As we begin 2016, the possibility of Bitcoin Foundation closing down is turning out to be more glaring to the Bitcoin community than ever before.

The long-time front face organization of Bitcoin, which was established by individuals and organizations in the industry in 2012 to create awareness, advocacy and development of the Bitcoin protocol, has recently been dogged by leadership wrangles and cash flow constraints.

In its latest episode of the downward spiral, Jim Harper and Olivier Janssens, left the Foundation Board on the 14th of December 2015, after what they described as a disagreement over the course the organization was taking. In a follow-up Reddit post, Olivier Janssens made it clear that while Jim resigned, he was forceful removed.

In the same post, he explained his points of departure from the majority of the other board members. One of these being whether the foundation should continue wobbling through financial woes or just shut down.

Bitcoin Foundation pretty much dead

“Someone (not me) started a vote on shutting down the Foundation. During the vote, I said that I’m not comfortable continuing the Foundation without a plan and direction.” Olivier explained in his Reddit post, “Jim and I have been asking for a plan and direction for many months. The voting result was 2 for (Jim and myself), three against. We were one vote short to shut it down.”

Despite his failure to hit the last nail on the on the foundation’s coffin through a vote, Olivier Janssens, has opined that the foundation does not have much life ahead. “The truth is that the Foundation is pretty much dead. They will try to keep it going just for the name and ego, but they have no support left with the community,” he stated in the Reddit post, “Their reputation is permanently destroyed, which became apparent over the last year.”

Of course, not everyone agrees with Olivier’s point of view on the future of the foundation. CoinDesk has quoted the Foundation director, Bruce Fenton, saying that the organization will now be better positioned after the exit of disagreeing board members. “It’s key to the vision of the board to align,” he said, “so while it would be ideal if the opinions coincided, ultimately it will hopefully place the foundation in a stronger position with a board that is aligned.”

But what is at stake if at all the foundation finally has no options but to shut down?

Other bodies are playing a similar role

Nothing much is really at stake. This is because Bitcoin by design is decentralized, and that does not stop with the protocol. As a matter of fact, a multiple of global, national and local organizations are already involved in evangelization, advocacy, research and further protocol development.

The most prominent of these alternative organizations include Coin Center and Bitcoin Association. At the national level, we have the likes of the Bitcoin Association of Australia and Belgium Bitcoin Association, which are more efficient given that they are focused on the same legal landscape.

Having stated that, we must acknowledge that shutting down of the first and largest organization that had taken the face of the Bitcoin will sure have some repercussions. This is especially true considering that in the world that understands centralization better, this could be interpreted as the technology’s popularity waning.

Indeed, it is accurate to state the only thing that could be at stake if Bitcoin Foundation is ever forced to shut down, is the image of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. This is especially, in the eyes of those who know little about decentralized technology.