Log inRegister

Bitcoin Foundation Members Resign Following Appointment Controversy

leave
A number of Bitcoin Foundation members have resigned, citing frustration with the latest round of appointments and the ‘general direction’ of the organisation.The resignations emerged after annual member Patrick Alexander opened a thread on the Bitcoin Foundation forums stating he would terminate his membership immediately. At press time nine others had followed suit – the foundation has about 150 lifetime members, alongside annual members and 384 anonymous members.A number of reasons were outlined by those resigning, from recent board appointments to broader issues.Controversial appointments and dealingsPatrick Alexander’s original forum posts sums up the sentiment of those who decided to leave. He argues that certain board members simply don’t have what it takes to represent bitcoin in a good light.Alexander wrote:“The foundation members need to emulate very high moral values and ethics in business and in personal dealings, especially as it involves money. So far, the track record of prominent Bitcoin Foundation members has been abysmal. I know that most foundation members are probably swell people and are not like this. However, the actions of a few have overshadowed us all unfortunately.”Patrick named three individuals in his post: Charlie Shrem, Mark Karpeles and Brock Pierce. “I no longer want to be associated with these people,” he said.Lifetime member Olivier Janssens also resigned, along with Stephen Sunderlin, Pierre Rochard, Patrick Levell, Michael Goldstein, Stephen Angelil, Dan Plante and Christian Antkow.Leaving the foundation, but still committed to bitcoinAlmost all of these members reiterated their commitment to bitcoin, saying they simply wish to distance themselves from the foundation – not the technology.“I’m sorry, but in light of the recent allegations with the new foundation appointments, I cannot in good conscience be involved with such an organization,” said Antkow.Rochard said he was always quick to defend the foundation, but found the latest developments “too much”. Sunderlin, the man behind QikCoin, said he is terminating his corporate sponsorship of the foundation.Janssens went even further. He offered to join the foundation as a Platinum member and pay the $100,000 fee if the foundation removes Brock Pierce from the board within 24 hours. Janssens added:“I also urge you to update the bylaws to prevent people from joining if they are involved in ongoing lawsuits (of the nasty kind), or have ever been convicted for anything nasty, or if their image is potentially damaging for the foundation.”Bitcoin Foundation forum admin Brad Wheeler responded to Alexander, outlining the way the foundation operates and why there was little to no vetting of members. He urged the members to read the Bitcoin Foundation’s bylaws.The last resignation was posted late last night. The thread is relatively short and since it is reserved for members, it does not include comments from bitcoin enthusiasts who are not associated with the organisation.However, many bitcoiners have taken to reddit to vent their frustrations. Most voiced support for the departing members and went on to criticise the foundation for failing to address their concerns.The Bitcoin Foundation was contacted for comment on this issue but no reply has been received at press time.Resign image via ShutterstockBitcoin Foundation
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic