Venezuelans voted via blockchain in unofficial anti-Maduro referendum. According to the Spanish media outlet ABC, over 6.5 million Venezuelans cast their votes through Voatz, the U.S. blockchain-powered platform used for democracy-related purposes. People were asked to determine whether or not Maduro should resign and to restore foreign ties “to address the humanitarian crisis and rescue democracy.”
Voatz provided the ability to cast votes via a smartphone app from 7 to 11 December, and via Telegram, a messaging app commonly used by the crypto community. People may also participate on-site in selected locations around the country and abroad.
Such a platform has been previously used by authorities in West Virginia, Colorado, and Utah, but has also been the subject of controversy due to concerns about its safety.
Guaidó made the decision to orchestrate the parallel referendum due to his boycott of what he called a “widescale fraud” over the weekend. Maduro’s administration took control of the National Assembly, which claimed victory by 70%, although many countries dispute such a figure.
Emilio Graterón, a coordinator of the political command of the unofficial referendum, commented about the security brought by the platform and how people could feel safe that their identity is not at risk to end in the hands of Maduro’s government “The process is reliable, and the people who participated in-site today [on Saturday] have their identity protected. There will not be any trace of participation, and they can rest assured about it. All notebooks and ballots will be destroyed immediately when the totalization transmission is complete.”
[image: Martha Dominguez De Gouveia]
