Central American Country Uses Bitcoin Technology in Presidential Elections!

• Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that represents the evolution of electronic payment systems and is often based on a proof-of-work system.
• The country’s elected president, Bernardo Arévalo, faced allegations of fraud in the election. The opposing candidate demanded a recount of the votes, and in this process, Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure came into play.
• Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure utilizes the concepts of proof-of-work and timestamp, as outlined in Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper titled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.’

In a presidential election held in Central America, Bitcoin technology was unexpectedly used after legal disputes and irregularity allegations!

The Use of Bitcoin in Central America Draws Attention

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that represents the evolution of electronic payment systems and is often based on a proof-of-work system. However, the timestamp server of this cryptocurrency was unexpectedly used in a presidential election in Guatemala, a Central American country, opening up a new application area.

During the 2023 general elections in Guatemala, the country’s elected president, Bernardo Arévalo, faced allegations of fraud in the election. The opposing candidate demanded a recount of the votes, and in this process, Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure came into play. A web tool called ‘Simple Proof’ provided verification regarding the timing of the votes, demonstrating that the votes were timestamped when the voting period ended on election day.

Behind this incident, despite Arévalo’s victory being officially confirmed by the country’s authorities on August 29, 2023, legal disputes and allegations of irregularities arose due to his unexpected victory over a strong rival candidate supported by the country’s conservative elites. According to a report published by The Associated Press, the elected president Arévalo faced such objections because he defeated a candidate backed by the country’s conservative elites.

Satoshi’s Vision for Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure uses the concept of proof-of-work and timestamp as outlined in Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper titled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.’ Timestamps are effectively used to create proof-of-work-based hashes, and this prevents interference as long as all proofs of work on the chain are not recalculated. This is used to prevent double-spending and maintain the integrity of the network.

This development comes during a period when another Central American country, El Salvador, continues to strengthen its Bitcoin ecosystem. El Salvador became the world’s first country to officially accept Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021, symbolizing an official acceptance of cryptocurrencies. These developments show that Bitcoin’s technological features can lead to unexpected use cases in different fields.