Crypto derivatives exchange FTX recently launched “TRUMP,” a new futures trading product that lets users bet on President Trump’s re-election in 2020. “So far most of the volume has traded on the offer, implying that traders think Trump is likely to win re-election,” an FTX representative told Cointelegraph. The TRUMP crypto product is merely a futures contract that is worth $1 if Trump wins the 2020 presidential election and $0 if he does not. TRUMP’s value at any given moment can be understood as an expression of how likely the traders think he is to win at any given moment. …

The application that was recently used in the Iowa Democratic caucus was “not mobile voting,” according to major blockchain voting firm Voatz. The mobile software designed to calculate votes in the Iowa Democratic caucus on Feb. 3 has become the center of discussion after an alleged error in the smartphone app resulted in the Democrats delaying all public reporting of the results of Monday's caucuses. According to a report by the Associated Press, party officials in Iowa subsequently blamed an unknown “coding issue” with the software that led to producing only “partial and unreliable results.” As reported, the application was …

E-voting is gaining its place in the growing discussion over the use of blockchain. In our view, when technology addresses such socially sensitive issues, values step forward to the fore, together with the differences and clashes that they imply. Such democratic values convey the identity, pathologies and fears of the context from which they come. In that sense, the technical operation of designing and developing a voting system entails political and legal effects that make the matter case-sensitive, depending on the different territorial and constitutional traditions. Thus, we believe that the debate needs to be free of the idea that …

In the United States, Virginia’s state legislature looks to study blockchain to improve elections and voting. Prefiled on Dec. 27 and scheduled for offering on Jan. 8, a new bill requesting further study into blockchain-based elections has emerged in Virginia’s General Assembly. The bill, House Joint Resolution 23, asks the Department of Elections to determine whether blockchain technology should be considered to secure voter records and election results. What the bill could mean for Virginia’s elections The bill’s patron is state delegate and cybersecurity specialist Hala Ayala (D-51). It is currently waiting for committee assignment, and will have a long …

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, …

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating whether a student at the University of Michigan attempted to hack the West Virginia’s voting app. “Not one single vote was changed” On Oct. 5, according to CNN, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, Mike Stuart, wrote that the FBI is investigating the “unsuccessful attempted intrusion” by an outside party to gain access to the Voatz app, a mobile app that was used to collect ballots from overseas and military voters in the 2018 election. Stuart said that during the West Virginia’s 2018 election cycle his office …

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 …

BitPAC, the first ever Bitcoin (BTC) political action committee (PAC), will expand its candidate supporting program with an initial coin offering (ICO), Coindesk reports on Aug. 28. Utility token, not a thing of value Dan Backer, who founded BitPAC back in 2014, revealed that the committee will issue a utility token dubbed Politicoin, which will be used to support the PAC and its candidates running for public office. Backer emphasized that the upcoming Politicoin is a utility token, which will not function as a store of value, explaining that the purpose of the project is to provide token holders with …

A Bitcoin advocate who has changed his name to “Nobody” was first in line to file his candidacy for Mayor of Keene on Aug. 21. The town in the state of New Hampshire, United States, has been dubbed Crypto-Mecca for its positive attitude towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. “Nobody” tells the truth Throwing a curveball into the usual election process, “Nobody” aims to provide an alternative to the major candidates. One of these, city councillor, Mitch Greenwald has already welcomed “Nobody” to the mayoral race, saying that his campaign was needed. In a campaign poster seen online, Nobody proclaims: “Vote for …

A new political action committee (PAC) supporting presidential candidate Andrew Yang is allowing donations in Bitcoin (BTC) via Lightning Network. The PAC, named Humanity Forward Fund (Humanity FWD), rolled out its Bitcoin-powered fundraising program, named “21 Days of Bitcoin for the 21st Century” on July 25, and will continue accepting Bitcoin donations until Aug. 14, according to its official website. Humanity FWD partnered with OpenNode to enable donations via Lightning Network Humanity FWD was launched by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Yang on July 24 to support his run for the presidency of the United States in 2020, Coindesk reported …

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 …

Medici Ventures, the blockchain-based subsidiary of Overstock.com, has led a $7 million funding round for a blockchain-based voting platform, according to a press release on June 6. The blockchain-based voting platform, Voatz, is reportedly designed to allow citizens to participate in official elections and similar events via mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablet computers. The platform is reportedly based on blockchain tech, encryption, and biometrics, and purports to provide better convenience, security, and auditability for voters and vote collectors. Voatz says that the proceeds of their $7 million Series A funding round will go toward improving accessibility and usability …