I am Francis Pouliot, the Director of Public Affairs at the Bitcoin Embassy, and in that respect I am the ultimate responsible for partnerships and agreements.

I confirm: there is no, have never been, and will never be any partnership or agreement between the Bitcoin Embassy and Potcoin leaders (nor any other "altcoin" representatives).

Thus, it should be clear that news article circulating that there is an agreement with the Bitcoin Embassy is entirely false. This is the definition of fake news

They have agreed to remove that mention from their press release, a clear admission of guilt.

Because I am horrified by the idea that the Bitcoin Embassy would be associated to Potcoin because of their press releases and media pumping, I'll share some thoughts.

How could they possibly think they could get away with this? Here is some context:

1. The Bitcoin Embassy is a non-profit organization founded in 2013. It is hosted on the third floor of a building which hosts numerous Bitcoin projects.
2. On the first floor of the building which hosts the Bitcoin Embassy, there is a physical Bitcoin Exchange called Satoshi Counter. Some traders there (myself included) often suggest our clients to use shapeshift to transform altcoins to bitcoins, after which we can buy the bitcoins off of them. In that case, the clients are transaction with Shapeshift, and not with us directly. One of the foudners of the Bitcoin Embassy is also a founder of Satoshi Counter.
3. Potcoin representatives were told by a trader at Satoshi Counter how they could use shapeshift to exchange their Potcoins, like any other altcoin, for Bitcoin, after which they could buy/sell bitcoins at Satoshi Counter, like any client does.
4. The Bitcoin Embassy was never consulted in anyway by Potcoin. I was notified of this news by a Google alert. There is no agreement, either verbal or in writing. There is certainly no partnership, nor contract of any kind. Myself and transisto are the only two people involved in both organizations, but there are many more different people involved with Satoshi Counter and many other involved with the Bitcoin Embassy, and both organizations are effectively completely separate.
5. There is no agreement, partnership of any kind between Potcoin and Satoshi Counter either. It's not a question of semantics here. As people, none of use would EVER engage in any partnership with the leaders of Potcoin.

Let's be 100% clear: this was an extremely unethical and deceptive use the Bitcoin Embassy logo, name and reputation without our consent.

It could have passed off as an honest mistake, but not only did they not comply to my requests to have them take down reddit post and tweets, they actually started negotiating and asking me to remove tweets and reddit posts criticizing them.

If it wasn't clear enough, and with all respect to this community, I personally am offended by the very idea that the Bitcoin Embassy could be associated to Potcoin. A more cynical person than myself would call Potcoin an obvious ponzi scheme which has no other purpose than speculation, and which is specifically crafted to create a sense of community to attract what traders will call "bagholders" which allow earlier investors to cash out.

Why would anybody merchant accept Potcoin instead of Bitcoin? What is the value proposition? It's like litecoin, but it's has a more limited market potential? And it's not even like litecoin, because the development team is inactive.

Potcoin is basically a gift card that only lets buy at VERY LIMITED number of stores. Who in his right mind would trade a liquid currency for that, unless you do it right away before a purchase because there is a discount?

It's a vastly inferior clone that is dramatically less secure, liquid or useful. I can probably do a Potcoin clone equivalent in a few minutes. Even the copyright information of Potcoin shows that it is a clone of Bitocin and Litecoin, just worse.

The Bitcoin Embassy has almost never endorsed any product or service. We would NEVER endorse any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Nobody in their right mind would endorse Potcoin, unless it was out of ignorance or naivety at best, and greed and in the pursuit of personal profit at worse.


Anybody caught promoting Potcoin on the Bitcoin Embassy premises will be immediately expelled with a permanent ban.

I have to admint I am biased, since I was very angry when we caught one of the Core members of the Potcoin team puting a sticker on one of our windows, which was a pain in the ass to take off. You know who you are, you had a baseball cap and were walking your dog and got caught by our cameras.

I continue to encourage cyrptocurrency innovation, but using deceptive marketing to enrich earlier investors is not innovation.

From wikileaks: https://wikileaks.org/hackingteam/emails/emailid/42949



Bitcoin 101: What Investigators Need to Know About Bitcoin Transactions, Dark Web Commerce and Blockchain Analysis                   Bitcoin 101: What Investigators Need to Know About Bitcoin Transactions, Dark Web Commerce and Blockchain Analysis Online Webinar
 Sponsored By: TeleStrategies' ISS World Date: April 2, 2015 Online Webinar Time:
 9:00-10:00 AM, New York City, Eastern USA Time
 2:00-3:00 PM, London UK Time 
Free for Law Enforcement, Other Government, Private Enterprise Security Executives and ISS Vendors. Click here to register online.

         
About the Webinar

 
Your department unlikely has the wherewithal to simultaneously take down Silk Road 2.0 and many other Dark Web sites as the FBI, DHS and participating European law enforcement did one day in early November, 2014. But these law enforcement agents did so using basic law enforcement investigation techniques coupled with a strong understanding of Bitcoin transactions and dark web commerce. This webinar provides the investigation basic Bitcoin transaction information to take down Bitcoin Dark Web and other CryptoCurrency Centric operations selling everything that's stolen or retailed illegally.

 
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Webinar Topics Include

 
 
Bitcoin Basics: What's a bitcoin, basics of peer-to-peer electronic cash, who orchestrates the financial process, who champions Bitcoin commerce, how do consumers get started using Bitcoin and who handles the settlements
 
 
 
Bitcoin Infrastructure: What's a Bitcoin Miner, what's needed to become one, why should law enforcement become Bitcoin miners, understanding Blockchain, transaction ledger records, how criminals do business anonymously using Bitcoins and how is all this orchestrated with no central authorities involved.
 
 
 
TOR and Dark Web: What's TOR, how does it function for basic anonymous communications, what's different with TOR Hidden Service (e.g. Dark Web), what is .ONION and how do criminals get started with setting up a Dark Web Merchandise site.
 
 
 
Bitcoin Cryptography Demystified (For Non-Math Majors): The key to understanding why third party, financial institutions are not needed in Bitcoin transactions is understanding basic cryptography. This brief session explains how the system works starting with Bitcoin miners given an auto-generated "hash value" and challenged to add bits (nonce) to a block of Bitcoin transactions over the last 10 minutes along with how Bitcoin addresses (private and public encryption keys) are created. Webinar segment presentation time is less than five minutes for those not mathematically inclined.
 
 
 
Bitcoin 2.0: Where is the Bitcoin phenomenon headed, what new application should investigators expect and what's different with the Internet and Bitcoin regarding future investigator challenges.
 
 
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 Jerry Lucas, (Ph.D, Physics) President, TeleStrategies
 

         
Pre-registration required: Click here to register online

         
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 2-4 June, 2015
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          Special Bitcoin Investigation Sessions for Law Enforcement and the Intelligence Community Featuring 26 Classroom Hours Focusing on Bitcoin and Online Investigations     

 Session I (3 Classroom Hours)

 
 Understanding Bitcoin System Infrastructure for Technical Investigators
 - Matthew Lucas (Ph.D, Computer Science) and VP, TeleStrategies

 
Bitcoin 101: Introduction to What Technical Investigators Need to Know about Bitcoin Transactions and Dark Web Commerce

 
Bitcoin 201: Setting Up a Live, Classroom Bitcoin Mining Platform in Order to Demonstrate Online, the Underlying Mechanisms of the Bitcoin System for Technical Investigators

 
Bitcoin 301: Classroom Demonstration of Submitting a Real Bitcoin Transaction to P2P Miners and viewing the recording in the Most Recent Blockchain and More Online Event Capturing Demonstrated

 
Session 2 (1 Classroom Hour)

 
 CyberOSINT and the Dark Web: Accelerating Investigations with Next Generation Automated Collection and Analysis
 - Stephen Arnold, Managing Partner, ArnoldIT

 
Session 3 (1 Classroom Hour)

 
Bitcoin Trading Detection
 - Vladimir Vesely, Researcher, FIT-BUT, Bruno University of Technology

 
Session 4 (6 Classroom Hours)

 
 A Real World Look at Investigations in the Dark Web
 - Todd G. Shipley CFE, CFCE, President and CEO of Vere Software, Co-Author of , Investigating Internet Crimes: An Introduction to Solving Crimes in Cyberspace

 
Session 5 (6 Classroom Hours)

 
 Online Social Media and Internet Investigations
 -Charles Cohen, Cohen Training and Consulting, LLC
 Charles Cohen also holds the position of Commander, Cyber Crimes Investigative Technologies Section, Indiana State Police, USA

 
Session 6 (6 Classroom Hours)

 
 Practitioners Guide to Internet Investigations
 -Mark Bentley, Communications Data Expert, National Cyber Crime Law Enforcement, UK Police

 
Session 7 (3 Classroom Hours)

 
Understanding ISS Technologies and Products Deployed in Telecommunications Networks and Monitoring Centers for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analysts
 -Dr. Jerry Lucas, President, TeleStrategies

     
 Plus 77 Sessions in the following 7 Tracks:     
Track 1: Lawful Interception and Criminal Investigations

 
Track 2: Big Data Analytics and Social Network Monitoring Training

 
Track 3: Threat Detection from Automated OSINT Collection and Analysis

 
Track 4: Encrypted Traffic Monitoring and IT Intrusion Product Training

 
Track 5: LEA, Defense and Intelligence Analyst Training and Product Demonstrations

 
Track 6: Social Network Monitoring and Big Data Analytics Training and Product Demonstrations

 
Track 7: Mobile Location, Surveillance and Signal Intercept Training and Product Demonstrations

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TeleStrategies, Inc | 6845 Elm Street, Suite 310 | McLean | VA | 22101 | US

It's a suggested donations, we don't sell them to beginners.

lol jk no there is no test to get in - there will most likely be a few non-miners from the BTC community that show up

In order to enter you'll have 30 minutes to set-up an Ethereum mining rig (we supply hardware).

Hey guys! This is Francis from the Bitcoin Embassy. Valkir passed by the Bitcoin Embassy today and told me about the plan to do a Bitcoin miner meetup. It's a great plan!!!

The event will officially take place at the Bitcoin Embassy on September 3rd 2015 at 17:00 until 19:00. Depending on how much fun we're having, I have no objections in extending the hours. We could even finish off with a BBQ or go to a nearby restaurant.

The event will be exclusively reserve for Bitcoin miners. Bitcoin technology experts who (for some reason) have never mined are also welcome, but they must be able to contribute meaningfully to a mining discussion. For example, an Ethereum expert will be on site and I'm not sure he's an ether miner.

Links: http://www.meetup.com/Bitcoin-Embassy/events/224613274/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/1611404029146957/

Maximum 25 people so reserve quickly!

There is no special activity or anything of that sort, just a pure friendly meetup between fellow miners.

I will gladly show you our brand new ether mining rig!

See you there,

Francis

He have been looking for something like this for some time now (upcoming online Bitcoin brokerage).

Please contact info@satoshicounter.com

Thx!

we have created the Mini Bitcoin Whitepaper. It’s simply the Bitcoin whitepaper in a format that can easily printed in a small booklet format.

Download pdf file (ready-to-print): http://satoshicounter.com/satoshibooklet/

Feel free to download it and print it to give out to relatives and friends, or better: leave them all around your city in doctor’s waiting rooms, schools, libraries, cafés and more!

Hey everyone,

I just created a tutorial for Mycelium Android wallet. It is really for beginners, ideal for first time users. This is the ultimate "for dummies" version.

Feedback not only welcome, highly encouraged!

Link: http://satoshicounter.com/2015/07/09/how-to-use-the-mycelium-bitcoin-wallet-an-easy-user-guide/

Bitcoin Airdrop: the story

VIDEO:[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbmWGrQjgTA/url]
 
The Bitcoin Embassy team has been promoting Bitcoin and educating the public for almost two years now, with the mission of putting bitcoins in the hands of as many people as possible. We've created educational resources, conducted events, organized training sessions, offered technical assistance and constantly reached out to the media. We realized that once people started playing around with bitcoins on their wallets and figuring out by themselves how powerful that technology was, most of them instantly became Bitcoin converts and, eventually, turned into Bitcoin advocates.

That's why we decided to team up with the McGill Cryptocurrency Club to give more than 1000$ of bitcoins for free to students on the McGill University Campus, during the Open Air Pub organized by the Engineering Undergraduate Society. The event took place on February 23rd and 24th.

When we met the McGill Cryptocurrency Club for the first time, we were impressed by these students' passion and dedication to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. We knew that they would be the perfect partners to promote these disruptive technologies on campus.

We're proud to say that this was an amazing event - another great success!

What is the Bitcoin Airdrop?

The concept of the Bitcoin Airdrop was first introduced at MIT in 2014. The goal was simple: create a Bitcoin micro-economy on campus by giving out free bitcoins to students. While our project is similar, we opted for a strategy that the Bitcoin Embassy had already tested out at the Montreal Grand Prix in 2014.

We prepared "Bitcoin Educational Packages" in which the recipient would find a paper wallet loaded with 17 000 bits (approximately 5$). Other contents of the package included:

- What is Bitcoin 4 page primer
- Bitcoin Wallet Guide (security and tips)

Funding and operation

Thanks to generous donations from the Bitcoin Embassy and Bitcoin Canada, we managed to raise around 4 bitcoins to fund the paper wallets. We generated 200 private keys via the bitaddress software, which we funded in two operations with Electrum. We kept a copy of all the private keys so that unclaimed bitcoins would not go to waste (this was explicitely stated on the paper wallet). Students have 2 weeks to redeem the bitcoins - remaining bitcoins will be used in a Bitcoin raffle for McGill students and for Bitcoin promotion (flyers, stickers, etc.). Around 25% of the private keys were successfully imported within the first 24 hours.

Generous thanks to

Bitcoin Embassy Directors and staff
McGill Cryptocurrency Club (Eric, Michael, Alexis, Lucien and Eric)
Bitcoin Canada's Michael Gord
McGill Engineering Undergratuate Society
Busty and the Bass: the McGill band which made the video's song
Olivier Jobin: the Embassy's resident volunteer filmmaker

...and all the volunteers who helped out!

Ciao Tutti,

Sono Francis dell'Ambasciata Bitcoin. Ho fatto un intervista con un giornale online italiano che povete trovare qui: http://www.economiaweb.it/bitcoin-come-vivere-con-la-moneta-virtuale/

Over the past few months I've been searching for all the non-profit organizations that accept Bitcoin accross the world.

With that information I've created the Bitcoin Donation Directory - which lists all the organizations by category. Last I checked there was a few hundreds, maybe 250 on the list.
The list is meant to be crowd-source from now on so you can contribute by submitting an entry.

Link: http://givebtc.org/index.php/bitcoin-donation-directory/

There a few interesting categories such as "open-source projects and projects related to distributed systems, encryption and cryptocurrencies" and "Bitcoin advocacy, education and lobbying, Bitcoin associations, Bitcoin and Alt-coins Charity and Foundations and other Bitcoin related projects", in addition to the regular. charities and non-profits.

I hope you find it useful and use it to help a non-profit integrate Bitcoin.

Today the Bitcoin Embassy and Bitcoin Foundation Canada have achieved a new milestone in the fulfillment of our Bitcoin education and adoption mandate through the creation of www.GiveBTC.org– a website dedicated entirely to promote Bitcoin’s potential for non-profit organizations.

In order to provide advice to the non-profit sector professionals trying to integrate Bitcoin in their organization and to help Bitcoin enthusiasts convince their favorite charities to accept Bitcoin donations, I am very proud to announce the publication of the Bitcoin Handbook for Non-Profit organizations, a collection of promotional and informative articles, tutorials and testimonials specially tailored for the non-profit industry put together in an easy-to-read Handbook format.

givebtc.org

Download link: http://www.givebtc.org/GiveBTC_-_Handbook_for_Non_Profits.pdf

As part of the Bitcoin Embassy and the Bitcoin Foundation Canada’s mandate to promote positive uses of Bitcoin, we are also pleased to present the Bitcoin Donation Directory, the most complete list of non-profit projects and organizations that accept cryptocurrency donations. We’ve already registered 350 in the directory, which will continuously expanding through crowdsourcing by volunteers.

Bitcoin donation directory: http://givebtc.org/index.php/bitcoin-donation-directory/
Why specifically target non-profit organizations?

The non-profit sector is a perfect use-case for the failures of the legacy banking and payment systems. We are witnessing a global shift towards online giving and micro-transactions while existing payment solutions remain resolutely analog. By using Bitcoin, outside constraints on fundraising such as high donation payment fees, censorship and privacy violations are no longer constraints imposed by the financial system. Non-profits can also greatly increase their transparency and efficiency– the pillars of charitable giving – by using Bitcoin for payroll or to fund project expenses.

By introducing them to Bitcoin and helping them generate and keep more revenue, we can at the same time promote Bitcoin adoption as well as directly contributing to these organization’s specific non-profit mission.

How are these resources useful?

It can be quite difficult to convince a non-profit organization to integrate Bitcoin to its fundraising and management operations. Bitcoin sometimes arouses suspicion amongst executives or directors which must be convinced of its “legitimate” usage. Because there is a learning curve to Bitcoin, it is often necessary to provide some ongoing technical support or do live tutorials. There not many incentives for Bitcoin users and businesses to spend resources on non-profit organizations.

By providing and “out-of-the-box” package of resources that are ready to be used, we hope to reduce costs and expedite this process. You can share different parts of the Handbook on a case-by-case basis as they are ready-made answers to the most common questions such as “How do I store Bitcoins?” or “How do I protect myself from the fluctuating price”? You will also find an explanation of Bitcoin in layman’s terms and simple tutorials. You can use the “Why accept Bitcoin?” article to polish your own arguments or share directly with those to be convinced.

How you can help

Spread the word

By the time you read this post, I estimate that the Handbook will already have been distributed to over 5000 non-profit organizations thanks to the tireless efforts of our volunteers. However, there are thousands upon thousands of NPOs that would benefit from this information. Send this to the all the NPOs you support or are involved with and make it available on your social media pages for others to share.

Contribute content

The Bitcoin Donation Directory and Resources pages of www.givebtc.org are meant to be crowd-sourced. You can contribute by suggesting non-profit organizations or projects that accept Bitcoin donations to be added in the registry and other resources that we could list on the site.
Donate bitcoins / tip authors

If you like our project, feel free to donate to the project itself at this address: 1GivefggkGr2w3sL1kUCThgESLTRyNarLQ. You can also send tips to the authors directly. You can also make small donations to several organizations listed in the Bitcoin Donation Directory.

Producing Bitcoin educational material: how was this achieved?

The entire project was a collaborative effort by over 15 volunteers from around the world. The Bitcoin Embassy and Bitcoin Foundation Canada, institutions whom I represent, backed the project by acting as coordinators and providing resources. Our sponsors, which include amongst others Satoshi Citadel Industries and Coinbase, were instrumental in securing the funds necessary to hire professional help to pay for the graphic design, editing and distribution costs.

Production and distribution of these resources were achieved without the coordination, supervision of funding from an international group such as the Bitcoin Foundation – it was a grassroots effort led by regional organizations also dedicated to promoting Bitcoin, industry leaders and volunteers.

Ideally yes but we can't enforce that

Message retracted

Full candidate thread on the Fondation forum: (https://bitcoinfoundation.org/forum/index.php?/topic/1199-francis-pouliot-candidate-for-representative-of-the-individual-members/)

Hello everyone,

My name is Francis Pouliot and I am a full-time Bitcoin advocate, educator, and community organizer. You may have heard of me as Director of Public Affairs at the Bitcoin Embassy, the first physical space in the world dedicated to the promotion and development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Fellow Canadians will recognize me as the Chief Executive Officer at the Bitcoin Foundation Canada, a pan-Canadian membership-based advocacy group dedicated to ensuring a favorable environment for Canada's cryptocurrency ecosystem.

While I may not be a famous Bitcoin investor or entrepreneur, I consider myself a large stakeholder in Bitcoin since cryptocurrency (mostly Bitcoin) represents around 90% of my assets and is effectively my only source of income. I’m also a Bitcoin miner, integration consultation and certified Bitcoin professional with C4 (passed at 96%).

The best decision of my life has been to re-orient my rapidly advancing and successful career as a policy analyst for free-market think tanks in order to dedicate myself full-time to being an active participant in the cryptocurrency revolution. I still remain to this day an active supporter of the libertarian movement through my involvement in various pro-liberty organizations - but I will never use the Foundation as a medium to promote my personal beliefs.

My general assessment of the current state of the Bitcoin Foundation is that by pursuing too many goals, the Foundation has misallocated and mismanaged resources necessary to successfully fulfill the essential mandate of supporting technical development. It has not lived up to its potential and has disappointed many of its members, including myself. I truly believe in the Foundation’s mission to protect Bitcoin's technological infrastructure and that, in realizing this goal, it must remain an important part of the Bitcoin ecosystem.  I also believe that the only essential mission of the Bitcoin Foundation, that should take priority over all others, should become and always remain the protection and development of Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure.

My platform as your representative

With humility, I propose myself as to represent my fellow individual members on the Bitcoin Foundation’s board of directors. I have the skills, values, energy and time necessary to accomplish this task successfully. As CEO of the BFC, I have knowledge of the inner-workings of the Foundation and know exactly what its problems are and the best way to overcome them. On behalf of its Canadian members, I have attempted to act as a watchdog, being critical of its work and suggesting reforms directly to staff members.

If I am elected, I pledge to continue this role on behalf of all individual members. I now ask for your support so that I may obtain the necessary powers to bring the Foundation to implement the following:

1) Technical development will become the Bitcoin Foundation’s only essential mission and main expenditure. Any other activities will be undertaken strictly with the rationale of obtaining resources and tools to protect and develop Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure. Resources dedicated to the training of core developers will increase and the Foundation will contribute financial and non-financial resources to other non-profit organizations involved in the development process.

2) Direct political lobbying will cease immediately. In doing so, the Foundation will greatly reduce resources spent on policy issues. No more internal staff members dedicated specifically to policy issues and no hiring of lobbyists in Washington. However, the Foundation will adopt an institutional policy position which strictly denounces any technology-specific regulation of Bitcoin or any form of barrier to entry whatsoever, even if such barriers to entry are being suggested by its corporate members.

3) Consumer adoption will not be a mandate of the Bitcoin Foundation and it will no longer attempt to produce educational material. It will instead support external Bitcoin education campaigns aimed at a global audience undertaken by other Bitcoin advocacy groups that have a track record of success by making available its non-financial resources such as intellectual capital, network, blog/website and public relations staff. If a void in such material is identified, it will provide small financial grants to other organizations for the production of such material. The decentralized nature of this approach is well aligned with the principles of cryptocurrency.

4) Expansion of the affiliate program will cease immediately and, after consultation with existing affiliate chapters, the Foundation will study the possibility of re-structuring the program from the current centralized “franchise-model” to a decentralized “partnership model”. It will continue to provide non-financial resources to local Bitcoin advocacy groups and may provide financial resources to local groups engaged in development of Bitcoin-related open-source software, including but not limited to Bitcoin Core.

5) Broad budget orientations and financial statements will be made available to the members and, by extension, to the general public. Such statements should at minimum include program expenses, administration expenses and fundraising expenses. The amount spent on technical development relative to all other expenses should also be transparent.

6) Community support and public perception will be increased not by traditional “marketing strategies” but rather with good old fashioned regular communications from Board members following meetings and from staff.

7) Standardization efforts will continue regarding the currency code and symbol.

8 ) Switch from a “top-down/corporate” to a “bottom-up/grassroots” organizational model. This is something that, I believe, Patrick Murck has already started. Broadly speaking, this means reducing the bureaucracy and relying more on membership and volunteers. The Foundation should act more as a coordination platform / forum rather than a government agency.

I will personally assume the unofficial role of watchdog, reporting to members my concerns over the management of the Foundation and personally receiving complaints directly. I will bring such complaints to the attention of the Board.

After having discussed with Patrick Murck, I believe that he is the most capable Executive Director that the Foundation could have at the moment. I also believe that we share the same broad vision as to where the Foundation should be heading and as your representative I will support him in his undertaking to bring the Foundation back to its roots.

Nature and role of the Bitcoin Foundation – some thoughts

The Bitcoin Foundations, as a private organization, is a platform through which individual and corporate members can voluntarily coordinate and implement their common interests. It does not, nor should it attempt to or claim to, represent the entire Bitcoin community. Although it provides a public service, it is only accountable to its members.

That being said, there is no doubt that the (uninformed) general public’s perception of the Foundation will taint its perception of the entire Bitcoin community by proxy. In addition, the Foundation’s technical team has a large influence on the development process and its actions will have an effect on the entire Bitcoin community, whether they are members of the Foundation or not. As such, the Foundation has moral responsibilities that other private membership-based organizations do not and should act with this specificity in mind.

The Bitcoin community and ecosystem are extremely diverse. In my opinion, there is only one common interest amongst all members of our community: the continued existence and expansion of a healthy technical development process which will ensure the continued decentralization and scalability of the Bitcoin network. I believe that this is also true within the Bitcoin Foundation membership.

I think the idea that the existence of a “centralized institution” such as the Foundation is contradictory with the decentralized nature of Bitcoin is beyond ridiculous. Nor is it contradictory with the crypto-decentralization movement to which I personally identify myself with. In fact, there can be no decentralization movement if individuals and corporations do not coordinate their interests via some form of organization. While it is certainly likely that such associations and organizations will eventually take the form of Decentralized Autonomous Corporations, I do not believe the necessary technology has been developed to a degree which makes this option a logical choice for the Foundation (and probably won’t for the next couple of years).

Let’s be clear: the Bitcoin Foundation should never, under any circumstance, attempt to impose any agenda or barrier to entry whatsoever on members and non-members alike via the coercive power of government.

Also, the Bitcoin Foundation should not attempt to assert a monopoly over the technical development process. I am extremely happy to see private corporations such as Blockstream and Bitpay contribute to this process, and am even happier to see that individuals are still contributing their time on a voluntary basis. However, I think a large part of development should be undertaken by non-profit organizations in order to ensure some form of neutrality.

Final thoughts – regulation

My views on cryptocurrency regulation

As a libertarian, I am naturally against regulation. I do not intend to idly stand by while arbitrary decrees are imposed upon us, and, as such, I believe that stakeholders such as individuals, private corporations or local Bitcoin advocacy groups should actively engage government officials and regulators to ensure that no discriminatory regulation or legislation concerning Bitcoin occurs.

Under no circumstance should technology-specific regulation such as the BitLicenses be tolerated. Moreover, government decrees that are in effect discriminatory (such as the “double taxation” of bitcoins via sales taxes) should be fiercely opposed. Innovation does not require permission.

However, as we lobby for government not to discriminate against Bitcoin, we must also realize that Bitcoin does not and should not operate in a legal vacuum. Bitcoin business models that mimic legacy business models (such as currency exchanges) should be regulated in the same way as their fiat counterparts. For example, a Bitcoin exchange should comply to financial regulation in the same way as a fiat exchange. If we demand not to be discriminated against, we must also acknowledge that we can’t have special treatment just because we do not believe in the validity of the laws that apply to us.

I do realize that compliance requirements of the legacy fiat financial industry are often outdated and that the cryptocurrency ecosystem will come up with its own innovative solutions for KYC/AML. These solutions are to be encouraged and, ideally, they will become the standard not only for cryptocurrency businesses but for the entire financial industry.

Bitcoin is like an economic trojan horse – if we really want the cryptocurrency revolution to happen, it is crucially important that there be an economic infrastructure with exchanges, payment processors, brokers, financial products, etc.  This is the key to mainstream user adoption and this will only occur if we play by the rules. Government can’t stop Bitcoin but it can certainly greatly slow down progress by enforcing its power on the individuals and corporations that compose the Bitcoin economic ecosystem, something even the most anarchic members of the community should realize.

Why I think the Bitcoin Foundation should not be engaged in lobbying

It seems to me that the Foundation has an “identity crisis” because its mandate is simply too broad. It cannot be at the same time a “Linux Foundation-style” organization and a lobby group such as the Digital Chamber of Commerce or think tank such as Coin Center. Because it has given itself too many goals, each goal has been inefficiently carried out.

The Foundation’s involvement in lobbying has considerably contributed to its negative perception by the community, which means less membership and less revenue. This means that there are fewer and fewer financial resources available for technical development. I believe that retreating from active political lobbying may reverse this trend.

The main reason is strictly based on pragmatism and resource allocation. There are various groups all over the world, including in the United States, who are actively involved in the fight against discriminatory or excessive Bitcoin regulation. The void that the Bitcoin Foundation had attempted to fill when it initially got into lobbying clearly does not exist anymore. However, there are no other non-profit organization involved in supporting technical development, so that in that area there is a very real void.

Finally, policy is inherently local and jurisdictional while the Foundation aims to be a global organization. I don’t think non-US members appreciate that their contributions are being spent on lobbying in Washington while the Foundation does nothing to prevent their own governments from obstructing the progress of Bitcoin.

10 reasons you should vote for me

I have experience in managing Bitcoin-related non-profit organizations.
I have a proven track record as a Bitcoin advocate and community organizer.
I have time to fulfill my mandate and enjoy the full support of my employer the Bitcoin Embassy.
I am energetic and passionate.
I already have knowledge of the inner-workings of the Foundation and have a clear vision for the future.
I have no investment in any Bitcoin corporation thus no conflict of interest.
85% of my assets are bitcoins  – it is in my self-interest to ensure Bitcoin’s success.
I am a good public speaker and present myself well in front of the media.
I genuinely believe in the Bitcoin Foundation’s mission and I truly wish its success.
I have never been involved in any scandal or controversy whatsoever.

You can reach me at francis@bitcoinembassy.ca or at 1 855 922-3622.

For visual reference: I am the second one on the left - photo taken during senate hearings on digital currency with my fellow advocates from the Bitcoin Alliance and my colleagues from the Bitcoin Foundation Canada

I've just announce my candidacy as well - you can find the candidate thread here: https://bitcoinfoundation.org/forum/index.php?/topic/1199-francis-pouliot-candidate-for-representative-of-the-individual-members/

Full post (sorry for the wall of text)

Bringing the Foundation back to its root
My platform as representative of the Bitcoin Foundation's individual members

My name is Francis Pouliot and I am a full-time Bitcoin advocate, educator, and community organizer. You may have heard of me as Director of Public Affairs at the Bitcoin Embassy, the first physical space in the world dedicated to the promotion and development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Fellow Canadians will recognize me as the Chief Executive Officer at the Bitcoin Foundation Canada, a pan-Canadian membership-based advocacy group dedicated to ensuring a favorable environment for Canada's cryptocurrency ecosystem.

While I may not be a famous Bitcoin investor or entrepreneur, I consider myself a large stakeholder in Bitcoin since cryptocurrency (mostly Bitcoin) represents around 90% of my assets and is effectively my only source of income. I’m also a Bitcoin miner, integration consultation and certified Bitcoin professional with C4 (passed at 96%).

The best decision of my life has been to re-orient my rapidly advancing and successful career as a policy analyst for free-market think tanks in order to dedicate myself full-time to being an active participant in the cryptocurrency revolution. I still remain to this day an active supporter of the libertarian movement through my involvement in various pro-liberty organizations - but I will never use the Foundation as a medium to promote my personal beliefs.

My general assessment of the current state of the Bitcoin Foundation is that by pursuing too many goals, the Foundation has misallocated and mismanaged resources necessary to successfully fulfill the essential mandate of supporting technical development. It has not lived up to its potential and has disappointed many of its members, including myself. I truly believe in the Foundation’s mission to protect Bitcoin's technological infrastructure and that, in realizing this goal, it must remain an important part of the Bitcoin ecosystem.  I also believe that the only essential mission of the Bitcoin Foundation, that should take priority over all others, should become and always remain the protection and development of Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure.

My platform as your representative

With humility, I propose myself as to represent my fellow individual members on the Bitcoin Foundation’s board of directors. I have the skills, values, energy and time necessary to accomplish this task successfully. As CEO of the BFC, I have knowledge of the inner-workings of the Foundation and know exactly what its problems are and the best way to overcome them. On behalf of its Canadian members, I have attempted to act as a watchdog, being critical of its work and suggesting reforms directly to staff members.

If I am elected, I pledge to continue this role on behalf of all individual members. I now ask for your support so that I may obtain the necessary powers to bring the Foundation to implement the following:

1) Technical development will become the Bitcoin Foundation’s only essential mission and main expenditure. Any other activities will be undertaken strictly with the rationale of obtaining resources and tools to protect and develop Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure. Resources dedicated to the training of core developers will increase and the Foundation will contribute financial and non-financial resources to other non-profit organizations involved in the development process.

2) Direct political lobbying will cease immediately. In doing so, the Foundation will greatly reduce resources spent on policy issues. No more internal staff members dedicated specifically to policy issues and no hiring of lobbyists in Washington. However, the Foundation will adopt an institutional policy position which strictly denounces any technology-specific regulation of Bitcoin or any form of barrier to entry whatsoever, even if such barriers to entry are being suggested by its corporate members.

3) Consumer adoption will not be a mandate of the Bitcoin Foundation and it will no longer attempt to produce educational material. It will instead support external Bitcoin education campaigns aimed at a global audience undertaken by other Bitcoin advocacy groups that have a track record of success by making available its non-financial resources such as intellectual capital, network, blog/website and public relations staff. If a void in such material is identified, it will provide small financial grants to other organizations for the production of such material. The decentralized nature of this approach is well aligned with the principles of cryptocurrency.

4) Expansion of the affiliate program will cease immediately and, after consultation with existing affiliate chapters, the Foundation will study the possibility of re-structuring the program from the current centralized “franchise-model” to a decentralized “partnership model”. It will continue to provide non-financial resources to local Bitcoin advocacy groups and may provide financial resources to local groups engaged in development of Bitcoin-related open-source software, including but not limited to Bitcoin Core.

5) Broad budget orientations and financial statements will be made available to the members and, by extension, to the general public. Such statements should at minimum include program expenses, administration expenses and fundraising expenses. The amount spent on technical development relative to all other expenses should also be transparent.

6) Community support and public perception will be increased not by traditional “marketing strategies” but rather with good old fashioned regular communications from Board members following meetings and from staff.

7) Standardization efforts will continue regarding the currency code and symbol.

8 ) Switch from a “top-down/corporate” to a “bottom-up/grassroots” organizational model. This is something that, I believe, Patrick Murck has already started. Broadly speaking, this means reducing the bureaucracy and relying more on membership and volunteers. The Foundation should act more as a coordination platform / forum rather than a government agency.
I will personally assume the unofficial role of watchdog, reporting to members my concerns over the management of the Foundation and personally receiving complaints directly. I will bring such complaints to the attention of the Board.

After having discussed with Patrick Murck, I believe that he is the most capable Executive Director that the Foundation could have at the moment. I also believe that we share the same broad vision as to where the Foundation should be heading and as your representative I will support him in his undertaking to bring the Foundation back to its roots.

Nature and role of the Bitcoin Foundation – some thoughts

The Bitcoin Foundations, as a private organization, is a platform through which individual and corporate members can voluntarily coordinate and implement their common interests. It does not, nor should it attempt to or claim to, represent the entire Bitcoin community. Although it provides a public service, it is only accountable to its members.

That being said, there is no doubt that the (uninformed) general public’s perception of the Foundation will taint its perception of the entire Bitcoin community by proxy. In addition, the Foundation’s technical team has a large influence on the development process and its actions will have an effect on the entire Bitcoin community, whether they are members of the Foundation or not. As such, the Foundation has moral responsibilities that other private membership-based organizations do not and should act with this specificity in mind.

The Bitcoin community and ecosystem are extremely diverse. In my opinion, there is only one common interest amongst all members of our community: the continued existence and expansion of a healthy technical development process which will ensure the continued decentralization and scalability of the Bitcoin network. I believe that this is also true within the Bitcoin Foundation membership.

I think the idea that the existence of a “centralized institution” such as the Foundation is contradictory with the decentralized nature of Bitcoin is beyond ridiculous. Nor is it contradictory with the crypto-decentralization movement to which I personally identify myself with. In fact, there can be no decentralization movement if individuals and corporations do not coordinate their interests via some form of organization. While it is certainly likely that such associations and organizations will eventually take the form of Decentralized Autonomous Corporations, I do not believe the necessary technology has been developed to a degree which makes this option a logical choice for the Foundation (and probably won’t for the next couple of years).

Let’s be clear: the Bitcoin Foundation should never, under any circumstance, attempt to impose any agenda or barrier to entry whatsoever on members and non-members alike via the coercive power of government.

Also, the Bitcoin Foundation should not attempt to assert a monopoly over the technical development process. I am extremely happy to see private corporations such as Blockstream and Bitpay contribute to this process, and am even happier to see that individuals are still contributing their time on a voluntary basis. However, I think a large part of development should be undertaken by non-profit organizations in order to ensure some form of neutrality.

Final thoughts – regulation

My views on cryptocurrency regulation

As a libertarian, I am naturally against regulation. I do not intend to idly stand by while arbitrary decrees are imposed upon us, and, as such, I believe that stakeholders such as individuals, private corporations or local Bitcoin advocacy groups should actively engage government officials and regulators to ensure that no discriminatory regulation or legislation concerning Bitcoin occurs.

Under no circumstance should technology-specific regulation such as the BitLicenses be tolerated. Moreover, government decrees that are in effect discriminatory (such as the “double taxation” of bitcoins via sales taxes) should be fiercely opposed. Innovation does not require permission.

However, as we lobby for government not to discriminate against Bitcoin, we must also realize that Bitcoin does not and should not operate in a legal vacuum. Bitcoin business models that mimic legacy business models (such as currency exchanges) should be regulated in the same way as their fiat counterparts. For example, a Bitcoin exchange should comply to financial regulation in the same way as a fiat exchange. If we demand not to be discriminated against, we must also acknowledge that we can’t have special treatment just because we do not believe in the validity of the laws that apply to us.

I do realize that compliance requirements of the legacy fiat financial industry are often outdated and that the cryptocurrency ecosystem will come up with its own innovative solutions for KYC/AML. These solutions are to be encouraged and, ideally, they will become the standard not only for cryptocurrency businesses but for the entire financial industry.

Bitcoin is like an economic trojan horse – if we really want the cryptocurrency revolution to happen, it is crucially important that there be an economic infrastructure with exchanges, payment processors, brokers, financial products, etc.  This is the key to mainstream user adoption and this will only occur if we play by the rules. Government can’t stop Bitcoin but it can certainly greatly slow down progress by enforcing its power on the individuals and corporations that compose the Bitcoin economic ecosystem, something even the most anarchic members of the community should realize.

Why I think the Bitcoin Foundation should not be engaged in lobbying

It seems to me that the Foundation has an “identity crisis” because its mandate is simply too broad. It cannot be at the same time a “Linux Foundation-style” organization and a lobby group such as the Digital Chamber of Commerce or think tank such as Coin Center. Because it has given itself too many goals, each goal has been inefficiently carried out.

The Foundation’s involvement in lobbying has considerably contributed to its negative perception by the community, which means less membership and less revenue. This means that there are fewer and fewer financial resources available for technical development. I believe that retreating from active political lobbying may reverse this trend.

The main reason is strictly based on pragmatism and resource allocation. There are various groups all over the world, including in the United States, who are actively involved in the fight against discriminatory or excessive Bitcoin regulation. The void that the Bitcoin Foundation had attempted to fill when it initially got into lobbying clearly does not exist anymore. However, there are no other non-profit organization involved in supporting technical development, so that in that area there is a very real void.

Finally, policy is inherently local and jurisdictional while the Foundation aims to be a global organization. I don’t think non-US members appreciate that their contributions are being spent on lobbying in Washington while the Foundation does nothing to prevent their own governments from obstructing the progress of Bitcoin.

10 reasons you should vote for me

I have experience in managing Bitcoin-related non-profit organizations.
I have a proven track record as a Bitcoin advocate and community organizer.
I have time to fulfill my mandate and enjoy the full support of my employer the Bitcoin Embassy.
I am energetic and passionate.
I already have knowledge of the inner-workings of the Foundation and have a clear vision for the future.
I have no investment in any Bitcoin corporation thus no conflict of interest.
85% of my assets are bitcoins  – it is in my self-interest to ensure Bitcoin’s success.
I am a good public speaker and present myself well in front of the media.
I genuinely believe in the Bitcoin Foundation’s mission and I truly wish its success.
I have never been involved in any scandal or controversy whatsoever.

You can reach me at francis@bitcoinembassy.ca or at 1 855 922-3622.

Looking for a OnePlus One invitation - willing to pay 0.0015 btc.

Hello everyone,

The Bitcoin Embassy, Bitcoin Foundation Canada and Bitcoin Alliance were recently questioned by the Senate of Canada's Banking, Trade and Commerce committee in the context of the "Study on the use of digital currency".

Highlights and analysis can be found here (the blog post is full of hyperlinks which refer to specific parts of the interrogation:

http://btcfoundation.ca/?p=1843

Photo of us: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Michael Perklin (Bitcoin Alliance of Canada), Francis Pouliot (Bitcoin Embassy/Bitcoin Foundation Canada), Jillian Friedman (Bitcoin Foundation Canada), Guillaume Babin-Tremblay (Bitcoin Foundation Canada), Stuart Hoegner (Bitcoin Alliance of Canada).




Blog post (without hyperlinks)



In Canada, the public debate surrounding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is currently being formalized as the official “Study on the use of digital currency”, a consultative exercise conducted at the initiative of the Senate of Canada’s Banking, Trade and Commerce committee.

Although the Senate of Canada exerts less authority than the House of Commons, its standing committees have proven to be an influential source of expertise and opinion. It also enjoys considerable international attention: according to Stuart Hoegner, general counsel at the Bitcoin Alliance, “no other parliamentary body in the world has publicly canvassed the breadth of materials and opinion that this committee has”.

On October 2nd took place perhaps the Committee’s most important session where Bitcoin experts and advocates representing non-profit organizations gave their much awaited testimonies regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies.


Until then, witnesses consisted primarily of government agencies and departments, financial institutions, economist and other “non-industry” experts as well as some Bitcoin businesses such as BitPay and CAVirtex.

Canada’s Bitcoin community was represented by:

– The Bitcoin Embassy (Francis Pouliot)
– The Bitcoin Foundation Canada (Jillian Friedman and Guillaume Babin-Trenblay)
– The Bitcoin Alliance of Canada (Michael Perklin and Stuart Hoegner)

In the following article,  hyperlinks point to specific parts of the session which are being referred to. You can also watch the entire session (2 hours):

– English
– French
– Raw footage (no translations)

“Are you looking for regulations, or are you not looking for regulations?”
– Senator Gerstein

That was the very first question addressed that day by Senator Irving Gerstein, chair of the meeting, who was pointing out that the Bitcoin businesses that had previously testified “were all basically requesting regulation”. The question was directed at the Bitcoin Embassy who, in its statement, had stated that “it is perhaps unwarranted to artificially decrease these risks (associated to Bitcoin) by regulation when innovation continues to make bitcoin safer”.

The answer is not as simple as yes or no. As pointed out by Jillian Friedman, “to a very large extent, bitcoin already is regulated. It is subject to the principles of law; it does not exist in a legal vacuum”. For instance, regarding consumer protection, Ms. Friedman believes that “the question is not so much whether consumers need to be protected, but whether they need more protection than they already have”.

In places where regulatory uncertainty remains, according to M. Babin-Tremblay, “it’s not regulation per se that is required; it is more clarification about where Bitcoin falls”. In any case, according to Stuart Hoegner, government oversight should be focused at the “choke points” involving Bitcoin, meaning “where bitcoin goes from fiat to bitcoin or vice-versa”.

“How do we assist this disruptive technology?” – Senator Black

Perhaps the most significant exchange occurred when it was Senator Doug Black’s turn to address the panel of Bitcoin advocates. It is worth to transcribe his entire question here:

“Speaking for myself, I view my role on this file as to assist, in a meaningful way, innovation, as you have discussed today. That’s how I’m trying to look at this. How do we assist this innovative technology, this disruptive technology, as you referred to? (…) What would you like this committee to do to assist the development of this, right to the point? What would you like us to do? Maybe the answer is nothing, and if that’s the answer, tell us. But if there is something that you need to do to enhance Canada’s position as a destination for innovation, I want to know that. Let’s cut right to the chase: Tell us what you need from us.”

Why are Canadian banks declining to open accounts for Bitcoin businesses?

Another major issue discussed during the session was the difficulty for a Bitcoin entrepreneur to open a bank account. According to Mr. Babin-Tremblay, “as a bitcoin entrepreneur, one of the issues I have faced several times relates to opening a bank account”. However, as stated by M. Pouliot, “it’s not clear why it’s so difficult, why banks are so fearful. It might be regulatory uncertainty or internal policies or miscommunications”.

There is a lot of speculation regarding why Canada’s banks seem “weary” of Bitcoin businesses. Here’s the main takeaway from the panel concerning banks:

1) Banks are within their right to accept or refuse Bitcoin businesses as clients. As pointed out by Ms. Friedman, “banks are not beholden to anyone with respect to who they decide to open accounts”. Indeed, as stated by M. Hoegner, “whether they have regulatory certainty in this country or not, they are free to accept or decline as customers whomever they wish.

2) There mere fact that a business can be associated to Bitcoin in any has been used by some banks as justification for refusing that business a bank account. Perklin’s example is particularly potent:

“When I was trying to open up a bank account, I was specifically trying to open a Canadian bank account. When I was filling out the forms and the bank officer saw the name of my company, before I was even finished the form, he stopped me and said, “Sorry, sir. You can’t open up a bank account here.” They told me they had received an e-mail from head office — it was apparently a blast e-mail that all bank employees received — that said do not open any bank accounts for bitcoin companies. Any company that accepts, remits, transmits or converts bitcoins refused to open up any bank account.”

3) Once the expected regulations regarding anti-money laundering come into full effect, it will be very clear to banks what the requirements of businesses dealing in digital currency are. At that point, regulatory uncertainty will not be a valid justification and we may obtain more information on the real reasons behind the banking sector’s reluctance to engage with Bitcoin businesses.


Other notable session highlights (links to parts of the video)

Opening statements

– Opening statement of the Bitcoin Embassy by Francis Pouliot

– Opening statement of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada by Stuart Hoegner

– Opening statement of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada by Michael Perklin

– Opening statement of the Bitcoin Foundation Canada by Jillian Friedman

– Opening statement of the Bitcoin Foundation Canada by Guillaume Babin-Tremblay

Questions and panel answers

– The Chair (senator Gerstein) asks if panelists want, or don’t want, regulations

– Senator Tkachuk asks if Bitcoin can survive without regulation

– Senator Massicotte asks if Bitcoin is confidential and therefore can lead to money laundering

– Senator Bellemare says: “I really sense that Bitcoin and all of these currencies are there to stay – there is a paradigm shift happening”

– Senator Bellemare asks about Bitcoin’s risks and how they can be mitigated

– Senator Ringuette asks why we need bank accounts if Bitcoin is independent from the traditional banking system

– Senator Ringuette suggest that Canada Post could get in the business of providing Bitcoin services

– Senator Tkachuk asks about the expansion of Bitcoin’s money supply

– Senator Massicotte asks about the convenience and usefulness of confirmation times

– Senator Bellemare asks about the quantitave theory of money (MV=PQ) and how it relates to Bitcoin’s money supply

– Senator Bellemare asks why Bitcoin is so popular in China

– Senator Ringuette asks if the Senate should recommend to the receiver general of Canada that they accept tax payments in Bitcoin

– Senator Tannas asks if the Bitcoin community has considered forming a credit union to bypass the need for major banks

 

For more information, please contact me at francis.pouliot@ca.bitcoinfoundation.org

I'm not sure if the feed is live - I'll check. There will be video here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/SenCommitteeBusiness/Notice.aspx?parl=41&ses=2&Language=E&comm_id=3&meeting_id=15444

We'll post our opening statements (10 minutes) and the transcript from the Q&A on here and reddit afterwords.

Thank you for the encouragement!