- The Bitcoin Mining Council has confirmed that Elon Musk has no role in the organization
- The newly-formed council launched a website yesterday where it confirmed its aims and the roles of individuals
- The Bitcoin community have been wary of Musk’s involvement since his criticism of Bitcoin’s energy use
The contentious Bitcoin Mining Council, which was formed two weeks amid headlines about Bitcoin’s energy usage, has launched a website that states in no uncertain times that Elon Musk has no role within the body. The Bitcoin Mining Council website, which was announced yesterday by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, explains its aims and objectives, how Bitcoin miners can join, and, crucially, just how decentralized it really is.
Bitcoin Mining Council Will Not Challenge Decentralized Ethos
The Bitcoin Mining Council has come in for criticism since the announcement of its formation last month, with some suggesting that having a central body with powerful individuals at the helm is the antithesis of Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos. However, the website goes out of its way to explain that this is not the case, stating that it won’t “change the decentralized nature of Bitcoin or its core principles” but rather will work to “raise awareness about Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining.”
The Bitcoin Mining Council is a voluntary and open forum of Bitcoin miners committed to the network and its core principles. We promote transparency, share best practices, and educate the public on the benefits of #Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining. Join us. 🙏https://t.co/vGPGD3TA5p
— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) June 10, 2021
Musk Has “No Role”
Saylor is described as being a “key member of the BMC, both as a facilitator and Bitcoin supporter”, but it is the role of Elon Musk within the Bitcoin Mining Council that has come under most scrutiny. Musk has gone from Bitcoin messiah to pariah with is constant back and forth regarding his feelings about the cryptocurrency, and so it was with some alarm that he played a prominent role in the creation of the Bitcoin Mining Council, being on the original phone call and announcing the council along with Saylor.
The Bitcoin Mining Council website however states that his involvement extended to” joining an educational call with a group of North American companies to discuss Bitcoin mining” and that he now has “no role at the BMC.” This news will be of huge relief to the Bitcoin community, who now consider Musk’s unpredictability, and his seeming desire to monopolize aspects of the Bitcoin mining process, to be a danger to the ecosystem.
