UPDATED 12:15 EDT / JANUARY 12 2022

BLOCKCHAIN

Jack Dorsey proposes a legal defense fund for bitcoin developers

Block Inc. founder and Chief Executive Jack Dorsey has proposed the creation of a Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund that would provide financial support for developers on the receiving end of lawsuits.

In an email sent to the bitcoin-dev mailing list today, Dorsey outlined that the fund’s primary purpose would be a nonprofit entity designed to “minimize legal headaches” and to defend developers from lawsuits arising from activities in the bitcoin ecosystem.

“The Bitcoin community is currently the subject of multi-front litigation,” wrote Dorsey. “Litigation and continued threats are having their intended effect; individual defendants have chosen to capitulate in absence of legal support.”

For its first action, the fund will be taking over coordinating the defense of Craig Wright’s “Tulip Trading” lawsuit directed against developers regarding alleged “breach of fiduciary duty” over access to a bitcoin fortune.

Wright is a particularly litigious individual in the bitcoin industry and is also well-known for his claim to be the legendary Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of the technology, without presenting believable evidence for the claim. In spite of this, Wright has received copyright over the bitcoin white paper in the U.S. and won a default judgment against the operator of Bitcoin.org in the U.K. to remove it. He has also threatened to sue other websites for displaying it.

The fund would exist for developers to tap into voluntarily and for free if they become subject to legal action. Dorsey said that it would act by finding and retaining legal counsel, developing litigation strategy, and helping pay legal bills. The fund’s board would sift through potential cases to determine which lawsuits it would take on.

The email was also signed by Alex Marcos, co-founder of Chaincode Labs, and academic researcher Martin White. Together with Dorsey, these three would make up the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund board.

Dorsey did not say how much capital the fund currently has except that it is not currently looking to raise any funds at this time. However, it may choose to do so in the future at the direction of the board.

Photo: Pixabay

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