While Americans were going to the polls Tuesday, Upstart Business Journal’s Michael del Castillo reported that Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed and Darkwallet was announcing his own candidacy for the Bitcoin Foundation’s board — and his motives for running were quite clear. Wilson told del Castillo:
“I will run on a platform of the complete dissolution of the Bitcoin Foundation and will begin and end every single one of my public statements with that message.”
It’s nothing personal, Wilson told del Castillo; it’s just that Wilson feels the foundation’s entire existence runs counter to the idea of an unregulated, decentralized economy, which many believe Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies could allow to flourish.
Wilson’s next chance to run would be in early 2015, when Gavin Andresen and Jon Matonis will both have individual seats up for election, according to the foundation’s website. Matonis resigned his position as the foundation’s executive director at the end of October, but he retains his seat on the board through the end of the year.
It is unclear how, in practice, Wilson would actually get elected. “Nominations, as well as voting for candidates, must be done by current Bitcoin Foundation members,” the organization’s website reads.
Bitcoin Foundation’s Evolving Role
The foundation has grown this past year to include 10 affiliates around the world, but there have been notable instances where members of the Bitcoin community have expressed their dissatisfaction with the organization.
Perhaps Bitcoin’s most prominent spokesman, Andreas Antonopoulos resigned as a foundation member, citing what he called “a complete lack of transparency.”
New executive director Patrick Murck addressed that issue in his October 30 blog post on the foundation’s website introducing himself and his plans as the new executive director.
“First, we need to repair our relationship with the Bitcoin community,” Murck wrote. “To do that effectively we may have to take some risks around communications and transparency to show that we can be honestly engaged with the community. That means we may not always say exactly the right thing and we might not always be on message, but we will be authentic in how we interact with the community in the future and I hope that you all get to know the people who work hard to make the Foundation go.”
In the same post, Murck wrote that the foundation’s new focus would be on “standardization through the bitcoin core reference implementation and actively supporting the people building the critical infrastructure that powers bitcoin.”
The security of the popular Bitcoin walletBlockchain.info has been often addressed in the news recently. Hundreds of bitcoins have been lost during this Blockchain.info update.
For example, there have been several reports of users losing their funds after using Blockchain.info through the Tor network. In response, the company temporarily blocked all Tor exit nodes, and then started using HSTS as well as providing a dedicated Tor onion address to its Tor population. Blockchain.info was the second company in the world, after Facebook, to receive an SSL certificate for their .onion address.
If there is anything good to be said about mass surveillance, overcharging and monopolization by telecom/ISP companies, and government censorship including cell phone and Internet shutdowns as they see fit, it is that these heavy-handed measures only create a stronger desire for freedom.
For many in the modern world, open access to the World Wide Web is being viewed as an essential human right – it is a gateway to knowledge, peer-to-peer communication, innovation and economic opportunity. Basically: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. For the 5 billion people who still do not have access, it represents the universal dream of self-determination.
There are several devices in various stages of development that aim to rectify the gaps in knowledge and communication which keep large portions of humanity enslaved and threaten freedom for the rest of us if the restrictions mentioned above are permitted to flourish. It is clear that some, if not all, of what is mentioned below carry various hurdles and challenges that might be difficult to overcome if widespread adoption is a goal. However, the ideas are there to be expanded upon – and as we know: “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.”
2. goTenna – This device enables off-grid communication between any goTenna-connected smartphones, but without the need for cell towers, Wi-Fi, or satellites. It’s like a walkie-talkie on steroids. http://www.gotenna.com/
3. Cryptocurrencies – Within an Outernet framework cryptocurrencies like bitcoin could become even more powerful. We can imagine one more layer put between their use and the regulators who continue to seek ways to eradicate this powerful peer-to-peer form of economic empowerment.
4. OpenBazaar – A peer-to-peer marketplace with no central server susceptible to shut down or seizure by authorities. By running a program on your computer, you can connect directly to other users in the OpenBazaar network and trade with them. No mandatory fees, and your trade is censorship-resistant. OpenBazaar uses Bitcoin cryptocurrency, and is an open source project, which means the code is publicly available, can be reviewed, and anyone can join the project and suggest changes. This system is in beta testing right now and is expected to be fully released in 2015. https://openbazaar.org/
5. Mesh Networks – Authoritarian governments around the world (including the U.S.) have considered implementing full communications shutdowns during protest. P2P chat apps like FireChat were used by Hong Kong democracy protesters to end-run a potential Internet shutdown and/or cell tower jamming. Similar local-range solutions could be instrumental during natural disasters as well, facilitating community organization, as well as search and rescue when traditional networks might be overloaded. Texting is the first useful app for mesh networks, but imagine combining it with goTenna and Lantern technology as well as P2P markets and the current way we access the Web may soon change altogether.
Do you know of other open-source technologies that are part of this ideological revolution? Please share with others in the comment section below.
“We’re entering into a new world, nobody knows anything about this world. We didn’t know that money could be completely produced privately… this is day one of a new age.” Says Jeffrey Tucker of Liberty.Me in this interview with Dan Dicks.
Dan and Jeff talk bitcoin and how it relates to liberty and whether there are any nefarious plans behind the cryptocurrency. Tucker is excited for the future of this money without the state. “I’m really looking forward to this world of alt coins, radical diversity in coinage.”
A family of four will embark on a three week bitcoin-only road trip over the Thanksgiving holiday. Expenses such as food, gasoline and lodging will all be paid for with the crypo-currency as they journey from Texas to California, Nevada, Colorado, and Missouri.
The goal of the Uncoinventional West Coast Tour is to “Inspire and empower the Bitcoin community to spend bitcoin on food, gasoline and lodging” says Catherine Bleish, Bitcoin author and creator of TheBitMom.com.
This will be the second bitcoin-only road trip for the Blush Family this year. Last June, Catherine, her husband John Bush, and their two children traveled over 4,400 miles from Texas to Washington DC, New York, New Hampshire and Ohio spending bitcoin only, with the exception of several toll roads they encountered along the way.
Despite several obstacles, the family managed to successfully spend over $6,000 in bitcoin using services such as Gyft (gift card service), CheapAir (hotel and flight booking service), and Airbitz (bitcoin business directory and mobile wallet) to find restaurants and hotels along the way.
Their first journey was a huge success, receiving national or local media attention at nearly every stop. The feedback was so great that Gyft, CheapAir, and Airbitz jumped on board to sponsor the West Coast Tour.
“We are ecstatic to support the Uncoinventional Living Tour,” said Paul Puey, CEO of Airbitz. “Cat and John are helping drive Bitcoin adoption as a true currency in everyday life… something strongly inline with the beliefs of the Airbitz team.”
This November, the family will find themselves speaking at the following events: Alt Expo in Austin, Libertopia Conference in San Diego, Liberty on the Rocks in Denver, and Bitcoin Meetups in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
The family plans to interview Bitcoin companies and activists along the way for John’s bitcoin podcast, SovereignBTC, which received nearly 47,000 listens during their East Coast Tour.
The bitcoin travel space is rapidly changing, presenting new challenges and opportunities for the family.
“A lot has changed in the past six months,” says Catherine Bleish: “for this trip we had to get creative in order to buy gasoline because the company we used last time is no longer active. There is definitely room for new startups in the space.”
The Blush family reports they are excited to hit the road and learn how Bitcoin travel has changed since June. Follow their journey at http://www.uncoinventional.com.
Bitcoin is a revolutionary decentralized architecture which can be used for an untold number of incredibly valuable services – including the transfer of financial value. As Bitcoin adoption continues to expand, significant interests are threatened and early users could face an incredibly dangerous backlash. Please protect yourself, a fight is coming…
On Saturday October 25 Derrick Broze caught up with Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed. Cody produced the controversial 3D printed gun, The Liberator. Cody discusses the failures of the bitcoin community, the optimism of libertarians, and Dark Wallet.
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