While I don’t speak for anyone at SIAI, several possibilities spring to mind.
Accepting bitcoins relatively early in the game would tend to raise the status of an organization like SIAI should it prove popular, but doesn’t cost it much if it doesn’t.
If the value goes up the organization can profit financially by holding onto them.
It may be the case that people will donate bitcoins more easily than equal value in dollars, for psychological reasons (e.g. lack of equivalent ugh fields).
It may be that people who initially consider donating in bitcoins will change their minds and donate dollars instead.
It could plausibly come about that processing power, and/or the time and energy of AI hackers, can be purchased more cheaply/easily for bitcoin than dollars.
I was recently owed some money by SIAI, and if I had been “doing” bitcoins then, I would probably have been willing to accept some fraction of my money in bitcoin form.
It may be that people who initially consider donating in bitcoins will change their minds and donate dollars instead.
The presence of this consideration in your list suggests that perhaps you or some of your readers do not realize that at present, there are web sites similar to foreign-exchange windows where SIAI can probably easily convert bitcoins into dollars.
While I don’t speak for anyone at SIAI, several possibilities spring to mind.
Accepting bitcoins relatively early in the game would tend to raise the status of an organization like SIAI should it prove popular, but doesn’t cost it much if it doesn’t.
If the value goes up the organization can profit financially by holding onto them.
It may be the case that people will donate bitcoins more easily than equal value in dollars, for psychological reasons (e.g. lack of equivalent ugh fields).
It may be that people who initially consider donating in bitcoins will change their minds and donate dollars instead.
It could plausibly come about that processing power, and/or the time and energy of AI hackers, can be purchased more cheaply/easily for bitcoin than dollars.
You forgot
It gives SIAI an excuse to remind everyone of the need to donate!
I was recently owed some money by SIAI, and if I had been “doing” bitcoins then, I would probably have been willing to accept some fraction of my money in bitcoin form.
The presence of this consideration in your list suggests that perhaps you or some of your readers do not realize that at present, there are web sites similar to foreign-exchange windows where SIAI can probably easily convert bitcoins into dollars.