If the bitcoin foundation doesn't step up and do something of note, then they will have proved they are useless. Why else would we give them any credence. They should be helping to find a solution, not cut and run so their own bitcoin can go up in value, whcih seems to be the strategy they are trying to take (obviously that wont work, this issue isn't going anywhere).
My gut says the "foundation" is really meaningless, doing nothing of note. Most of the folks on that board only think about "anonymous" features so they can hide money. Bitcoin was not created to be anonymous, that was not the guiding feature (read the paper). But most of these folks who think of themselves as bitcoin reps tout that anon feature as being the most important (take a look at youtube "bitcoin group" videos, so full of seedy people who have obvious reasons for supporting anonymous transactions). Most people aren't trying to hide money from the gov, or trade in illicit items like drugs, guns. Most could care less about anonymous. It's the features described in the paper that are novel and useful, and a train that can't be stopped (decentralized, worldwide standard, no charge back, secure, digital, ...).
Topic: Has Bitcoin Foundation done anything to help with recent developments? - page 2. (Read 2061 times)
February 28, 2014, 12:44:59 PM
February 28, 2014, 12:44:03 PM
They did offer a formal counter to U.S. Senator Manchin ban on Bitcoin, so there's that:
www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-foundation-senator-us-shouldnt-turn-away-innovation/
Not sure if it'll have any effect, but it's something.
www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-foundation-senator-us-shouldnt-turn-away-innovation/
Quote
Dear Senator Manchin:
We read with interest your recent letter to federal regulators regarding Bitcoin. Your interest in protecting Americans is genuine, of course, and laudable. We believe the consensus in Washington, D.C., is the right one for protecting consumers and growing the American economy: the U.S. should foster the benefits of Bitcoin while mitigating the risks.
To that end, we offer the following information to help improve your and others consideration of the Bitcoin protocol, its many potential benefits, and the risks. We hope to be a valuable resource to you and your office, as we have been to many others in Congress and in relevant U.S. federal agencies.
The Bitcoin Foundation is a member-driven non-profit organization dedicated to serving the business, technology, government relations, and public affairs needs of the Bitcoin community. The foundation works to protect and standardize the Bitcoin protocol and software, to broaden the use of Bitcoin through public education and by fostering a safe and sane legal and regulatory environment, and to support local Bitcoin efforts by connecting a network of Bitcoin communities worldwide.
In the past several months, we have been invited to testify and present in a variety of settings, formal and informal, helping to educate congressional staff and government agencies about Bitcoin. Most notably, we participated in the first congressional hearing on Bitcoin hosted by Senator Carper, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on November 18, 2013. I testified about Bitcoins potential for increasing global financial inclusion, expanding human liberty, strengthening privacy protections for the law-abiding, and providing a stable money supply for those in countries where the local currency is poorly managed. As you know, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, also held a hearing on virtual currencies on November 19, 2013.
These hearings included witnesses from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the Department of the Treasury, from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Secret Service. The hearings also included representatives of U.S.-based Bitcoin businesses, academics, a state banking regulator, and other interested parties. The federal regulators testifying at these hearings have examined Bitcoin carefully, and they produced careful, thoughtful testimonies. They seem relatively sanguine about the risks Bitcoin creates and open to capturing its benefits for Americans, including the jobs and economic growth that will come from U.S.-led financial services innovation.
The benefits of Bitcoin go beyond its role as an alternative currency. The Bitcoin protocol, essentially a universal public ledger, may help establish property ownership in third-world countries, allow people to create computer-automated contracts, aid in the management of public resources like the Internet, and much more. The Bitcoin protocol is a revolutionary invention whose potential is only beginning to be discovered.
There are risks, but we are confident that they are not as dire as your letter suggests. Because Bitcoin is a public ledger, records of transaction are published and available online for all time. This is a far more transparent system than conventional financial services and payments, in which the vast majority of transactions are concealed. Indeed, a challenge for Bitcoin adoption is making sure that law-abiding peoples transactions do not expose their private financial information. We believe the law enforcement challenge with respect to Bitcoin is different but not harder. As you probably know, at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Bitcoin, FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said, Cash is probably still the best medium for laundering money.
The demise of Silk Road illustrates well that Bitcoin is not a magic cloak for crime. Though breathless press reports portrayed Bitcoin as a tool of criminality early on, law enforcement has caught up. The Silk Road collapsed, and successor sites have collapsed. We anticipate studying more carefully privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, and the needs of law enforcement with respect to Bitcoin.
Some countries central banks have warned consumers about the risks around Bitcoin. I have done the same. Consumers should not invest any money they arent prepared to lose, and the volatility of Bitcoins price against the dollar is high, though it will fall over time. Many countries around the world are embracing Bitcoin, though, as a digital currency that offers their people improved financial services and greater economic freedom. Germany, Finland, Singapore, and Canada, for example, are among the U.S. allies that have sent favorable signals by issuing tax guidance on Bitcoin. Ireland, Israel, and Slovenia appear to have plans to do so. News reports about bans on Bitcoin in China, Thailand, and South Korea may be a product of misunderstanding local conditions.
The Bitcoin ecosystem is still very much in its infancy, and the first wave of Bitcoin businesses is now beginning to give way to a second, more sophisticated group of investors and businesspeople. We believe that the failure of one foreign-based exchange should not darken the prospects for Bitcoin businesses in New York, California, Washington state, and all over the country, including a restaurant in West Virginia that announced late last year that it is accepting payments in Bitcoin.
Small businesses all over the country like Artisan Pizza & Pasta in Charleston are signing up to accept Bitcoin payments. With credit card payments costing two to three percent, the narrow profit-margins of retail businesses get even smaller. The competition that Bitcoin may bring to the $50-billion per year credit card payment business may push lower fees and better service for small businesses and consumers alike. Meanwhile, Bitcoin-based financial innovation may help control data breaches, of which we have seen massive examples in the recent past. Payment services designed for the Internet need not put Americans personal information at risk.
We do not believe that this is the right time in U.S. economic history to turn away from innovations that offer improvements in the jobs picture and the economy. If Bitcoin does not flourish in the United States, it will flourish elsewhere, and the United States will cede leadership to the countries with the more foresighted approach to innovation and economic progress.
There is a lot to learn about Bitcoin, how it works, and what its effects on U.S. society will be. There is no need to fear Bitcoin or overreact to the challenges that accompany its huge potential benefits. We would be happy to meet with you and your staff at your convenience, as we have done with dozens of others congressional offices and government agencies. I can be reached at [email protected].
Respectfully,
Patrick Murck
General Counsel
We read with interest your recent letter to federal regulators regarding Bitcoin. Your interest in protecting Americans is genuine, of course, and laudable. We believe the consensus in Washington, D.C., is the right one for protecting consumers and growing the American economy: the U.S. should foster the benefits of Bitcoin while mitigating the risks.
To that end, we offer the following information to help improve your and others consideration of the Bitcoin protocol, its many potential benefits, and the risks. We hope to be a valuable resource to you and your office, as we have been to many others in Congress and in relevant U.S. federal agencies.
The Bitcoin Foundation is a member-driven non-profit organization dedicated to serving the business, technology, government relations, and public affairs needs of the Bitcoin community. The foundation works to protect and standardize the Bitcoin protocol and software, to broaden the use of Bitcoin through public education and by fostering a safe and sane legal and regulatory environment, and to support local Bitcoin efforts by connecting a network of Bitcoin communities worldwide.
In the past several months, we have been invited to testify and present in a variety of settings, formal and informal, helping to educate congressional staff and government agencies about Bitcoin. Most notably, we participated in the first congressional hearing on Bitcoin hosted by Senator Carper, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on November 18, 2013. I testified about Bitcoins potential for increasing global financial inclusion, expanding human liberty, strengthening privacy protections for the law-abiding, and providing a stable money supply for those in countries where the local currency is poorly managed. As you know, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, also held a hearing on virtual currencies on November 19, 2013.
These hearings included witnesses from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the Department of the Treasury, from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Secret Service. The hearings also included representatives of U.S.-based Bitcoin businesses, academics, a state banking regulator, and other interested parties. The federal regulators testifying at these hearings have examined Bitcoin carefully, and they produced careful, thoughtful testimonies. They seem relatively sanguine about the risks Bitcoin creates and open to capturing its benefits for Americans, including the jobs and economic growth that will come from U.S.-led financial services innovation.
The benefits of Bitcoin go beyond its role as an alternative currency. The Bitcoin protocol, essentially a universal public ledger, may help establish property ownership in third-world countries, allow people to create computer-automated contracts, aid in the management of public resources like the Internet, and much more. The Bitcoin protocol is a revolutionary invention whose potential is only beginning to be discovered.
There are risks, but we are confident that they are not as dire as your letter suggests. Because Bitcoin is a public ledger, records of transaction are published and available online for all time. This is a far more transparent system than conventional financial services and payments, in which the vast majority of transactions are concealed. Indeed, a challenge for Bitcoin adoption is making sure that law-abiding peoples transactions do not expose their private financial information. We believe the law enforcement challenge with respect to Bitcoin is different but not harder. As you probably know, at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Bitcoin, FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said, Cash is probably still the best medium for laundering money.
The demise of Silk Road illustrates well that Bitcoin is not a magic cloak for crime. Though breathless press reports portrayed Bitcoin as a tool of criminality early on, law enforcement has caught up. The Silk Road collapsed, and successor sites have collapsed. We anticipate studying more carefully privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, and the needs of law enforcement with respect to Bitcoin.
Some countries central banks have warned consumers about the risks around Bitcoin. I have done the same. Consumers should not invest any money they arent prepared to lose, and the volatility of Bitcoins price against the dollar is high, though it will fall over time. Many countries around the world are embracing Bitcoin, though, as a digital currency that offers their people improved financial services and greater economic freedom. Germany, Finland, Singapore, and Canada, for example, are among the U.S. allies that have sent favorable signals by issuing tax guidance on Bitcoin. Ireland, Israel, and Slovenia appear to have plans to do so. News reports about bans on Bitcoin in China, Thailand, and South Korea may be a product of misunderstanding local conditions.
The Bitcoin ecosystem is still very much in its infancy, and the first wave of Bitcoin businesses is now beginning to give way to a second, more sophisticated group of investors and businesspeople. We believe that the failure of one foreign-based exchange should not darken the prospects for Bitcoin businesses in New York, California, Washington state, and all over the country, including a restaurant in West Virginia that announced late last year that it is accepting payments in Bitcoin.
Small businesses all over the country like Artisan Pizza & Pasta in Charleston are signing up to accept Bitcoin payments. With credit card payments costing two to three percent, the narrow profit-margins of retail businesses get even smaller. The competition that Bitcoin may bring to the $50-billion per year credit card payment business may push lower fees and better service for small businesses and consumers alike. Meanwhile, Bitcoin-based financial innovation may help control data breaches, of which we have seen massive examples in the recent past. Payment services designed for the Internet need not put Americans personal information at risk.
We do not believe that this is the right time in U.S. economic history to turn away from innovations that offer improvements in the jobs picture and the economy. If Bitcoin does not flourish in the United States, it will flourish elsewhere, and the United States will cede leadership to the countries with the more foresighted approach to innovation and economic progress.
There is a lot to learn about Bitcoin, how it works, and what its effects on U.S. society will be. There is no need to fear Bitcoin or overreact to the challenges that accompany its huge potential benefits. We would be happy to meet with you and your staff at your convenience, as we have done with dozens of others congressional offices and government agencies. I can be reached at [email protected].
Respectfully,
Patrick Murck
General Counsel
Not sure if it'll have any effect, but it's something.
February 28, 2014, 12:38:42 PM
It's like the group was created to form a hierarchical structure in a non-hierarchical system.
This... plus non-elected, thus they don't actually 'represent' anything(one)...
We should hold a poll to find out if the community at large actually needs / wants a "foundation" to speak on our behalf
So far, they've done nothing... Karpeles squanders everyone's bitcoins on frappuccinos and still not a peep from the "foundation"
Bitcoin foundation = Karpeles + Karpeles2 + Karpeles3 + ...
February 28, 2014, 12:37:01 PM
It's like the group was created to form a hierarchical structure in a non-hierarchical system.
This... plus non-elected, thus they don't actually 'represent' anything(one)...
We should hold a poll to find out if the community at large actually needs / wants a "foundation" to speak on our behalf
So far, they've done nothing... Karpeles squanders everyone's bitcoins on frappuccinos and still not a peep from the "foundation"
February 28, 2014, 12:31:59 PM
Its good time for Bitcoin Foundation came ahead and lead now because peoples are very upset with these big scams happen in last few days and they are sleeping not good enough 
February 28, 2014, 12:29:35 PM
What does Bitcoin Foundation do exactly? Just wondering because they have not done anything as far as I'm aware. I have not seen them help solve any of the issues that have come across bitcoin since I've been involved. Do they have any say in bitcoin at all (I hope not)?
It's like the group was created to form a hierarchical structure in a non-hierarchical system. The members are a bunch of snakes like Mark Karpeles, that dude charged with money laundering (Charlie Shrem?), and some useless hot Asian woman who calls herself "Satoshi's Angel" obviously taking advantage of her looks to gain attention form bitcoin nerds.
It's like the group was created to form a hierarchical structure in a non-hierarchical system. The members are a bunch of snakes like Mark Karpeles, that dude charged with money laundering (Charlie Shrem?), and some useless hot Asian woman who calls herself "Satoshi's Angel" obviously taking advantage of her looks to gain attention form bitcoin nerds.
Jump to: