- Beyond its role as digital currency, a new documentary showcases how Bitcoin played a crucial role in verifying Guatemala’s latest presidential elections.
- OpenTimestamps ensures the immutability of essential documents related to the country’s elections by using cryptographic timestamps on the Bitcoin network.
- Guatemala, historically plagued by political corruption, strengthened its Immutable Backup solution by implementing OpenTimestamps alongside Simple Proof, a Guatemalan technology startup.
Bitcoin is being used for election security in Guatemala beyond its role as a cryptocurrency. How is this happening? Here are the details!
How Bitcoin Plays a Role in Guatemala?
Beyond its role as a digital currency, a new documentary reveals that Bitcoin played a critical role in verifying Guatemala’s latest presidential elections. The documentary, titled “Immutable Democracy,” focuses on the innovative use of OpenTimestamps, developed by Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd and implemented by Guatemalan technology startup Simple Proof.
OpenTimestamps ensures the immutability of essential documents related to the country’s elections by using cryptographic timestamps on the Bitcoin network. This provides a robust defense against fraud and tampering by utilizing hash functions and decentralized blockchain technology.
The documentary highlights why Bitcoin is useful for elections, stating, “Why Bitcoin is useful for elections… because all these communities have a common goal, and that is the truth. We can use the same system that is good at helping people get to the truth.”
The documentary explains the intricacies of OpenTimestamps, detailing the process of cryptographically timestamping data onto the Bitcoin blockchain. By linking information to a specific block, it allows the tool to independently verify the existence and timing of the timestamp across thousands of network nodes.
Guatemala, which has frequently faced political corruption throughout its history, applied OpenTimestamps alongside Simple Proof to strengthen its Immutable Backup solution. Rafael Cordón, co-founder of Simple Proof, emphasized OpenTimestamps’ application in recording evidence of documents on the Bitcoin blockchain in an immutable way. This method not only protects official election documents but also provides defense against artificial intelligence and disinformation.
Transparent Election Results for Citizens
Guatemalan citizens have access to a dedicated web portal that allows them to verify timestamp evidence for every tally sheet used in each election. While the setup does not guarantee the validity of each tally sheet, it offers transparency by allowing citizens to independently verify when each tally sheet was timestamped.
This transparency becomes critical to identify potential abnormalities, such as tally sheets stamped significantly later than the expected timeframe. Todd added, “The only election that’s acceptable is one that everyone can verify and be a part of the process, and the beauty of paper is that, to give it integrity, you need lots of eyes, just a lot of observers.”
The documentary highlights the role Bitcoin and OpenTimestamps play in debunking election fraud claims. After the unexpected victory of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo, fraud allegations underwent intense scrutiny. In this context, the role of Bitcoin goes beyond its original design as an electronic peer-to-peer currency, offering a plan to bring increased transparency and accountability to elections worldwide.
