Blockchain
New York Times Profiles Voatz
Voatz is honored to be featured in The New York Times this morning in a story written by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Matthew Rosenberg.
The story identifies Voatz as the first and only voting app available for consideration by election officials to explore additional technology for better voting access. This attention is especially significant for Voatz as a young company that has spent five years building and piloting a voting platform that first and foremost offers better accessibility, security and resilience when compared to any of the existing options available to those whose circumstances make it difficult to vote in person. This includes our overseas military servicemen and women and those with disabilities.
Background Context
After receiving and reviewing the full report, Voatz concluded that the report is fundamentally flawed, as detailed by our analysis below. Most telling, the foundation of the research is based on an Android version of the Voatz mobile voting app that was at least 27 versions old at the time of analysis. We highlight the flaws within the research and expose the agenda of the researchers below, which is aimed to thwart the process of innovation and progress for better voting access.
Voatz Analysis & Response to Researchers’ Flawed Report
Voatz wishes to acknowledge the enormous effort it must have taken for the team of researchers, two student researchers at MIT with Daniel Witzner, founder of MIT’s Internet Policy Research Initiative, to produce “The Ballot is Busted Before the Blockchain: A Security Analysis of Voatz, the First Internet Voting Application Used in U.S.”
Our review of their report found three fundamental flaws with their method of analysis, their untested claims, and their bad faith recommendations.
First, the researchers were analyzing an Android version of the Voatz mobile voting app that was at least 27 versions old at the time of their disclosure and never used in an election. Had the researchers taken the time, like nearly 100 other researchers, to test and verify their claims using the latest version of our platform via our public bug bounty program on HackerOne, they would not have ended up producing a report that asserts claims on the basis of an erroneous method.
Second, as the researchers admitted, the outdated app was never connected to the Voatz servers, which are hosted on Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure. This means that they were unable to register, unable to pass the layers of identity checks to impersonate a legitimate voter, unable to receive a legitimate ballot and unable to submit any legitimate votes or change any voter data.
Third, in the absence of trying to access the Voatz servers, the researchers fabricated an imagined version of the Voatz servers, hypothesized how they worked, and then made assumptions about the interactions between the system components that are simply false. This flawed approach invalidates any claims about their ability to compromise the overall system. In short, to make claims about a backend server without any evidence or connection to the server negates any degree of credibility on behalf of the researchers.
The researchers have labeled Voatz as “not transparent”. With qualified, collaborative researchers we are very open; we disclose source code and hold lengthy interactive sessions with their architects and engineers. We educate them on the critical demands of election security; they give us feedback and educate us on new best practices based on their practical knowledge of security drawn from other industries.
Voatz has worked for nearly five years to develop a resilient ballot marking system, a system built to respond to unanticipated threats and to distribute updates worldwide with short notice. It incorporates solutions from other industries to address issues around security, identity, accessibility, and auditability.
We want to be clear that all nine of our governmental pilot elections conducted to date, involving less than 600 voters, have been conducted safely and securely with no reported issues. Pilot programs like ours are invaluable. They educate all election stakeholders and push innovation forward in a responsible, transparent way. For nearly two decades, the researchers and the community to which they belong have waged a systematic effort to dismantle any online voting pilots. These attempts effectively choke any meaningful conversation and learnings around the safe integration of technology to improve accessibility and security in our elections. The effect is to deny access to our overseas citizens, deployed military service men and women, their families, and citizens with disabilities.
It is clear that from the theoretical nature of the researchers’ approach, the lack of practical evidence backing their claims, their deliberate attempt to remain anonymous, and their priority being to find media attention, that the researchers’ true aim is to deliberately disrupt the election process, to sow doubt in the security of our election infrastructure, and to spread fear and confusion.
SOURCE Voatz
Blockchain
Blocks & Headlines: Today in Blockchain – April 25, 2025 | BitNile, Dutch Blockchain Week, Citigroup, Philippine Blockchain Week, D.O.G.E Foundation
Blockchain’s metamorphosis from niche ledger technology to the backbone of Web3 has never been more evident. Today, we cover five stories that illustrate the evolving ecosystem: a gaming platform issuing its own token on Solana; Europe’s marquee Web3 summit; a major bank forecasting a “ChatGPT moment” for blockchain; a Southeast Asian conference aimed at busting crypto myths; and a foundation rebuilding blockchain from the ground up to solve scalability. Each development—whether product launch, industry gathering, macro forecast, educational initiative, or infrastructure innovation—offers a window into the trends shaping decentralized finance, NFTs, DeFi, and beyond.
1. BitNile.com to Launch Nile Coin on Solana
News Summary
Hyperscale Data’s subsidiary BitNile.com will introduce the Nile Coin on Solana starting May 1, 2025. The U.S.–based social gaming site chose Solana for its high throughput and low fees, aiming to enhance in-game economies, reward engagement, and deliver seamless micro-transactions. Details on tokenomics and governance are forthcoming, but management touts Nile Coin as a cornerstone of future gaming experiences.
Source: CoinTrus
Analysis & Commentary
Launching a proprietary token underscores two converging trends: the gamification of finance and finance-ification of gaming. By minting Nile Coin, BitNile.com taps into DeFi mechanics—staking, liquidity pools, NFT rewards—while leveraging Solana’s scalability. Strategically, BitNile.com positions itself for partnerships with NFT marketplaces and DeFi protocols, potentially opening secondary markets for in-game assets and generating new revenue streams beyond ad sales or subscription fees.
2. Dutch Blockchain Week 2025 Gears Up in Amsterdam
News Summary
From May 19–25, Amsterdam will host the sixth annual Dutch Blockchain Week, culminating in the two-day summit (May 21–22) at De Meervaart. Tier 1 exchanges (Bitvavo, Kraken, Coinbase), Web3 pioneers (WOW.ai, Blockrise), regulators (European Commission, De Nederlandsche Bank), and industry partners (Mastercard, Deloitte) will convene. Side events range from AI-powered hackathons tackling compliance to padel networking meetups—underscoring the event’s blend of technology, policy, and community.
Source: Dutch Blockchain Week
Analysis & Commentary
Dutch Blockchain Week typifies the maturation of blockchain conferences into multidisciplinary forums. Beyond token talk and yield farming, panels on regulation, institutional adoption, and security reflect Web3’s integration into mainstream finance. Anticipate announcements on CBDC pilots, DeFi compliance frameworks, and cross-chain interoperability projects that may emerge from the Block & Order Hackathon.
3. Citigroup Predicts Blockchain’s “ChatGPT Moment”
News Summary
In an April 23 report, Citigroup analysts argue that 2025 could be blockchain’s “ChatGPT moment,” driven by regulatory clarity around stablecoins and integration with traditional financial systems. They forecast stablecoin market capitalization ballooning to $1.6 trillion (base case) or as much as $3.7 trillion (bull case) by 2030—anchored by dollar-denominated issuers and collateralized with U.S. Treasuries. Regulatory frameworks like the GENIUS Act could catalyze adoption among banks and fintechs.
Source: Cointelegraph
Analysis & Commentary
Drawing parallels to generative AI’s explosive growth, Citigroup envisions a tipping point where blockchain moves from experimental to essential infrastructure. Successful integration will hinge on robust compliance tools, auditability, and clear governance models. Enterprise blockchain vendors should prepare for surging demand in tokenized payments, on-chain settlements, and embedded DeFi rails within legacy systems.
4. Philippine Blockchain Week 2025 Debunks Crypto Myths
News Summary
Scheduled for June 10–11 at SMX Convention Center Manila, Philippine Blockchain Week (PBW) 2025 will tackle misinformation and spotlight real-world use cases. Highlights include “Crypto, Unpacked” sessions demystifying the technology; “Smart Regulation” panels uniting policymakers and innovators; and “Blockchain for Impact” showcases on remittances, disaster relief, and digital identity. Founding President Donald Lim emphasizes government support and public–private collaboration to spur inclusive growth.
Source: UseTheBitcoin
Analysis & Commentary
PBW exemplifies how emerging markets leverage education to accelerate Web3 adoption responsibly. By engaging regulators early, PBW can shape balanced frameworks that encourage innovation while protecting consumers—an instructive model for markets wrestling with both hype and skepticism.
5. D.O.G.E Foundation Launches New Blockchain, Opens Seed Round
News Summary
The D.O.G.E Foundation announced a ground-up blockchain rebuild designed to solve the scalability and reliability challenges plaguing existing networks. This modular architecture separates validation from execution to enable parallel transaction processing—targeting real-time gaming, DeFi under high load, and AI-driven applications. A seed funding round is now open to investors who share the vision of a performant, decentralized infrastructure.
Source: D.O.G.E Altcoin GlobeNewswire
Analysis & Commentary
As layer-1 congestion and high gas fees persist, new entrants must justify a “why now” with clear architectural advantages. If the D.O.G.E blockchain delivers real-world throughput and maintains decentralization, it could spur a renaissance of high-performance DeFi protocols and NFT platforms hungry for cost-effective base layers.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
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Tokenization of Entertainment: BitNile’s Nile Coin on Solana highlights blockchain’s expansion into gaming economies and NFT reward systems.
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Convergence of Tech, Policy & Community: Dutch Blockchain Week showcases Web3’s evolution into an ecosystem engaging regulators, enterprises, and developers under one roof.
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Mainstream Inflection Point: Citigroup’s “ChatGPT moment” thesis suggests blockchain is poised for exponential adoption given regulatory support.
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Education as Catalyst: Philippine Blockchain Week’s myth-busting curriculum underscores the importance of public–private dialogue in emerging markets.
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Infrastructure Innovation: The D.O.G.E Foundation’s modular, high-throughput chain exemplifies the next wave of layer-1 networks addressing real-time, real-world use cases.
Today’s stories convey that blockchain’s next chapter will be written through strategic token launches, global convenings, regulatory clarity, educational outreach, and radical infrastructure redesign. By tracking these threads, industry participants can anticipate opportunities in DeFi, NFTs, Web3 games, and enterprise integration. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Blocks & Headlines, where we’ll continue to decode the innovations shaping decentralized finance.
The post Blocks & Headlines: Today in Blockchain – April 25, 2025 | BitNile, Dutch Blockchain Week, Citigroup, Philippine Blockchain Week, D.O.G.E Foundation appeared first on News, Events, Advertising Options.
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