While there are many use cases for blockchain, few beyond digital cash have been implemented to date. Decentralised approaches to voting have significant advantages over conventional systems, which is why Waves will use the blockchain for its forthcoming ERC20 token poll.

Blockchain is already changing the world. Alongside AI, Big Data and VR/AR, it is one of the transformational technologies that will shape the future. Waves is at the forefront of the blockchain movement, seeking to develop its tech and apply it to new areas in its vision of bringing the power of decentralised systems to everyday people and use cases.

The use of blockchain technology has so far largely been confined to money: online cash like BTC and LTC, and the crowdfunding applications that have grown up alongside that. But the same features that make it suitable for moving value around — transparency, immutability, and peer-to-peer transactions — also make it ideal for voting. When you think about it, there is little difference between casting a vote and transferring cash. Your vote is valuable. It is not money in the traditional sense, but it has value.

Blockchain votes can’t be manipulated by a central organiser, as they are in so many elections around the world. There is no electoral fraud, votes cannot be lost or miscounted, or created for the benefit of one of the candidates. It’s all there on the blockchain for anyone to see. It’s also highly efficient: the voting process requires very little organisation and votes can be tallied in an instant, meaning low costs and practically zero delays in announcing the results after the poll closes.

Waves ERC20 DEX vote

These benefits are why Waves has chosen to conduct a vote on the blockchain for its next addition to its decentralised exchange (DEX). Waves is currently in the process of adding gateways for ERC20 tokens to its ecosystem, meaning that popular Ethereum tokens like ZIL and GNT can be traded on the platform. The community will vote on which ERC20 token they want to see integrated first.

In order to participate in the vote, users must hold the Waves Community Token (WCT). Voters will need to:

• Have an existing Waves wallet or create a new one
• Hold WCT, or purchase some on DEX if they don’t have any
• Go to the voting site https://voting.wavesplatform.com and follow the instructions to use WCT to vote for one of a series of popular ERC20 tokens.
• The ERC20 tokens that receive the most votes will appear on the DEX when the new gateway is released.

Grassroots engagement

Blockchain is an inherently grassroots movement, and it is critically important to involve the community in key decisions such as this. The only way to do this that is fit for purpose is to use the blockchain itself. Whilst there are many ways of gauging opinion, forums and social media channels tend to be dominated by a small number of very vocal participants, who may or may not have any significant stake in the platform. By holding the vote on the blockchain, it is not only guaranteed to be secure and transparent, but engages precisely those with a financial interest in the future of the protocol and who have most to gain from its success.