@travelin_light said:

I think that is the worst idea ever. It is not a currency, it is a commodity. The value fluctuates too wildly, and it's not backed by anything. Also, two major exchanges are not allowing withdrawals at the moment.

None of those are reasons not to accept bitcoins, something we were asked to do, by previous donors who trade in bitcoins.

It doesn't really hurt Mockingbird in the end, though, and that's the worst part. It hurts the donor. If bitcoin tanks, which it will, or if you can't access the funds, then it's just a donation that you may as well have not gotten. On the other hand, the donor could have put a lot of cash into the bitcoin, watched its value plummet, and realized that he didn't really make a donation at all and is out of the money.

That doesn't make any sense. The only thing that matters to the donor, whether for tax purposes or just good vibes, is the value at the time of donation - whether they donate dollars, bitcoins, or something else. Change in value after that time, has no negative effect on anyone involved - and certainly doesn't "hurt the donor." Besides, Coinbase offers, as a standard feature, immediate conversion to US$ and transfer to a bank, which means there *isn't* any change in value, much less a plummet.

The future will be a world of many more currencies (and commodities traded *as* currencies) than there are now. Many of them will be digital. Bitcoin has a clear lead, and advantages, in that evolution. But if there's a reasonable chance they'll improve our ability to fund more music education, we're happy to consider others, as well.