Cody Wilson Plans to Destroy the Bitcoin Foundation
Upstart Business Journal reveals that crypto-anarchist Cody Wilson will run for a board seat on the Bitcoin Foundation for no other reason than to disband the organization from within. His next opportunity will be in January 2015 when some seats will be up for election.
Wilson said:
“I will run on a platform of the complete dissolution of the Bitcoin Foundation and will begin and end every single one of my public statements with that message.”
Wilson is a co-founder of Dark Wallet, a project that adds layers of privacy and anonymity to Bitcoin transactions. He is also a co-founder and director of Defense Distributed, a stealth organization that made waves by releasing the specs of a 3D-printable gun. As his trajectory shows, Wilson is a staunch crypto-anarchist who wants to use emerging technologies such as 3D printing and Bitcoin to disrupt “the system.”
On the contrary, the mission of the Bitcoin Foundation is to “standardize, protect and promote the use of Bitcoin cryptographic money for the benefit of users worldwide.” In other words, taking Bitcoin mainstream. That requires working with the regulators rather than against them and making the necessary concessions to their compliance requirements. Therefore, the mission of the Bitcoin Foundation is evidently at odds with that of crypto-anarchists like Wilson.
The original Dark Wallet website said:
“Many prominent Bitcoin developers are actively in collusion with members of law enforcement and seeking approval from government legislators. We believe this is not in Bitcoin users’ self-interest, and instead serves wealthy business interests that make up the self-titled Bitcoin Foundation.”
Negotiation or War?
As a crypto-anarchist, Wilson advocates a truly decentralized, and totally unregulated Bitcoin economy, beyond the reach of what he perceives to be government intrusion. He doesn’t think that something like the Bitcoin Foundation, a de-facto central authority in charge of negotiating with the regulators, should exist at all.
The brief history of the Bitcoin Foundation includes controversial episodes and mass resignations. Recently, Jon Matonis decided to step down and submitted his resignation as Executive Director, and was replaced by Patrick Murck.
I think both sides, those who prefer to appease the regulators and negotiate with the system, and those who want to ignore the regulators and make war to the system, have valid arguments. I think the regulated quasi-mainstream Bitcoin economy has an important role to play, but we must also protect the Bitcoin underground of anonymous and untraceable cryptopayments.
What do you think of Cody Wilson’s plans? Negotiation or War? Comment below!
Images from Dark Wallet and Shutterstock.
