Originally a developer of 3D graphics and virtual reality software, Andresen became involved in developing products for the bitcoin market in 2010, and was declared by Satoshi Nakamoto as the lead developer of the reference implementation for bitcoin client software after Nakamoto had announced his departure.[2] In 2012 Andresen founded the Bitcoin Foundation to support and nurture the development of the bitcoin currency, and by 2014 left his software development role to concentrate on his work with the Foundation.