Make protecting and promoting decentralization a Bitcoin Foundation goal

[jdillon]

I've opened a pull request to add the protection and promotion of decentralization to the bylaws of the Bitcoin Foundation.

https://github.com/pmlaw/The-Bitcoin-Foundation-Legal-Repo/pull/4

Right now the bylaws don't really say what the Foundation's purpose is. Just some vague statement about promotion, protection, and standardization of Bitcoin and related technologies. What exactly constitutes "protection" is left completely undefined. For all we know it includes changing what Bitcoin is to make it more palatable to authorities.

The Foundation needs to make it clear what it's vision of Bitcoin actually is. Is it some payments system useful for businesses? Is it meant to make investors rich? Or is it meant to be a democratic, decentralized currency?

The word 'decentralized' doesn't even appear in the Foundation bylaws at all. Nor does anonymity or privacy.

Of course, the Foundation isn't Bitcoin. But they do useful work and I myself have supported them financially in the past. However I do not feel that I can in good faith support them in the future until they are clear as to what exactly is their vision of what is Bitcoin, and if decentralization and privacy is even a part of that vision.

Right now we just don't know.

[unspy]

My motto is: "decentralize everything.... starting with money"

[Brushan]

The Bitcoin Foundation's goal is to make money for the board members. Period. If making Bitcoin a money making machine means succes for their businesses then they will do whatever it takes to do it. But IF they'll make more money by Bitcoin's failure then it's ok for them. Some examples are MtGox having 80% of the trade without being able to hold the load, board president suing a board member, and the board trying to centralize and regulate Bitcoin.