Bitcoin Makes Its Way To The Polls

The technology that powers bitcoin, blockchain, has been hailed by many as one of the greatest technological advances of the decade.

Although bitcoin is still struggling to take hold as a mainstream currency, uses for the ledger-like technology of blockchain are already being explored for everything from creating contracts to holding online auctions.

The Bitcoin Foundation is hoping to draw even more attention to blockchain capabilities by partnering with Swarm, a crowdfunding firm, to use blockchain technology to vote in two new board members.

An Experiment

The process will be the first time a vote has taken place using blockchain technology, and Bitcoin Foundation Executive Director Patrick Murck warned that there will likely be a few hiccups along the way.

Voters will be provided with "yes" and "no" coins which they can send to each candidate's wallet to express their choice.

Critics Say System Is Flawed

Since the voting began, there has been a heated discussion as to whether or not blockchain is effective when it comes to voting.

Many worry that miners will be able to manipulate the system by filtering out coins from one candidate or another, while others complained that about the system being difficult to use.

Related Link: Is Bitcoin The Next Internet?

An Important Venture

Despite criticism, the Bitcoin Foundation is pressing ahead and is set to close the voting platform on February 28 and release results on March 1.

Murck defended the foundation's decision to press on with blockchain voting, saying that the complaints about the system were important if developers want to continue pushing blockchain into new industries.

Although the first blockchain-based vote may not be a success, Murck says it is an important step for the technology's forward momentum.