The U.S. might soon cast votes on the blockchain, according to Dan Tapiero, Founder and CEO of 10T and 1RT.
Speaking with Scott Melker on TheStreet Roundtable, Tapiero said blockchain technology could overhaul the country’s outdated voting system.
“I actually think for the next election, they're going to figure out how to put voting on a blockchain,” Tapiero said. “It's strange that we have this great democracy and the voting methods are still so archaic. You go into a little box and you flip a switch. I mean, it's extremely weird.”
Tapiero believes distributed ledger technology (DLT) will soon be applied “across the board,” from public services to financial systems. He pointed to the increasing involvement of Silicon Valley giants in Washington, including Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen, as a sign that change is coming.
“You've got Andreessen as well, Mark, who's been vocal along with Elon and the other technologists. If anyone can figure out how to do it, they're going to,” he said.
He added that while the current climate might feel uncertain with talks of tariffs and political shifts, blockchain’s long-term benefits are clear. “Everything we’re doing is very bullish for the U.S.,” he said. “Just think about all the eventual productivity gains coming.”
In February, Elon Musk floated the idea of placing the U.S. Treasury on a blockchain network, citing concerns about fraudulent government payments and inefficiencies in legacy IT systems.
As the head of the Trump administration’s temporary Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk has advocated for blockchain as a way to track federal spending, manage infrastructure, and oversee government payments — though he has not provided evidence to support his concerns or specifics on implementation.
Despite ongoing consultations with blockchain firms, the proposal has sparked criticism from lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who said, “No one elected Elon Musk to nothing… Not one Democrat in America voted for Elon Musk… Damn, not one vegetarian in America voted for Elon Musk.”
Musk’s idea emerged as part of a broader push to modernize government infrastructure, with over $100 billion spent annually on IT, most of it going to maintain outdated systems.