The Bitcoin Foundation deleted a blog post responding to allegations that it was broke. The post came down sometime between April 7, when it was published, and May 10, 2015, according to Archive.org r
The Bitcoin Foundation deleted a blog post responding to allegations that it was broke. The post came down sometime between April 7, when it was published, and May 10, 2015, according to Archive.org records.
Olivier Janssens, newly elected to the Bitcoin Foundation board, had posted on Reddit describing the organization as insolvent and claiming that developers working on Bitcoin Core had stopped receiving paychecks. The Foundation's deleted response, titled "The Facts About the Bitcoin Foundation," directly addressed these claims.
Bruce Fenton, the Foundation's Executive Director, removed the post. On Reddit, Fenton confirmed the deletion, saying a "communications person" had written the post and that he deleted it because "I didn't think it was productive and isn't a post I would have made or approved" had he been in charge when it was written. We asked Fenton whether any of the deleted content was factually inaccurate, specifically whether the Foundation had gone bankrupt. He had not responded by press time.
The post had stated four main things. The Foundation "is not bankrupt nor have there been any discussions regarding a potential bankruptcy." It "did not fire 90% of its people," though it never disclosed how many staff members it had actually cut. It acknowledged that donors had raised concerns about governance but said "the strategic plan addressed these concerns." It also noted that Patrick Murck, the previous executive director, had stepped off the payroll.
The Foundation never explained why it deleted the post. Other posts from the same period remained online. When contacted about the removal, the Foundation responded: "Thank you for your inquiry. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with our website. We are hoping to roll out an exciting new website this week. Keep checking back! Thanks!" This explanation did not address the 403 error on its donation page or why it had scrubbed a response to public claims about its financial condition.
Fenton had promised change since taking over from Murck. On April 16, he tweeted: "My goal for @BTCFoundation is not to simply have a good image but to be a worldwide model for transparency and governance." Deleting official statements in response to major controversies seems at odds with that pledge. At a minimum, the Foundation could explain why it removed the post.
The Foundation is also building a new website, less than a year after its last redesign. Given the organization's documented financial struggles, some members might question the timing and cost. A budget document did list "fixing the website" as a planned expense, so the update was not unannounced.
Janssens had run for the board with a specific mandate: shift Bitcoin's Core development out of the Foundation's hands and force financial transparency. In April, he posted a harsh critique on Reddit, arguing the Foundation had depleted its reserves and that Core developers had stopped being paid. That post set off a chain of events that sent those developers toward MIT, which began funding part of their work through its new Cryptocurrency Initiative.
We contacted both Janssens and the Bitcoin Foundation for further comment. Neither had responded by publication.
