Bitcoin's Latest Controversy: A Former Disney Child Star's Ascent At Bitcoin Foundation Prompts Resignations

The controversy and chaos that seems to shadow Bitcoin continued this week as several members of the virtual currency's biggest advocacy group, the Bitcoin Foundation, resigned during its annual meeting in Amsterdam to protest a new director's election.

According to various reports, the members resigned because they were unhappy with Brock Pierce, 33, a controversial actor and former Disney child star that the foundation appointed as a director.

Some of the people who resigned expressed concern with Pierce's history, which the new organization said included allegations in past lawsuits that he provided drugs and alcohol to minors and pressured them for sex, Reuters reported.

The report also quoted Pierce's response to those allegations by telling Reuters in an email, "The allegations against me are not true, and I have never had intimate or sexual contact with any of the people who made those allegations."

One of the members who resigned, Patrick Alexander, posted a comment on a discussion page for Bitcoin Foundation.

"This is not the direction this foundation needs to take," Alexander wrote. "The foundation members need to emulate very high moral values and ethics in business and in personal dealings, especially as it involves money. So far, the track record of prominent Bitcoin Foundation members has been abysmal. I know that most foundation members are probably swell people and are not like this. However, the acts of a few, have overshadowed us all unfortunately. I no longer want to be associated with these people."