Two state counties in the United States are implementing blockchain-based mobile voting in the special elections in November. On Oct. 18, the nonprofit Tusk Philanthropies announced its partnership with Jackson and Umatilla Counties in Oregon to pilot the mobile elections platform Voatz. The pilot offers eligible voters to cast their votes using their smartphones, which are secured through blockchain and facial recognition technology. Pilot participants are mostly servicemembers overseas The pilot is only available to a small and select group of voters, allowing servicemembers overseas, their eligible dependents and other overseas voters to cast their ballots via the mobile app, …

Billionaire investor Tim Draper has stated that he expects Bitcoin (BTC) — combined with other technologies — to change how governments operate worldwide. In a Medium post published on Oct. 10, Draper calls Bitcoin “the startup currency” and praises its decentralization and borderless nature, saying he believes that BTC will bring the world together: “With Bitcoin, and the decentralization that comes with Bitcoin, geographic borders have become less relevant. No longer are we at the mercy of dictators and toll trolls to grow the world economy. [...] In the long-term I believe with regard to business and economics, we are, …

Sanae Takaichi, Japan's internal affairs and communications minister, has stated that cryptocurrency donations to individual politicians are not illegal in the country — unlike the ones made in cash or securities. According to a Reuters report published on Oct. 8, Takaichi made that statement at a news conference. During the event, she reportedly said that cryptocurrency donations are not subject to disclosure under the country's Political Funds Control Act. “No” to cash and securities, “yes” to crypto According to the report, Takaichi explained that Japan’s laws prohibit donations to politicians in fiat currencies and securities, and noted that crypto assets …

A candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 2020 is accepting cryptocurrency donations to run against Representative and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Supporting economic freedom with crypto Agatha Bacelar, a Stanford engineer and designer who served with Emerson Collective and Democracy Earth argues that the existing political establishment wants to hold back a future “where economic freedom is afforded to all,” according to the campaign’s website. The challenger is accepting donations in five cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and USD Coin (USDC) through Coinbase, one of the most popular U.S.-based …

Earlier this week, BitPAC — conceivably the only active crypto-centric political action committee (PAC) — announced its plans to hold an initial coin offering (ICO). The committee will reportedly issue a utility token called Politicoin, which will then be used to support its candidates running for public office. So, can PACs become a gateway for cryptocurrency-based contributions in United States politics while select states and high-profile nominees like Hillary Clinton explicitly refuse to accept digital assets during political campaigns? PACs, Super PACs and Super Super PACs: What are they? In the most basic sense, PACs are organizations that raise and …

Co-founder of market research firm DataTrek Research Nicholas Colas says that Bitcoin (BTC) is a geopolitical turmoil indicator. Bitcoin as a market indicator In an interview with CNBC published on Aug. 14, Colas claimed that Bitcoin was one of the few assets of which the price predicted Hong Kong’s protests and the consequent local capital flight. When the interviewer asked him whether he believes that Bitcoin is a safe haven asset, he said: “We are definitely seeing that, and really are perked up around the Hong Kong protests and some of the currency flight that happened out of Hong Kong …

The United States Congress’ hearings on Libra are over. First, on July 16, the Senate Banking Committee held a testimony on Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, which was followed by a meeting organized by the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on the next day. David Marcus, a Facebook executive and head of the social media giant’s crypto subsidiary, Calibra, testified on behalf of Libra at both hearings. The legislators extensively interviewed him for two days in a row, mainly inquiring about the project’s privacy and safety. Here are the main outtakes from those sessions. Senators used the opportunity to grill Facebook …

Things are heating up for Libra: This week’s United States congressional hearings showed that many politicians are not convinced by the safety aspects of Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, as they grilled the social media giant on privacy- and trust-related issues. In response, Facebook keeps stressing Libra’s compliance with regulators and readiness to discuss possible frameworks. Meanwhile, a drafted bill titled “Keep Big Tech out of Finance” surfaced right before the testimonies before Congress took place. So, does the U.S. government have the power to terminate Libra — which is something Rep. Maxine Waters famously requested soon after the project’s white paper …

Today, lawmakers on the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee are meeting to discuss the possible effects of Facebook’s proposed Libra cryptocurrency project on the financial system. As a Cointelegraph respondent reports on July 17, committee chair Rep. Maxine Waters has opened the hearing with an indictment of Facebook’s past behavior. In her statement, Waters said that there was a “demonstrated pattern of failing to keep consumer data private on a scale similar to Equifax.” Waters also stated that Facebook, “allowed malicious Russian state actors to purchase and target ads,” which purportedly influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. …

This week is crucial for the future of Libra: Facebook's cryptocurrency project will be subject to two back-to-back hearings in the United States Congress. First, the Senate Banking Committee will discuss the token on July 16. Then, on the following day, Libra will be reviewed by the House Financial Services Committee. The cryptocurrency’s co-creator, David Marcus, has announced that he will testify at both hearings. Libra has been making waves worldwide since its white paper was unveiled in June. Specifically, the project has been experiencing massive political and regulatory pushback. Financial institutions of numerous countries, including the U.S., Japan, China, …

When people outside of crypto think of John McAfee, they think computers, cybersecurity, anti-virus software. But in the world of crypto and blockchain, you think of a yacht in tropical waters, passionate — and sometimes, admittedly, inebriated — tweets on tech and crypto... and an enviable amount of partying. When I called McAfee to talk on record, he was sitting at a table outside a cafe in Cuba with palm trees and patches of blue sky behind him. We talked about McAfee’s presidential campaign in the United States, his relationship with the U.S. government, cryptocurrency mass adoption and why he’s …

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has tentatively approved an ERC-20 token issued by Omar Reyes to use in an incentives program for his congressional campaign. The FEC reviewed the coin project in a draft advisory opinion on July 5. According to the draft letter, the FEC believes Reyes is within his rights to issue his Ethereum-based “Omar2020Token” (OMR) as part of his campaign to join the United States House of Representatives from the 22nd Congressional District of Florida. The FEC argues that because the tokens are essentially souvenirs, with no monetary value, Reyes’ committee is free to issue them as …