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Blockchain-Based Voting Could Solve Trump and Biden Presidential Election Dispute

There were a record number of voters who have already cast their ballots in the 2020 US presidential election cycle by means of mail or in-person absentee. Following the most complex voting process came chaos and disputes, especially caused by the lengthy duration mail votes have taken. Every state has different rules for mail-in voting.

On Nov. 3, Trump took a lead in most swing states, however, a day later, Biden’s votes caught up in Wisconsin and Michigan, eventually flipping both of the states. Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and even Georgia could also have the possibility to turn blue. The main reason is that Trump encouraged his supporters to vote in person, claiming that the in-person vote was a “very secure vote” and “everything was perfect, very strict, right by the rules.” On the contrary, he believes mail-in voting “could never be secure like that.“

The current state of the election has further intensified his beliefs about mail-in ballots. He tweeted a series of tweets attacking the results and the mail-in voting system. His tweets were partly restricted by Twitter due to false claims.

Secure and transparent blockchain system could help trace mail-in ballots

The current mail-in voting system lacks reliability and traceability. Both parties and their supporters lack trust in each other, and US President Donald Trump has doubts about the US Postal Service (USPS). Blockchain technology could act as a mechanism for trust, removing the trust we have to rely on either party.

Coincidentally, the USPS has already patented such a blockchain system. On Aug.13, the US Patent and Trademark Office presented the USPS’ official patent application, dubbed the “Secure Voting System,” which leverages blockchain technology to securitize the voting process and transmit the incoming ballots more efficiently and quickly.

With the blockchain system, there would be fewer disputes, as the patented blockchain voting system could come to fruition ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. The blockchain system could allow the 2024 US presidential voting process to be more efficient, transparent, and secure.

Blockchain voting system

Voters can even vote via the blockchain system directly, removing paper ballots completely. The voting system is one of the most typical blockchain applications, and some have even proposed to try to use the blockchain voting system. On May 5, the Ohio Democrats introduced the elections overhaul bill that proposed a blockchain voting system for Ohio registered US military voters stationed overseas. Public blockchain Cardano has been developing such a system, as its founder, Charles Hoskinson even believes Cardano’s new voting system will make ADA the most valuable cryptocurrency in the world.

But the blockchain voting system does not come without drawbacks. According to Russian state media organization TASS, on June 27, Russia’s e-voting blockchain platform was attacked. There could also other legal issues surrounding a blockchain voting system.

Blockchain Technology has the potential to repair the dispute and separation

The abundance of disputes and attacks stem from a lack of trust. The entropy of society is increasing with more and more doubts about the voting process. Blockchain brings consensus for all. Blockchain enables more trust, democracy, and fairness for both parties and their supporters, thus bring orders and more friendliness.

Bitcoin Price Crashed $850 After Biden was Confirmed as the US President-Elect, but BTC Still Set to Rally

Bitcoin has managed to climb to new highs in the past week, in tandem with the growing uncertainty of the outcome of the US presidential election.

However, the uncertainty has now come to an end, as Biden has become the new president of the United States, winning over the electoral votes in Georgia and Pennsylvania. The new president announced on Twitter:

“America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country. The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

Biden’s republican opponent and current US President Donald Trump took it to Twitter and announced his version of the outcome:

“I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”

Twitter has since flagged his post, citing that “official sources may not have called the race when this was Tweeted.”

In reaction to the news of Biden winning, Bitcoin crashed $850 as soon as the announcement came out, plunging at over 5 percent. Bitcoin’s price has since recovered slightly, and is now trading at $15,012.

Biden taps pro-crypto Gary Gensler as financial advisor

As Biden was moving towards securing his presidency in the past week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Biden has looked into tapping Gary Gensler, a former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama presidency, to oversee Wall Street.

Gensler is a former Goldman executive and is well-acquainted with cryptocurrency. He toughtba course at MIT about how Bitcoin and blockchain could be used in finance. With the addition of Gensler to Biden’s roster, crypto regulation could be on the agenda.

With added regulation, could also mean that cryptocurrencies could potentially be adopted more widely, in comparison to Trump’s administration, where he previously told Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, to “Go after Bitcoin,” for fraud.

Market history: Stock markets perform better when an incumbent president is elected

History suggests that the US presidential elections did have a direct impact on the stock markets, and they performed better than when an incumbent president is elected compared to a new administration.

Bitcoin’s price has dropped 3.3 percent in the past 24 hours. Following Bitcoin’s correction, altcoins have also bled out as well. However, a crypto analyst expects that a Biden presidency could be good for Bitcoin:

“Getting the US Election behind us will be great for the markets. Hopefully, when we all come out of lockdown – that will give the markets even more certainty, too. If Biden acts as a true Democrat & spends – assets should benefit. The future is bright. #Bitcoin.”

US Elections Need Blockchain: What Happened with the QFS Conspiracy and Voter Fraud Claims

The US presidential election has come to an end, as Biden has become the new president-elect. The 2020 presidential election has been rather complicated, as a portion of the ballots collected was done through mail-in ballots, as President Donald Trump has reiterated his stance on voter fraud.

Since the election results were announced, Trump has raised claims about voter fraud and has ignited a new theory, that the US Postal Service (USPS) has mislabeled mail-in ballots. This theory was promoted by James O’Keefe, a conservative political activist, who tweeted out alleged whistleblowers from the post offices in Michigan and Pennsylvania, who said there were fraudulent ballots.

O’Keefe claimed that the post office has been stamping fraudulent postmarks onto the ballots that were picked up after Election Day, Nov. 3. O’Keefe’s edited videos have attracted many Trump supporters, and suggest that Joe Biden’s leads in the two states were fraudulent.

John McAfee hints at election fraud from Spanish prison

John McAfee, who is now in a Spanish prison after being indicted for tax evasion and fraudulently promoting initial coin offerings (ICOs) on Twitter, has made comments regarding the US presidential election. McAfee tweeted:

“If you dont know what you don’t know, you will never look for it. I promise you, there is much you don’t know about this election.”

He added:

“Government bureaucrats, can store documents, modify them, erase them, or, if it suits them, create them out of thin air. Do not forget that votes are documents.”

The blockchain watermark conspiracy theory: QFS blockchain

In the past few days, a new blockchain conspiracy theory has been birthed, as intelligence expert Steve Pieczenik said that the 2020 election was a “sophisticated sting operation” to trap the Democratic party and the Biden campaign in criminal fraud. Appearing exclusively on The War Room via a banned video link, Pieczenik said that the whole operation was to catch the Democrats “stealing the election.”

It is important to note that these claims have not been verified by any sources, below are the claims that Pieczenik has made about voter fraud, as further investigation is ongoing.

According to this theory, Pieczenik claims that the ballots used in the election were printed by the Department of Homeland Security and that every legitimate ballot was watermarked with QFS blockchain encryption codes. QFS stands for Quantum Financial System which was allegedly used by the Trump administration to differentiate between the original ballots and the “fraudulent” ballots.

Blockchain was allegedly used as the technology for the storage layer for the process.

Charles Hoskinson: Conspiracy theory unlikely but local fraud can occur

Charles Hoskinson, the CEO of IOHK and the founder of the Cardano blockchain recently explained the QFS blockchain conspiracy in two videos, explaining the illegitimacy of the theory, highlighting that the intelligence community and the FBI would have to be involved as well.

Hoskinson questioned why the National guard would be involved, as this authority sector usually deals with security with borders and other countries, rather than within the United States. The Cardano founder added that there are many issues with the current ballots, and if people were dishonest, local fraud can occur. Hoskinson explained:

“That local fraud can work in both directions. Some people are fraudulent for the Republicans, some people are fraudulent for the Democrats. It tends to balance out statistically. It tends to be very small.”

Hoskinson further commented on the conspiracy, and its creator, Pieczenik, saying that he has “apparently gone from a doctor to a fiction writer.” He believes that the far more likely outcome of the election was that no president has ever been re-elected during a Depression-level economy. In conclusion, Hoskinson believes that due to a lack of desire to accept the election outcome as is, people would rather believe in water-marked ballots on the blockchain instead of simply the fact that Biden has won.

He further backs up his beliefs as he added that there was no clear explanation of how the water-market ballots on blockchain were done, and who exactly was responsible for the whole operation.

Ironically enough, a blockchain patent was presented by the USPS

The US Patent and Trademark Office presented the USPS’ official patent application, dubbed the “Secure Voting System,” which leverages blockchain technology to securitize the voting process and transmit the incoming ballots more efficiently and quickly.

Trump complained about the patent brought forward by USPS by saying that with a blockchain-leveraged voting system, there would be no confirmation and way to verify whether the voter inscribed on the ballot was actually the one casting the vote. Also, he said that after the ballot was sent, there would be no way to know whether the ballot was tampered with.

A blockchain voting system

Although a blockchain voting system may sound difficult to understand, the USPS did patent the system for a reason. Blockchain can provide security to a voter’s identity, in contrast to Trump’s concern. With most cryptocurrency transactions, a user’s private key is used to ensure that the transaction is not fraudulent, and is indeed made by the user.

Blockchain technology can further ensure the identification of the voter, and even track the mail-in ballots, which can be stored on its network. Furthermore, blockchain could even remove the need for mail-in ballots for efficiency for vote count, which was obviously a setback in the 2020 presidential election.

However, blockchain technology may still be quite nascent at the moment, as Russia’s e-voting via blockchain was attacked, hindering security issues within the network. The presidential election has invited a large range of disputes over the results, which could potentially be solved by blockchain technology, with its innate transparency and immutability functions.

Overall, the 2020 presidential election has accelerated the education and adoption of blockchain technology, which could act as a tool for removing the need for trust, and social structure.

Mike Novogratz Wins 0.5 BTC on Biden Election Bet, Holds Twitter Lottery

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Galaxy Digital asset management company Mike Novogratz revealed that he won half a Bitcoin in an election bet he placed on Biden over the weekend. The billionaire investor held an impromptu Twitter lottery to giving out 0.5 BTC to a young bitcoiner.

“I won an election bet with @StoneyBitson. 1/2 BTC. I am going to have a lottery for young bitcoiners for that coin. No one can enter who already owns a Bitcoin. I’m thinking of a number between 1-1000. Whoever guesses first gets it. I’ll have Stoney send directly. One guess,” Novogratz said via a tweet.

The announcement drew a lot of Twitter users who made attempt to guess the number and one user @Adelgary won the lottery after guessing the winning number 826. Novogratz revealed that he picked the number 8 as it was considered a lucky number in China where he lived for 7 years while 26 represented his birthday.

The current price of Bitcoin is $15,279 according to Coingecko. This means that the 0.5 BTC won by @Adelgary is worth US$7,687.27.

The bet Novogratz won was done by placing faith in his desire to see Democrats take the White House as well as the Congress. A bet that favored him as Joe Biden became the 46th President-elect of the United States of America and the democrats currently dominating the house by 215 to 196 according to the results declared by the Associated Press.

The giveaway of the earnings by Novogratz is in line with the billionaire investor’s long term plans to give out most of his Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to charity. With Mike Novogratz giving out the Bitcoin to someone who has no prior bitcoin holdings, he has further helped project Bitcoin in a good light.

Ripple CEO Says Bitcoin PoW Energy Use Makes Square Target of Biden’s Climate Change Agenda

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse thinks Bitcoin’s massive energy consumption through proof-of-work (PoW) could make public companies like Square, who invested heavily in BTC, potential targets of US election winner Joe Biden’s climate change agenda. Garlinghouse used the opportunity to highlight XRP’s superior energy efficiency.

President-elect Joe Biden is predicted to realign the United States with the global climate change agenda and could put requirements on public companies to disclose green house gas (GHG) emissions. Ripple’s CEO Garlinghouse took to twitter to single out Square and said Jack Dorsey’s payments company should pay attention after their $50 million dollar BTC investment.

On Monday Nov. 10, Ripple CEO Garlinghouse leant his comments to an earlier tweet from NYT politics that highlighted the incoming president’s previously proposed measure on climate change. The tweet outlined Biden’s promise to rejoin the Paris Agreement, which was snubbed by the Trump administration in 2017.

The Ripple CEO tweeted that President-elect Biden will be much tougher on climate change than Trump and require all public companies to disclose their GHG production. Garlinghouse also singled out Jack Dorsey’s Square, saying the payments firm should pay attention to the new guidelines expected from the Biden administration.

The Ripple CEO said:

“Biden to require public companies to disclose climate change-related activities and GHG emissions in their operations. Love to see the action on climate change – first NYDFS, now this. Public companies holding BTC (ahem Square) — may want to pay attention.”

The power consumption of the Bitcoin proof-of-work (PoW) network has been a huge point of contention for the premier cryptocurrency. In a publication on the Ripple website entitled, “The Environmental Impact: Cryptocurrency Mining vs. Consensus”, Bitcoin’s PoW power consumption is used to highlight the superiority of Ripple’s XRP token.

Ripple compares power usage through light bulbs explaining that every 1 million XRP transactions uses enough power to a lightbulb for 79,000 hours, while 1 million BTC transactions on Bitcoin’s PoW network would power the lightbulb for 4.51 billion hours.

Public Companies Pay Attention

The has been a slew of publicly traded companies that have invested massively into Bitcoin as of late, which according to Garlinghouse may be an issue for them as given the potential incoming green compliance legislation.

Ripple CEO Garlinghouse pointed to Square in his tweet. Last month Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and payments processing service Square, publicly tweeted that Square had invested $50 million of the company’s holdings into Bitcoin purchasing 4,709 BTC.

If Square should take notice of the Biden administration’s incoming plan for climate change, then MicroStrategy who has also purchased 38,250 Bitcoin as its reserve treasury asset—just under $600 million at the time of writing—should definitely sit up and take notice of the Democrat’s green agenda.

Bitcoin Bull Tim Draper Pushes for Better SEC Regulation and BTC as the National Currency under Biden

As the transfer of presidential power from Trump to Joe Biden looms and is set for January 20, many are eagerly anticipating the transition and hoping for the best. Cryptocurrency advocates have been crossing their fingers and hoping that the future of Bitcoin and all things crypto will be brighter under the new US President.

Bitcoin bull and tech billionaire Tim Draper is included among the onlookers who hope that under Biden’s reign, America will be great again, and more specifically, that cryptocurrency will evolve more rapidly and be normalized and used as much as fiat.

Many in the cryptocurrency industry have speculated and hypothesized on what Biden taking charge as the president of the United States may mean for the sector. How the Democratic party chooses to regulate the list of cryptocurrency policies that the exiting Trump administration have processed for review remains in question, but many are hopeful that Biden will be more welcoming towards crypto than Trump, who had previously explicitly stated that he hated Bitcoin.

Will Biden help improve SEC crypto regulation?

Among the list of things that Biden will have to oversee will be the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulatory rule on cryptocurrencies. The SEC had long been criticized by the cryptocurrency community for a lack of regulatory cryptocurrency framework, failing to classify crypto assets. Its failure to regulate as dynamic an industry as blockchain and crypto has been criticized, as many private firms operating in the sector have said that this has pushed them to migrate to Asia.

Bitcoin bull Tim Draper said:

“I hope he (Joe Biden) reigns in the SEC. I hope he leads by example and makes bitcoin a national currency. I hope he solves global warming, but we all know that this will happen because some entrepreneur found a solution, not because of a politician. So I hope he celebrates the entrepreneur.”

Will Bitcoin one day become the national currency?

The tech mogul expressed what many in the cryptocurrency industry have been anticipating – a better framework for cryptocurrencies suggested by the Commission. Additionally, Draper’s wish that Bitcoin may become the national currency may be far-fetched for now, as policies around cryptocurrencies have yet to be better understood in the United States. However, it will be something that the crypto community aspires to one day see fulfilled– Bitcoin entering the mainstream and everyone transacting in a cashless, trustless manner through the safe-haven asset.

As Bitcoin has been gaining considerably in popularity as of late, with its bull run to hit $40,000, its budding potential is still being discovered. 2020 has been the first time BTC has been overwhelmed with a huge wave of institutional investors. It has also been the first time an investment portfolio has been deemed incomplete without Bitcoin. Throughout 2020, many portfolio managers and investment firms have suggested that the way to diversify one’s assets and secure one’s funds was through Bitcoin. What’s to know what there is in reserve for the digital asset this year?

President Biden Freezes Mnuchin's Controversial Proposed Regulation on Unhosted Crypto Wallets

The Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s controversial regulation proposal on “unhosted” crypto wallets has been effectively frozen by President Joe Biden as his administration takes office today.

The fiercely opposed proposal of FinCEN, a unit of the US Treasury Department that would require crypto exchanges to collect a lot more data about individuals transferring more than $3,000 in cryptocurrencies into private wallets has been frozen.

With President Joe Biden taking office, all agency rulemaking is now pending review by his administration, and many in the crypto community have faith that incoming Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen may have a more balanced approach than former Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The unhosted crypto wallet regulation first began circulating as a rumor after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted that he had heard whispers of Mnuchin’s plans to rush out the crypto wallet regulations. The regulations would apparently require cryptocurrency exchanges to verify all know-your-customer data for self-hosted wallets before they could send cryptocurrencies off their platforms and into the wallets. This type of verification would be incredibly tedious and ongoing.

FinCEN officially submitted the proposed regulation on Dec. 18, 2020, and critics of the rule said it would be technically impossible for some projects to comply because smart contracts do not have name or address information to provide.

Initially, the now exited Trump administration proposed a controversial 15-day comment period on the rule, which falls short of the standard 60 day period. Many believe it was an attempt by Mnuchin to pass the regulation before his time of oversight expired.

Following an outcry of protests by the crypto community which included prominent figures and major exchanges, the comment period was extended earlier this month.

The rule is now frozen pending review and the crypto community has found temporary relief, however, whether incoming Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen will resume the pursuit of the regulation remains to be seen.

Biden's Communications Director Restricted From Handling Crypto Firms

US President Joe Biden’s communications director, Ben LaBolt, will reportedly be restricted from handling matters related to any cryptocurrency or technology firms he previously represented, according to an April 22 Bloomberg Law report. However, he will be allowed to advise on the president’s approach to regulating cryptocurrency and social media companies.

LaBolt was previously a partner at Bully Pulpit Interactive (BPI), a communications firm that had 23 clients paying fees exceeding $5,000 in a year. These clients included decentralized exchange UniSwap, venture capital firm Andressen Horowitz, and companies such as Meta Platforms, Shopify, and West Street.

In a public financial disclosure report published on April 21, LaBolt disclosed owning $50,001-$100,000 in Bitcoin and $15,001-$50,000 in Ethereum 2. However, he will be barred from “participating in legal matters, investigations, or contracts involving cryptocurrency or technology firms he previously represented.”

These restrictions are in line with the ethics rules followed by senior White House staff. Despite the restrictions, LaBolt will be allowed to advise on crypto regulation.

This move comes after Biden signed an executive order (EO) on digital assets on March 9. The EO outlined an interagency process that will involve 16 high officials, initially starting with the task of producing an elaborate series of reports. These reports are due at intervals ranging from 90 days to over a year from the publication of the EO.

While the EO did not specify any regulatory actions, it attracted attention from government officials and industry leaders alike. Republican “Crypto Senator” Cynthia Loomis of Wyoming praised the administration’s growing interest in digital assets.

Ari Redborn, head of legal and government affairs for blockchain-based intelligence firm TRM Labs, said that he was “expecting certain things and the positive tone was not necessarily one of them.”

The move to restrict LaBolt’s handling of matters related to crypto firms may be seen as a way to ensure ethical behavior in the White House. This move is in line with the Biden administration’s focus on transparency and ethical governance.

It is worth noting that this move may also affect LaBolt’s former clients, such as UniSwap and Andressen Horowitz. It remains to be seen how this move will affect their business dealings with the White House.

Overall, this move highlights the growing interest in crypto regulation by the Biden administration. With the interagency process set in motion by the EO, it is likely that the US government will take a more active role in regulating the crypto industry.

President Biden Assets: Debt Deal Will Not Shield Crypto Traders

In a significant announcement on the last day of the G7 summit, President Joe Biden took a firm stance against the protection of “wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders” while potentially jeopardizing food assistance programs.

“I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders while putting food assistants at risk,” declared the President, sparking a critical conversation about economic fairness and digital currency regulation in the midst of a challenging economic climate.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price continues to fluctuate at lower levels following President Biden’s remarks on cryptocurrency.

Biden’s remarks underscore a growing concern about the implications of cryptocurrency usage and the potential for tax evasion by high-income individuals. His comments also shed light on the potential risks to the underprivileged, particularly those dependent on federal assistance programs.

The U.S. government is tasked with forging an agreement by the deadline of June 1st

As the June 1st deadline approaches, the U.S. government faces the pressing challenge of reaching a consensus. With the prospect of a shifting financial landscape on the horizon, the global financial community, inclusive of Bitcoin investors and traders, is preparing for potential market shifts.

The pending debt ceiling decision, coupled with Biden’s recent remarks, underscores the extensive influence of U.S. economic policies on worldwide financial systems, including the burgeoning digital currency markets.

Biden-Harris Administration Secures AI Commitments from Major Tech Companies

In today’s press release from the White House, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it has secured voluntary commitments from eight more artificial intelligence (AI) companies to manage the risks associated with AI. This move builds upon the commitments from seven AI companies obtained in July.

Companies Involved

The latest round of commitments includes major tech players such as Adobe, Cohere, IBM, Nvidia, Palantir, Salesforce, Scale AI, and Stability. These companies have pledged to drive the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI technology.

Nature of Commitments: The commitments emphasize three core principles for AI’s future: safety, security, and trust. The companies have agreed to:

Ensure AI products undergo both internal and external security testing before public release.
Share information on managing AI risks with the industry, governments, civil society, and academia.
Prioritize cybersecurity and protect proprietary AI system components.
Develop mechanisms to inform users when content is AI-generated, such as watermarking.
Publicly report on their AI systems’ capabilities, limitations, and areas of use.
Prioritize research on societal risks posed by AI, including bias, discrimination, and privacy concerns.
Develop AI systems to address societal challenges, ranging from cancer prevention to climate change mitigation.

Government Action

These voluntary commitments are seen as a bridge to forthcoming government action. The Biden-Harris Administration is in the process of developing an Executive Order on AI to ensure the rights and safety of Americans. The Administration is also pursuing bipartisan legislation to position America as a leader in responsible AI development.

International Collaboration: The Administration has consulted with numerous countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, and the UK, among others, in developing these commitments. This international collaboration complements initiatives like Japan’s G-7 Hiroshima Process and the United Kingdom’s Summit on AI Safety.

Previous Initiatives

The Biden-Harris Administration has been proactive in addressing AI’s challenges and opportunities. Notable actions include:

Launching the “AI Cyber Challenge” in August to use AI in protecting crucial US software.
Meetings with consumer protection, labor, and civil rights leaders to discuss AI risks.
Engagements with top AI experts and CEOs from companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
Publishing a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and ramping up efforts to protect Americans from AI risks, including algorithmic bias.
Investing $140 million to establish seven new National AI Research Institutes.

The Administration’s consistent efforts underscore its commitment to ensuring that AI is developed safely and responsibly, safeguarding Americans’ rights and safety, and protecting them from potential harm and discrimination.

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