Bitcoin Foundation

The Bitcoin Foundation was an American organization formerly registered as a nonprofit corporation.^[2][1]

The Bitcoin Foundation, Inc.

Formation	September 2012
Registration no.	46-1671796
Legal status	501(c)(6) tax-exempt organization (revoked)[1]
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.

It was founded in September 2012 to help restore the reputation of Bitcoin after several scandals and to promote its development and adoption.^[3] The organization was modeled on the Linux Foundation and funded primarily through grants made by bitcoin-dependent companies.^[4]

History

The foundation was established after Bitcoin had gained a reputation for criminality and fraud.^[3] The founding chairman was Peter Vessenes.^[3]

Former lead Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen was hired as chief scientist.^[4]

In June 2013, the foundation received a letter from the California Department of Financial Institutions ordering it to cease operating as an unlicensed money transmitter.^[5]

In November 2013, general counsel Patrick Murck testified before a U.S. Senate committee on digital currencies, receiving a generally positive reception from lawmakers.^[6]

2014 scandals and resignations

In January 2014, vice-chairman Charlie Shrem was arrested for aiding an unlicensed money-transmitting business linked to the Silk Road marketplace. He resigned and later pled guilty.^[7][8][9]

In February 2014, Mark Karpelès, CEO of Mt. Gox, resigned after the exchange lost 750,000 customer bitcoins and went bankrupt. Executive chairman Peter Vessenes’ business ties to Karpelès were criticized.^[10]

In March 2014, the foundation hired Jim Harper of the Cato Institute as global policy counsel and retained Amy Weiss as a media consultant.^[11]

In July 2014, the foundation hired Thorsen French Advocacy as a lobbying firm.^[12] Libertarian Bitcoin activists criticized the organization’s increasing political engagement.^[13]

Board turmoil

In May 2014, Bobby Lee (BTCC) and venture capitalist Brock Pierce were appointed to the board.^[14]

Ten members resigned due to longstanding allegations against Pierce.^[15] Another nine resigned after the May elections, citing dissatisfaction with the foundation’s direction.^[16]

Financial collapse and leadership changes

In April 2015, Bruce Fenton became executive director.^[17] He was succeeded by Llew Claasen in July 2016.^[18]

In July 2015, Olivier Janssens publicly revealed that the foundation was nearly insolvent, leading to staff layoffs.^[19]

Revocation of tax-exempt status

The Bitcoin Foundation’s 501(c)(6) status was officially revoked by the IRS on 15 May 2022.^{[1][20][21][22][23]}