In the wake of the resignation of Jon Matonis from the position of Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, former general counsel Patrick Murck has stepped up to fill the role.
To help the community better understand his upcoming role, he held an AMA on reddit.
Questions From Canada
The community had several interesting questions for Murck.
Francis Pouliot, from the Bitcoin Foundation Canada had quite a few questions for him, but perhaps the most interesting one was as follows:
You mentioned in your last blog post that “my first priority is to cut out distractions and focus the Bitcoin Foundation on the areas where we can add the most value for the bitcoin community”. Regarding this statement: According to you, what should be the Foundation’s primary and essential mission? (please name only the most important one)
Murck responded that “supporting standardization through the Bitcoin Core reference implementation fo bitcoin and providing better avenues for new people to build out core infrastructure” would be their priorities.
He also asked whether Murck believes the Bitcoin Foundation’s affiliate program, designed to help Bitcoin Foundation chapters open worldwide, was successful so far, and he isn’t enthusiastic about it.
Much like the grant program, doing the the affiliate chapter program right is a project that requires a serious commitment of resources from the Foundation not the least of which is creating an effective marketing and sales process that our chapters can leverage for their local community. It’s a priority for us to engage in a conversation with our local affiliates to chart a better course forward.
Politics And Bitcoin
Another user asked how the new Republican-controlled congress could affect Bitcoin and how they plan on working with them.
I’ve found that bitcoin plays well with both political parties in US. Sometimes for different reasons. For us the strategy is to be a resource on the technical rules that govern bitcoin and the social contract that allows the bitcoin network to regulate itself. We can be that resource for politicians or other groups and associations doing work on the ground.
He was also asked about New York’s impending BitLicence regulations, and what impact they could have on Bitcoin. And not only did he have insight into how to the BitLicence’s broader implications, he also had some advice on how to communicate Bitcoin’s benefits to politicians.
We have had plenty of discussions with State regulators and they are watching how things unfold in New York. That doesn’t mean they are interested in following New York’s approach per se, but the “bitlicense” proposal has garnered a lot of attention both here and abroad.
What State regulators seem most concerned with is consumer protection and what happens if the citizens they are charged to protect lose their life savings in a bitcoin exchange meltdown. I think they would love to hear constructive thoughts on how they can do their job without getting in the way.
But if you do reach out to your State regulator keep this in mind. As you pitch this cool new technology (or your business), you will tend to highlight all the ways that technology is different from everything out there in the market. When a regulator hears that something is “different” they think about how much work it’s going to take them and their staff to understand how to deal with it. It’s usually better to tell your friendly regulator all the ways that this new technology (or your business) is the same as something they already know how to deal with. That puts things in a useful context for them and let’s you focus on the consumer benefits.
Avoiding The Question
Not all questions were positive, though. One user brought up a very simple point outlining the lack of any real incentive to join the Bitcoin Foundation:
I’m putting a business together. I’m looking at $1,000 a year to join the foundation. As far as I know I’d be the only member in my area. I’d be joining an organization that has a rocky reputation in the community.
Why should I sign up?
Another user asked an extremely baited question which underscored the frustration many have had with the Bitcoin Foundation so far:
Hey Pat, what do you think about the Bitcoin Foundation being the complete antithesis of what bitcoin is meant to achieve? How do you really feel about decentralization?
Murck declined to answer either question.
He also declined to answer a question from Litecoin creator Charlie Lee about the Bitcoin Foundation’s stance toward altcoins.
The Bitcoin Foundation has previously been very hostile towards Litecoin and other altcoins. They believed that the goals of “development, safety, and promotion” only applied to Bitcoin and basically tried to pretend that Litecoin and other altcoins do not exist, should be ignored, and are detrimental to Bitcoin.
With you as the new Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, would this stance change? I and many others believe that we are in this crypto revolution together. And it is in the best interest of the Bitcoin Foundation to help with the development, safety, and promotion of all crypto-currencies. Do you agree?
To be fair, though, Lee did state he had “already gotten your answer to this question in person, but I figure I should ask this publicly also.”
Moving Forward
As Executive Director, Murck stated his top three priorities are:
Refocus the Foundation around technical standards and the Bitcoin Core reference implementation of bitcoin. This includes developing a more formal technical standards approach to bitcoin development.
Creating a better member experience for our supporters. Being more transparent in what we do and engaging in a dialog about our priorities.
Developing a sustainable business model so that bitcoin’s development isn’t at the mercy of bitcoin price swings. This should also help align the Foundation’s future with the value it is providing to the community.
In a similar question, he also said “the quick version is that I want to get the Foundation back to its roots. That would probably look a lot like the Linux Foundation or the Apache Software Foundation.”
And when asked what he worries about most, he’s thinking about “the community pulling itself apart before bitcoin reaches a tipping point in adoption.”
At which point a user replied “Maybe he’s referring to the fact that the bitcoin community disapproves of the self-appointed overlords in the Bitcoin Foundation, and that he would like us to accept and comply?”
Clearly, Murck has some work to do in regaining the trust and confidence of the Bitcoin community.
Patrick Murck: "I Want To Get The Foundation Back To Its Roots"
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