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Meet The New Bitcoin Directors

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:43 PM
Joel Dalais
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:43 PM

Starting with 13 Candidates in the first election round, the Bitcoin Foundation has chosen its new Directors after the elections ran to a secondary, runoff round. The Foundation allowed only the top four candidates from the first round into the runoffs, Bruce Fenton, Jim Harper, Michael Perklin, Olivier Janssens. And each candidate still required 50% approval to win a seat.

The Bitcoin Foundation runoff elections have finished. Jim Harper and Olivier Janssens have won the two seats; the final tally was;

Jim Harper 264 (60)%
Bruce Fenton 218 (50)%
Michael Perklin 229 (52)%
Olivier Janssens 277 (63)%
~Bitcoin Foundation.

Jim Harper has previously worked for the Foundation as Global Policy Counsel, so arguably knows the ropes and knows where there is room for improvements. He had previously outlined plans of forward development, but these were assumedly put by the wayside as other matters took priority in the wake of the decline of bitcoin value during 2014.

He hopes to get things headed in this general direction again and to build upon other areas of potential weakness and to work with the vibrant membership a lot more.

Olivier Janssens has talked and proactively pursued a more decentralised stance. He Financed the construction of Lighthouse , a decentralised governance software created by Mike Hearn . Proposes more transparency from Board meetings and a more decentralised approach towards core development.

We reached out to get a response from one of the new Directors to find out what was waiting in store for Foundation members and those interested in the space;

The election itself was a bumpy ride, but the campaign revealed the energy and intensity that the Bitcoin Foundation’s membership has for Bitcoin. With Olivier and the other members of the board, I want to help the foundation channel members’ energy into a thriving ecosystem and success in achieving all the good outcomes Bitcoin promises.

It would be wrong to expect instant change. A lot of work is needed that will take time. I hope to help the foundation develop a reputation for solidity and seriousness, building from core development out to work that the membership recognize as important for development of the Bitcoin ecosystem. ~ Jim Harper.

The Foundation has arguably had itself a rough year, with trust and dislike at an all time high. Their relevance to the Bitcoin sector is often brought up in debates. We have the bulk of 2015 ahead of us, as last year around this time we had the fall of MtGox, what, if any, shall be the significance of the latest Bitcoin Foundation elections?

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