JR,
As an investor of Mastercoin and as someone who cares about this project I just don't agree to this approach.
Let's be honest with ourselves: the reason that MSC currently worth money is mainly (or practically only) because of the BTC invested in it. The intellectual property of MSC is still very low. We have nice ideas which are not yet implemented and there are only few experimental websites and few experimental wallets and that's it. The number of developers that are currently working on the project is still very low.
The echo system of MSC is very close to zero.
This is why I think that selling the foundation BTC will kill the project.
BTC has value that attracts people. It can be converted to any fiat currency, it's price is rising. Investors are looking at this and understand that the foundation has the ability to make this ambitious project happen - this is the reason that MSC worth money at the moment IMHO.
Like everyone else in the world - I love easy money, but this idea just confuses me.
This idea reminds me of USD - printing money out of air.
+100 to this. The BTC is the rocket fuel that will propel MSC forward. The MSC market is still VERY thin, and I personally don't give much credence to the current MSC valuation given this. Keep the vast majority of your BTC, as ofer said. That is the nest egg that, if properly managed and spent, will make this project successful.