Political Action Committee (PAC): $50 in Bitcoin for members of Congress
John McAfee: Déjà vu?
50 dollars in Bitcoin for the 535 members of Congress
Announced on Monday 05th October, the ‘Crypto for Congress’ initiative is supported by members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, including pro-crypto representatives Darren Soto and Tom Emmer, and was launched in the hopes of raising awareness and contributing to the campaign to help educate the public about cryptocurrency. The 535 members of the U.S. Congress will receive $50 in Bitcoin.
John McAfee: Déjà vu?
On Saturday, January 04, 2020, John McAfee unveiled that he plans to give a token to the 535 members of the U.S. Congress. His plan was to give a token to the 535 members of the U.S. Congress in order to sell them on the open market. McAfee had planned to launch a decentralized exchange called McAfee DEX that would run on the Ethereum blockchain; the exchange would have no restrictions and McAfee DEX’s ‘no restrictions’ point was that it would even provide members of the U.S. Congress symbolized on the platform.
Who is John McAfee?
John McAfee is an Anglo-American computer programmer and businessman and the founder of the software company McAfee Associates. McAfee Associates had early success as the creator of McAfee’s first commercial antivirus software, and the company now produces a line of enterprise security software. The company was acquired by Intel in 2011.
McAfee is also a political activist. He ran for president of the United States in the 2016 election for the Libertarian Party, losing to former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. In fact, with his plan to give a token to the 535 members of the U.S. Congress, he wanted to show, mathematically and scientifically, how power develops, accumulates and circulates in politics.
Buying politicians?
Baptized BuyCongressmen Blockchain, this new project aimed to test the popularity of Members of Parliament on the Blockchain.
John McAfee was addressing the American political system and according to him his team was buying chips from the 535 Members of Congress to sell on his McAfee DEX stock market.
He posted on Twitter on January 4:
‘The chips will be listed on McAfeedex.com on March 1, with each chip initially set at one penny — So let the trading begin — Find out what your representative is really worth on the open market’.
McAfee added that the executive team that designed the project had celebrated the day before the completion of the work in Catalonia and tweeted that there will be 183 million of each token or ‘One for every American voter’.
For McAfee, politicians are already bought. He explained:
‘The tokens are traceable, starting with one token per registered voter and per politician. Supporters of politicians are motivated to keep the value of their ‘man’ at a high level. Look at how the tokens are bought — starting with small batches. Power is accumulated through money. Now with names. Each token comes with a voice. Tokens can be bought and sold. The vote remains with the original owner of the token. Forever.’
Could this also be the idea of the Political Action Committee (PAC) during the ‘Crypto for Congress’ project?
50 dollars in Bitcoin for the 535 members of Congress
All members of Congress will receive Bitcoins from the Political Action Committee (PAC) of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, a user advocacy group, as a contribution to the campaign to help educate users about cryptocurrency.
According to the Digital Chamber of Commerce’s announcement:
‘Today, all members of the U.S. Congress will receive a contribution to the Bitcoin campaign’ as part of this initiative, the announcement said. There are 535 members of Congress: 100 sit in the US Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.
Crypto for Congress is an educational initiative aimed at expanding the use and adoption of digital resources among congressional candidates, elected leaders and engaged citizens.
According to Perianne Boring, the group’s founder, it is important to raise awareness and give members of Congress a chance to interact with the digital block and assets. She said:
‘One of the biggest challenges we’ve always had is that people don’t really understand what we’re talking about. Now is the time for all members of Congress to learn about and adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, and the best way to do that is to create a digital wallet and embark on the blockchain journey. ‘
In addition to the contribution, the Chamber’s PAC also offers online training and a toolkit to help registrants get involved in crypto.
For America’s Future in the Global Economy
Mr. Boring added:
‘Such an initiative could assist the group in its efforts to defend an industry that faces multiple public policy challenges such as taxation and regulatory jurisdiction. Many other countries such as China, Japan, Singapore and Switzerland have been quick to adopt blockchain technology and have solid national plans in place to become world leaders in this field. The U.S. is falling behind in technological innovation and this is not a risk we should be willing to take’.
According to Tom Emmer, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and also one of the most pro-crypto congressmen, by embracing the digital asset movement, we have an opportunity to take a significant step forward in securing America’s leadership position in the future of the global economy:
‘Crypto for Congress offers the entire congressional community the opportunity to join this generational shift in finance and technology’.
According to U.S. Representative Darren Soto, this is a key element for the U.S. economy. He explained:
‘As legislators, it is our duty to ensure that the United States leads the way in blockbuster technology. Understanding how this technology works on a practical level is an important step we need to take to promote innovation and maximize the potential of cryptography for the U.S. economy.
Crypto for Congress is supported by members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and sponsors include Anchorage, Bitpay, Blockfi, CMT Digital, Circle, Civic, Etoro, Flipside Crypto, Medici Ventures, Messari and Paxos.
Once informed of the contribution, the incumbent’s campaign can either accept it, forward it to a Bitcoin Accepting Charity (BTC), or simply opt out.
The Crypto for Congress initiative is perhaps one of the most exciting cryptography projects. What is certain is that it will lead to a better understanding of the vast potential of the blockchain and will probably also promote stronger crypto-adoption.
Written by Laetisia Harson, Project Manager at Magna Numeris
