Olivier Janssens and Jim Harper have become the Bitcoin Foundation’s newest board members, following a recent election that was not without controversy.
The winning candidates received 277 and 264 votes respectively, from 440 eligible voters.
When asked about his objectives as a newly appointed board member, Janssens, a founder of Freedom Investment Group, said that he wanted to decentralise core development so that the core developers could be paid directly by the community, instead of having the Bitcoin Foundation “sitting in between”.
Janssens continued:
“Through public crowdfunding, there will be direct feedback between the core developers and the community, and the community will be able to put money towards the features that they like and want the most.”
Harper, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said that his role would focus on “building the foundation’s stability and solidity”.
“It is a young organisation that has had growing pains,” he said. “It will take stable leadership over some period of time to build its reputation in the bitcoin community.”
Both Janssens and Harper agree that there is a greater need for transparency, which, they say, will help the foundation connect with the bitcoin community.
Election criticised
The Bitcoin Foundation has faced some criticism for its management of the election.
Janssens said that the decision to change the “whole voting system” during the second round of the election was a surprise to everyone.
He continued: “It is extremely strange to do this mid-election. What bothered people the most is that the process changed overnight, and was presented as fact in the morning.”
Harper said:
“The election process was a little bumpy, as communications between the foundation and members have not always been strong. A well-intended run at blockchain voting was an interesting experiment showing that technologies take time and experience to mature and gain acceptance.”
“In the end, I believe all candidates were satisfied with the fairness of the process. The energy and intensity of the bitcoin community were on full display, which is invigorating”, he added.
Despite the controversy, Brian Goss, election committee chair, said that the foundation appreciated “all the feedback and suggestions for improvement along the way”.
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