THE BITCOIN FOUNDATION MANIFESTO

WE, THE MEMBERS OF THE BITCOIN FOUNDATION, BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING TO BE TRUE

• Fiat currency has been a poor long-term store of value, especially since the

gold standard was abolished¹;

• Inflation encourages consumption and discourages savings and the sustain

able use of limited resources;

• Traditional financial services, especially banking, are not inclusive for the 2.1

billion people that live in poverty (less than $3.10/day)²;

• Electronic payment processing times and fees are too high, an important

reason why 85% of all commerce globally is still done in cash³;

• The financial services collapse of 2008 and subsequent banking system

bailout caused substantial misery for the poorest of the global population,

especially in developing economies⁴ ⁵;

• Losses associated with card fraud totaled $16.3 billion globally in 2014⁶, with

more than half of this fraud occurring online⁷;

• Traditional banking and payments systems are not secure;

• Trust in traditional banking and financial services is at an all-time low⁸.

Accordingly, we believe that every human has the following financial rights

which should not be impeded by governments, regulators, financial institutions

or other humans:

• The right to privacy in transactions that involve no harm to others;

• The right to keep your savings, or spend your money, anywhere in the world;

• The right to economic participation with or without a bank account;

• The right to economic participation with or without a credit history;

• The right to convert fiat currency into bitcoin and vice versa;

• The right to use bitcoin as a medium of exchange;

• The right to use bitcoin as a store of value.

Further, Bitcoin is a technology project and community unlike any other – the technology is completely decentralized and the founder does not head up an organization that sets the strategy, governance and standards. This has created a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders that don’t all share the same vision for Bitcoin. We believe that The Bitcoin Foundation is uniquely positioned to facilitate communication, cooperation and integration towards a shared purpose.

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OUR MISSION

The Bitcoin Foundation coordinates the eorts of the members of the Bitcoin

community, helping to create awareness of the benefits of Bitcoin, how to use it

and its related technology requirements, for technologists, regulators, the

media and everyone else globally.

OUR VISION

Bitcoin will be a globally accepted method of exchanging and storing value which

will operate without the need for third parties.

OUR VALUES

Privacy

Guaranteed financial access

Decentralization

Autonomy

Stable money supplies

Financial inclusion