Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund (BLDF) recently delivered on its promise to fund the legal costs of 11 Bitcoin developers that are the target of the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright’s lawsuit. According to Alex Morcos, the “mission [of BLDF] is to safeguard innovation by shielding developers from legal intimidation.”
The Future of Open-Source Software Development
Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund (BLDF), a Jack Dorsey-backed fund, has said it will make its services available to 11 Bitcoin developers named in a lawsuit filed by the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright. According to the trio behind the fund, defending Bitcoin developers not only eases the pressure on them but ensures the legal system will not interfere with open-source software development.
In a statement, Dorsey, who founded BLDF along with Alex Morcos and Martin White, argued the case for defending the eleven individuals. He said:
The outcomes of these cases are important for everyone, even those who may not be interested in Bitcoin, because these lawsuits could have serious detrimental effects on open-source development writ large, which will negatively impact our lives in ways we may not even realize until it’s too late.
In their defense filed with a High Court in the United Kingdom on April 26, the developers characterized Wright’s allegations as “a fraudulent claim” and insisted his firm, Tulip Trading Limited (TTL) had deliberately commenced legal proceedings knowing full well it has no claim over the missing 111,000 bitcoins.
Litigation Against Developers Having the ‘Intended Effect’
Before jumping to the defense of the 11 developers, the BLDF founding trio penned a letter that explained their reasons for launching the fund. According to the letter, the weight of continued litigation and the threats of more are “having their intended effect” as has been demonstrated by defendants that have capitulated. Therefore, the objective of BLDF “is to defend developers from lawsuits regarding their activities in the Bitcoin ecosystem,” the trio said.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Alex Morcos said the fund not only seeks to defend the “right of open-source developers to create and freely share their code with the world for the greater good.” Morcos added that the “mission [of BLDF] is to safeguard innovation by shielding developers from legal intimidation.”
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