The Tor Project, the nonprofit organization behind the anonymous network Tor, announced that it now accepts Bitcoin donations via the Lightning Network.
The Tor Project, the nonprofit organization behind the anonymous network Tor, announced that it now accepts Bitcoin (BTC) donations via the Lightning Network.
The organization announced on Nov. 19 that it will accept Lightning Network donations as part of Bitcoin Tuesday, a fundraising initiative led by the crypto-for-charity organization The Giving Block.
Tor recommended the BottlePay wallet for donations, which allows users to search for The Tor Project inside it and send crypto without copying and pasting addresses.
The Lightning Network is a layer-2 payment protocol for the Bitcoin network that aims to expedite payments and address the network’s scalability problem.
Fiat currencies also supported
Alternatively, the service also allows public donations through a tweet. The wallet also enables its users to donate Bitcoin directly, or automatically convert United States dollars, euros, pound sterlings, Australian dollars, Brazilian reals, Canadian dollars, Swiss francs and 15 more fiat currencies.
The development of the Tor network is mostly financed by U.S. government agencies after its parent technology, onion routing, was first funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research in 1995.
Despite financial support from official organizations, the technology has been widely applied on the dark web for illicit sites and services like the Silk Road.
On the other hand, the network is also used by political dissidents living under oppressive regimes and by whistleblowers looking for a way to anonymously expose official wrongdoing to WikiLeaks and similar services.
Since the Tor network is used as a way to ensure privacy both in communications and transactions by the use of cryptocurrency — often by people who rely on its efficacy for their safety — its users are frequently targeted by hackers.
As Cointelegraph reported in mid-October, major antivirus software supplier ESET discovered a trojanized Tor Browser designed to steal Bitcoin from buyers in the darknet.
