According to a report published in the New York Times Jim Harper whose was appointed as the Bitcoin Foundation’s global policy counsel last March has been dismissed from the post. The portal informs that Mr. Harper’s last day was Wednesday, though he received notice of the foundation’s decision shortly after Thanksgiving.
Regarding the dismissal Patrick Murck, the executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation said that the organization is changing direction a little bit here and the policy aspect was more of a distraction and a drain on resources that they could handle at the moment. He further added that without having that work to be done, there really wasn’t a huge role for Jim to do.
According to some observers the dismissal of Mr. Harper is an indication of the fact that the Bitcoin Foundation is shifting its focus, from policy advocacy to Bitcoin technology and infrastructure development. Nonetheless, the dismissal won’t mean that there won’t be any connection between the Bitcoin Foundation and Mr. Harper.
Talking to media professionals Mr. Harper said he wasn’t quite ready to cut all ties to the Bitcoin Foundation. Though he admitted that there are differences of opinion on the foundation’s direction, he said he was still running for a position on the foundation’s board. Reports say he is running for election alongside a number of other Bitcoin enthusiasts.
Jon Matonis Left the Foundation in the Last Year
Other than Mr. Harper, so far the name of Cody Wilson, who has opposed Bitcoin regulation and wants to dissolve the Bitcoin Foundation, has shown his interest to contest for board member; the elections will take place in mid-February. Mr. Harper says that his experience at the foundation was that it wasn’t an organization that had a lot of focus and direction.
According to Mr. Harper part of the reason he is running for the board is because, whether he works there or not, he thinks the Bitcoin Foundation should have solid leadership and management from the top all the way down. He comes with rich experience as he worked as director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute.
Cato Institute is a libertarian research group where he works as a senior fellow, a reduced role he took when he moved to the Bitcoin Foundation. Earlier in the later part of 2014, Jon Matonis who left the Bitcoin Foundation was another big name who surprised a lot of observers. He was replaced by Mr. Murck, one of the foundation’s founding board members.
To contact the reporter of this story: Deepak Tiwari at deepak@forexminute.com
Regarding the dismissal Patrick Murck, the executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation said that the organization is changing direction a little bit here and […]