Bitcoin Foundation Accused Misleading Members

Bitcoin received another blow it its image over the weekend, when newly elected Bitcoin Foundation board member Olivier Janssens announced that the Foundation was "effectively bankrupt" and accused the group's leadership of misleading the public. Janssens' claims have yet to be verified, but the Foundation released a statement on Tuesday denying those claims, though the damage may have already been done. Poor Management The Bitcoin Foundation has been an advocate for the cryptocurrency's mainstream adoption, but Janssens said that poor decision making and misleading the public has made it a poor example for the community. In a blog post titled "The Truth About the Bitcoin Foundation" Janssens detailed how the Foundation nearly ran out of money last year and fired 90 percent of its staff. Janssens also called on current members to organize a vote to replace the entire board or shut down the Foundation completely. Foundation Denies Claims The Foundation responded on Tuesday with an official blog post claiming that Janssens' claims were completely unfounded. The post admitted that the foundation has been struggling with funding due to the sharp decline in bitcoin's value, but claimed it was not bankrupt. The post also said that many of its staff left voluntarily and although the foundation did "downsize", it did not fire 90 percent of its workers. Difficult To Move Forward Now, it will be up to members of the bitcoin advocacy group to determine how this public dispute is settled. The Foundation's head of core developers responded to Janssens' post saying that it was important to move forward legally and transparently in order to restore the Foundation's image, though many believe the organization has already lost the public's trust.