Bitcoin – and, even more important, the underlying blockchain technology – shows promising uses to help bring economic equity to the world, which aligns with our values.
By Joshua Forman
Principal, Forman Consulting
Member, Community Foundation Board of Trustees
Did you know that you can now donate to Community Foundation Boulder County in bitcoin? We’ve made it very easy to do with our BitPay integration (via Greater Horizons), and you can do so by contacting a member of our Philanthropic Services Team at 303.442.0436 or PhilanthropicServices@commfound.org. We’re standing by to help you donate in bitcoin.
Although bitcoin donations are not widely accepted by nonprofits yet, we recognized the importance of going through the research and effort in order to accept bitcoin now. That’s significant, because bitcoin – and, even more important, the underlying blockchain technology – shows promising uses to help bring economic equity to the world, which aligns with our values.
The August 2018 edition of Vanity Fair explains how Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the World Wide Web, is not happy that his invention has come under mostly centralized control and that it “has failed instead of served humanity.” He also repeatedly states that decentralization of that control is how to right this wrong.
There’s a growing sentiment that Bitcoin (and other crypto-currencies) – and the decentralized blockchain technology upon which they run – can power the decentralization that Berners-Lee and many others feel is important if the web is to truly serve humanity. Bitcoin is not controlled by one person, organization, or consortium; the Bitcoin protocol (how bitcoin is transmitted) is open-source code … the same paradigm used for the code running the World Wide Web, which allows any computer to use the web free of charge.
One of the challenges is that – even though the protocol of the web (how data is transmitted) is open-source – the data that is sent across it is not; rather, it’s centrally controlled by companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Blockchain technology shows promise in allowing for both data and content to be shared in a distributed manner – that is, no longer controlled by a single company or group of entities.
One way for anyone with a computer and a bank account to participate in this evolving pioneer to decentralize the web, and possibly profit from it, is to use bitcoin. This is easy to do at sites like Coinbase. In addition to promoting decentralization of the internet and beyond, blockchain technology has already demonstrated potential for social good, like English business magnate and philanthropist Richard Branson states here.
At a personal level, it’s an investment in blockchain technology. In addition to being a form of investment, however risky it may be, there are a few places that accept bitcoin as a form of payment … and sending bitcoin is faster and cheaper than other methods for sending money across international borders, as Bill Gates infers here.
To dispel early myths: buying, holding, and using bitcoin is completely legal and it is subject to taxation like any other asset.
Making Bitcoin donations
Like all donations you consider, please consult tax laws and seek professional advice. If you’d like to learn more about Bitcoin and blockchain technology, I work in this space – and I’ve written a series of blogs on this and related topics.
