The Bitcoin Foundation is an American lobbying group headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in September 2012 with the stated mission to "standardize, protect and promote the use of Bitcoin cryptographic money for the benefit of users worldwide."[1] The organization was modeled on the Linux Foundation and is funded mainly through grants made by for-profit companies that depend on the Bitcoin technology.[2]

In March 2014, the Foundation hired Jim Harper of the Cato Institute as Global Policy Counsel and Amy Weiss of Weiss Public Affairs as a media consultant

History
According to its founding documents, the Bitcoin Foundation's original members included Gavin Andresen, Charles Schrem, Mark Karpeles, Peter Vessenes, Roger Ver, and Patrick Murck. Current board members are divided into one of three categories: Founding Members, Industry Members, and Individual Members. The current board is made up of a combination of elected members of the aforementioned categories.

Lead Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen is employed by the foundation as "chief scientist".[2] In June 2013, the foundation received media attention when it published a letter from the California Department of Financial Institutions requesting that they "cease and desist from conducting the business of money transmission in this state",[4] and again when it published their detailed response to the regulators.[5] In November 2013, Patrick Murck, general counsel of the Bitcoin Foundation, testified before a United States Senate committee convened to assess digital currencies, at which the reception of Bitcoin by lawmakers was generally positive

Board of Directors
Bitcoin Foundation's board of directors, as of May 2014, includes chairperson Peter Vessenes, Gavin Andresen, Bobby Lee, Micky Malka, Jon Matonis, Brock Pierce, and Elizabeth Ploshay.[7] In October 2014, Jon Matonis announced that he has resigned from his position of Executive Director of the Foundation, and that he will step down from the group's board of directors at the end of the election cycle on 31st December 2014.[8]

BTC China CEO Bobby Lee and venture capitalist Brock Pierce were appointed to the foundation's board of directors following a May 2014 runoff election, filling vacancies left by the earlier resignations of former BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem and Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles.[7] Nine members of the foundation resigned following the May election, citing opposition to the appointments and the direction of the organization.[9]

Criticism
The Foundation and its leadership have frequently been accused of failure, dubious ethics, and corruption.[10][11] Former vice-chairman Charlie Shrem pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money-transmitting business related to his role in assisting agents of the infamous online drug marketplace Silk Road.[12][13][14] Executive chairman Peter Vessenes' business relationship to former board member Mark Karpeles, the disgraced CEO of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, has been highlighted as inappropriate.[11] The Foundation has also suffered scrutiny and resignations over its hiring of former child star Brock Pierce.[15]

The Bitcoin community itself is divided over the role of the Foundation as a community or industry representative.[10] Libertarian bitcoin advocates have criticized the organization's strategy of political lobbying and participation with federal regulators.[10]

Professor and author Mark T. Williams criticized the Bitcoin Foundation's priorities, writing in a Business Insider editorial that "A Foundation of 'B' players has no business claiming it is a protector of a system that remains vulnerable and untrustworthy."[16]