a vanity address generator to insert the characters ‘HiMoM’ near the beginning of the address for authenticity.A QR code is like a barcode that is used by merchants and individuals to accept bitcoin payments.The square image is translated into the 27-34 alphanumeric characters that make up a bitcoin address when scanned.Bitcoiners, who never met a QR code they didn’t try to scan, saw the sign on TV and almost immediately began to send donations.When someone posted a screenshot to reddit, even more began to donate with helpful users enhancing the image and even posting the address string itself.Donations skyrocketed after that.At the time of writing, that address had received 103 contributions and over 22 BTC, well over $20,000 despite a dip in bitcoin’s value.A few donations were large, equaling $4,000-5,000 each.Reddit user bitcoinpitcher2 claimed responsibility for the stunt, saying: “I didn’t expect it to take off like this."He apparently proved the claim to doubters by posting a photo of the sign with another ‘Honey Badger of Money’ one with handwriting referencing the reddit thread.

Though he appeared to have a good background in bitcoin knowledge, he wrote he was “still learning how to use bitcoins” and like many other suddenly-wealthy bitcoin users, needed fast advice on how to keep wallets secure.Reddit users soon obliged with helpful hints.Using a slightly different username, the he also posted this to reddit four days before the game: I'm planning on being at ESPN's college gameday show in Auburn, AL this Saturday.I want to see if I can get a creative bitcoin related sign past security (they might have an issue with a QR code if I go that route).I thought this one was ok: "HI MOM, SEND BITCOINS!"After the amount topped 2 BTC, bitcoinpitcher2 promised to re-donate further funds to bitcoin-accepting Florida homeless shelter Sean’s Outpost and a fellow reddit user who accelerated donations by enhancing the QR code.He expressed some concern, however, about the effect the windfall would have on his taxable income.“(I’m) not a bitcoin millionaire.I read about bitcoins on Slashdot couple years back, did nothing.

April 2013 bubble had me take a second look.Bought a bitcoin in July for $101 to get my feet wet and see what all the talk was about.Watched it grow rapidly and thought about the sign as a joke not thinking it would work.DanielTaylor from Europe used GIMP to decode the blurry image.He's getting a tip to an address he PM'ed me.I'll be making a donation to Sean's Outpost as soon as I can work out all the tax implications.Hopefully before Monday when the matching offer ends.In the mean time, someone told me I need to learn how to use Electrum.That's next on my radar.” He admitted donations probably increased after he promised further funds would go to charity, adding later: “I think the big money rolled in because I said that.Now it will go to a good cause.” Early bitcoin miners and pre-2013 adopters aside, many people could use an extra $20,000 right now — especially those attending college.The public could now see a flood of bitcoin QR codes in public places as others try to emulate the college student.

Like Alex Tew’s Million Dollar Homepage, it’s an idea that will probably spawn imitators but only be truly effective the first time.Bitcoin and reddit users are known to be generous in the interests of spreading the digital currency word, but there won’t be thousands of dollars for everyone who asks publicly.Then again, it’s another perfect free advertisement for bitcoin itself.Whenever something like this gains widespread publicity, others sit up and take notice how quickly and simply an account was able to receive large amounts of money from hundreds of contributors, without paying anything in bank or transfer fees. The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists?Contact us at [email protected]/* */.