A Denmark-based blockchain company is offering an alternative funding solution that does not involve Mexican pesos or American taxpayer dollars to pay for Trump’s infamous wall.
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No Pesos, Tax Dollars Required
One of Donald Trump’s most controversial campaign promises of building a wall as a solution to illegal immigration from Mexico could now become a reality following his upset victory.
A wall spanning the entire US-Mexican border to keep both illegal immigrants and drugs from entering the United States will receive funding from Mexico, Trump boasted during his campaign.
But while many see this as highly unlikely, the Denmark-based OpenLedger is now offering an alternative funding solution that does not involve Mexican pesos or American taxpayer dollars.
OpenLedger is Denmark’s first bitcoin exchange that also specializes in project funding solutions using blockchain technology. This approach ensures a transparent system where all donations and transfers can be publicly viewed from all over the world much like a tweet.
“We can offer a financial solution for Trump’s Wall,” says OpenLedger CEO, Ronny Boesing.
We have joked with it for a few months before the election that we could help with the project using our platform, and when Trump won, we saw an opportunity.
“As we see it, the wall project doesn’t just get the states along the border to appear better to the people, it also provides citizens an opportunity to do something and solve the problem of illegal immigration,” he adds.
‘Full Market Mechanism’
Trump’s wall proposal has stirred up a lot of controversy in the United States. However, the OpenLedger executive doesn’t see a problem in becoming a part of the multi-billion dollar project.
“People feel they have nothing to say when it comes to their tax dollars,” explains OpenLedger chief operations officer AnneMieke Dirkens.
“They pay them and it goes in a giant, not very transparent bucket. But there is an alternative to all that in the latest fintech solutions. Without even any governmental interference Mr. Trump! Must like that, no extra civil servants, full market mechanism.”
Building the Wall … One Token at a Time
Dirkens proposes creating a new token called “Wally,” for example. The token is put on a blockchain, which is transparent and can be viewed in real-time by anybody on the internet.
“Let’s create 2.4 billion of those coins, 1 Wally you can buy for 1 dollar,” he continues. “The money goes into escrow. No greedy fingers, no foundations. All that needs to happen now, is making sure the Wally owners get value for money.”
Then any construction company interested in this project can upload their proposal on the website for all Wally holders to see. If more than 50% of the volume of sold Wallies votes yes, a stretch of the wall gets built. Wallies can monitor the progress and vote on the parties involved based on their performance.
“No civil servants involved anymore, apart for stuff like health and safety of course,” Dirkens adds.
Additionally, Wally holders would not only have the freedom of choice to support such a project but they also pick the proposal, the contractor etc. In the long-term, Wallies will hold an asset backed by physical concrete, Dirkens explained.
Wallies can be sold to local authorities to give them control over the wall, buy in or otherwise they can’t. All this needs from you Mr. Trump is one simple Presidential Decree: Yes we can, my way.
But Would Trump Accept?
The first challenge, however, is opening Trump’s administration to such an unconventional, blockchain-based crowdfunding solution.
This may seem like a remote possibility given that both candidates were clueless about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Nevertheless, Bitcoin has been gaining a foothold in Washington D.C. while PayPal co-founder and Trump campaign donor, Peter Thiel, has stated that “Bitcoin could change the world.”
Furthermore, almost all of the world’s major banks and even several governments have already been studying, testing and implementing their own blockchain-based platforms for various use-cases. Thus, governance on the blockchain could soon become the new global paradigm as well as a new (and more direct) source of funding for public works.
OpenLedger assitant director Daniel Pineda, who is an American citizen, adds:
Beyond contractors in the wall, it is an excellent idea for any public civic service such as the financing of potholes, restoration of local public offices, better parks. With this improved transparency governments would have better relationships with their constituencies.
Do you think such a large-scale project could work on the blockchain in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
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