Amir Taaki criticises Bitcoin's 'corrupt, broken leadership'

Amir Taaki, a former Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) developer, has openly criticised the leadership behind Bitcoin, calling its governance “corrupt” and “broken.”

On X, Taaki shared his growing disinterest in Bitcoin’s development, stating he is now more focused on Ethereum, zero-knowledge technology, decentralised finance (DeFi), and crypto math.

Taaki’s criticism stemmed from his frustration with Bitcoin’s governance system, which he believes has failed to evolve. “I don’t want to explain the entire history of Bitcoin so you can understand the leadership is corrupt and governance broken,” Taaki remarked.

Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo questioned Taaki's stance, pointing out that he had previously introduced the BIP process to slow down Bitcoin’s development.

Taaki responded by saying that despite the existence of a consensus library, alternative Bitcoin implementations were still being suppressed.

Taaki expressed his belief that Bitcoin’s code had not been properly updated or refactored. He pointed out that the original code, written by Satoshi Nakamoto, had not seen substantial changes, leaving the platform stagnant.

The former Bitcoin developer also shared his frustrations with Bitcoin’s leadership, claiming that its governance model is ineffective.

He argued that Bitcoin’s core team, often called the “maxi army,” is misleading the public by claiming that Bitcoin is decentralised when, in reality, there is a lack of accountability.

Taaki’s disillusionment led him to focus on Ethereum and launch Darkfi, an alternative project.

He also criticised Peter Todd for allegedly mishandling a bounty fund for Coinjoin development, accusing him of being dishonest and corrupt.

Despite the pushback from Bitcoin supporters, including Coinkite’s Rodolfo Novak and Bitcoin Core contributor Luke Dashjr, Taaki remains committed to his views.

He emphasised that he values results over reputation and will continue to voice his opinions without limitations.

“Building a [layer two (L2)] would be the next best thing I’d be doing rn, and if it works out then maybe Darkfi will become a BTC L2,” according to Taaki.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin price was $105,165.