With its best friend broke, bitcoin can’t afford lobbyists anymore

▶ The Bitcoin Foundation cuts operations amid a budget crunch ▶ “I don’t know if the foundation has a future”

Since it formed in 2012, the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation, run by a collection of software executives and technology analysts, has been the go-to advocate for the digital currency. When a state regulator tried to stop bitcoin transactions in its jurisdiction, it got a letter from the foundation. When Congress called a hearing on cryptocurrencies, someone from the organization was on the panel. So it’s something of a blow to bitcoin die-hards that the foundation is broke and that some of its own directors recently said raising more money to run it would be a waste of time.

The foundation, funded mostly through donations, conferences, and some membership fees, has seen $7 million evaporate in the past two years and was left with only $12,553.06 in total assets at the end of November. Executive Director Bruce Fenton began the nonprofit’s Dec. 15 board meeting by announcing that “we need additional funds if we wish to retain employees,” according to the minutes. When the board discussed ways to raise funds, Director Olivier Janssens suggested the foundation may not be “fixable.” Director Jim Harper put it more bluntly: “Asking for money is just throwing money away.”

Some people are saying the same about bitcoin itself: The global, decentralized currency for the Internet Age has proved to be more volatile than many penny stocks. Investors who bought at $13 per bitcoin in the foundation’s early days are probably still happy now that it’s hovering around $430. Less fortunate are the people who bought near the height of bitcoin fever in late 2013, when the currency’s value peaked at $1,137. “Bitcoin is only an appropriate investment for speculative investors,” says Gil Luria, managing director at Wedbush Securities.

Bitcoin’s role in money laundering and other illegal activity is a constant source of volatility. The currency fell to $183 in January 2015 following a slew of problems, including the collapse of Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest bitcoin exchange. Mark Karpelès, former chief executive officer of Mt. Gox and a Bitcoin Foundation director, was arrested in Tokyo and charged with embezzlement in September. Karpelès didn’t respond to a request for comment. Former foundation Vice Chairman Charlie Shrem is serving two years in federal prison, having pleaded guilty to helping launder money through Silk Road, an online black market, in 2014.