Bitcoin Foundation
URL = https://bitcoinfoundation.org/
Description
"The Bitcoin Foundation mission leads to the early specific goals of financially sponsoring the efforts of the core development team, funding core infrastructure such as a test network and a DNS seed node, publishing a set of best practices for bitcoin integration, coordinating responses to business and media inquiries, and organizing an annual bitcoin conference with the first one being held in Silicon Valley.
In addition to individual membership, the Bitcoin Foundation provides a way for corporate enterprises from all industries to participate in the expansion of the bitcoin network and platform. We see new bitcoin exchanges sprouting up on a daily basis and we see innovative bitcoin applications coming to market across all industry sectors. Magnificent for bitcoin, this worldwide adoption strengthens the credibility and value of the peer-to-peer network. A nonpolitical currency doesn’t have a morality — it is simply a process for value transfer.
The overriding intent that runs through all Bitcoin Foundation activity is that it be membership and community driven, including succession planning. Reflected in the governance structure, individual and industry corporate members will have voting rights consistent with Bitcoin Foundation Articles and Bylaws. Annual individual membership is 2.5 BTC with a 25.0 BTC lifetime option; corporate membership is 500 BTC for silver tier, 2,500 BTC for gold tier, and 10,000 BTC for platinum tier.
Donations in support of the Bitcoin Foundation can be made by going to the website.
Initial board members include Gavin Andresen, Mark Karpeles, Jon Matonis, Patrick Murck, Charlie Shrem, and Peter Vessenes." (http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/09/27/bitcoin-foundation-launches-to-drive-bitcoins-advancement/)
Status
2015
Olga Kharif:
"The Bitcoin Foundation has become a symbol of the challenges facing the digital asset it was designed to steward. While advocates have promoted bitcoin as a global, decentralised currency for the internet age, it's proved to be more volatile than many penny stocks. Its role in money laundering and other illegal activity is a constant source of questions, and the price fluctuates with each regulatory clampdown or criminal investigation. In November 2013, it reached a high of $US1137 before falling to $US183 in January 2015 following a slew of problems, including the collapse of Mt. Gox, once the world's largest bitcoin exchange.
Beyond financial trouble, two former Bitcoin Foundation board members have been charged with crimes. Mark Karpel s, former chief executive officer of Mt. Gox, was arrested in Tokyo and charged with embezzlement in September. Charlie Shrem, former vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, resigned before pleading guilty to helping launder money for transactions through the illicit online marketplace Silk Road. He's currently serving two years in a federal prison.
Several people still involved with the Bitcoin Foundation said the wounds may never heal. "I don't know if the foundation has a future," Gavin Andresen, a former board member who now holds the title of chief scientist, wrote in an e-mail. "It is very difficult to regain trust once trust has been lost, and the illegal behaviour of two of the foundation's former board members destroyed a lot of trust."
When the Bitcoin Foundation was formed in 2012, the group was intended to give legitimacy to a relatively unknown technology. By the end of that year, bitcoin traded at about $US13. The organisation grew almost in lockstep with the popularity of bitcoin. Comprising pioneering coders and entrepreneurs behind the digital currency, the Bitcoin Foundation would soon become a familiar face in Washington, spreading the gospel of bitcoin around the world." (http://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/currencies/the-final-days-of-the-bitcoin-foundation-20151230-glx3x4.html)