Brazil’s state-owned postal service, Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos, has launched a pre-selection process for companies and specialists in blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop solutions for its logistics and operational management.

The tender, published in the country’s official journal Diário Oficial da União on Friday, seeks proposals that support the digital transformation of the agency’s services. The initiative, called Licitação Seleção Prévia e Diálogo nº 25000001/2025 CS, is focused on finding advanced technological solutions to modernize business processes, operations, and internal supply management.

“We want to promote a collaborative and dynamic process to find artificial intelligence and blockchain solutions for our business, operations, and hiring challenges,” the company announced.

The organization did not specify the exact use cases it is targeting, but blockchain technology has been widely adopted for supply chain tracking, document authentication, and transaction security. The use of artificial intelligence is likely linked to logistics optimization and enhanced data analysis.

One of the most intriguing aspects of crypto is its sense of anonymity. Bitcoin (BTC), for example, was created in 2008 by an unknown figure using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and to this day, the true identity of its inventor remains unknown. The veil of anonymity has allowed users to create distinct identities through wallet addresses, adding an extra layer of privacy and discretion to transactions. 

This concept of openness and universal access is one of the core promises of digital currencies, allowing anyone with internet access to engage, regardless of their financial history or background. However, even though the ethos of crypto promotes inclusivity, the reality hasn’t always reflected this. 

The early days of crypto were defined by the archetype “crypto bros,” referring to a specific demographic of young, tech-savvy men who influenced the industry’s direction. Their influence extended to the design of projects, development of key protocols, and framing of the culture surrounding digital assets. 

However, as the industry matured and evolved, efforts were made to reflect and include more female voices. This shift helped address the imbalance between gender representation, bringing new perspectives into the industry. 

A 2024 study revealed that over 560 million cryptocurrency owners exist globally, with 61 percent identifying as male and 39 percent as female. This marks an increase from the previous year, when the global total was 420 million, with 37 percent of owners being female, signaling a positive shift. 

In response to this trend, organizations have emerged to address crypto’s gender imbalances. Conferences and events once primarily targeted toward the male-dominated demographic have changed to allow women to step into the space and take the lead.

The Association for Women in Cryptocurrency, or AWC, for example, was founded in 2022 as a platform for women looking to enhance their knowledge and education in crypto. Led by Amanda Wick, AWC hosts various events, like webinars and in-person meetups, where women can learn from industry experts and connect with mentors who can guide them and help them discover new career opportunities. 

Recently, Binance shared that it will offer global programs exclusively for women through its Binance Academy platform in honor of International Women’s Day. The events will be held across five continents at 11 venues to help women ease their way into the industry.

While women have made significant strides in the DeFi space, now accounting for 40 percent of Binance’s workforce, leadership positions have been predominantly held by men. Despite this, several women have established themselves as leaders in the space.

Perianne Boring, for instance, is the founder and CEO of the blockchain advocacy group The Digital Chamber, working alongside Congress and the government to promote and regulate blockchain technology. Her leadership role has made her an advocate for adopting blockchain technologies, as she has become a well-known voice in the space discussing the future of finance. In December, President Trump also considered Boring as a potential CFTC chair. 

Another established female leader in the space is Joanna Liang, the founding partner of Jsquare, a tech-focused investment firm specializing in blockchain and web3. With a previous background as CIO at Digital Finance Group (DFG), a global Venture Capital firm focusing on crypto projects, Liang recently launched Jsquare’s latest fund, the Pioneer Fund. The fund has successfully raised $50 million in capital, making its first investment in the startup MinionLabs. The fund will focus on emerging technologies in the crypto space, including PayFi, real-world assets (RWAs), and consumer apps. 

Laura Shin is also a prominent name in crypto and is recognized as one of the first mainstream media reporters to cover cryptocurrency full-time. She is the author of the book, ‘The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze,’ and the host of the podcast Unchained. Laura has shared her expertise at events such as TEDx San Francisco and the International Monetary Fund. 

Over the past 16 years, women have been instrumental in helping legitimize crypto assets throughout the financial landscape. Their contributions have spanned various sectors in the ecosystem, helping shift the narrative around crypto from a niche, speculative asset to a more widely recognized and accepted financial tool.

On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Williamson Country Republican Party held its convention at the Franklin Marriott, located in the heart of Williamson County, Tennessee.

At the event, “bona fide” Republicans (those who voted in the last three out of four Republican primaries) voted for the future of their party’s local leadership, with the two sides in the contest — Elevate and the Williamson County Republicans — each offering a slate of eight candidates.

The final results of the vote were committed in (added to) Bitcoin block 886,370 using Simple Proof’s Immutable Proof service, an automated service that employs the OpenTimestamps protocol to help protect public records.

Why Simple Proof?

Simple Proof preserves the integrity of documents by committing digital versions of said documents in the arbitrary data field (the OP_RETURN function) of a bitcoin transaction. In doing so, the documents are irrevocably committed to a block on the Bitcoin blockchain, which is immutable.

This technology has proven to be excellent for preserving election records, as it helps to prevent tampering with election results once a vote count is finalized.

Simple Proof put itself on the map when it helped secure the vote tallies for 2023’s Presidential election in Guatemala, the story of which is outlined in the short documentary “Immutable Democracy.”

The company also helped to preserve the integrity of election results in Screven County, Georgia this past November.

It was actually this story from Screven County that caught the attention of Steve Giraud, a Republican voter based in Williamson County who wanted to see integrity of the vote tally for the Williamson County Republican leadership election upheld.

So, he and a friend with whom he hosts Bitcoin meetups, Dave Birnbaum (also a contributor to Bitcoin Magazine), reached out to the Simple Proof to employ its services.

“Steve, the person who contacted Simple Proof, described himself as a ‘concerned citizen,’” Simple Proof founder and CEO Rafael (Rafa) Cordon told Bitcoin Magazine.

Cordon went on to explain that Simple Proof is politically impartial and that it does no more than provide a technological service.

“We’re not working directly for any political organization or electoral authority, just a person who wants to protect voting documents,” said Cordon.

Carlos Toriello, Election Lead at Simple Proof, reiterated Cordon’s point that Simple Proof doesn’t work on behalf of political groups and only works to preserve the integrity of key election documents.

“They can use our service to know that the information that they rely upon has been preserved,” Toriello told Bitcoin Magazine.

Pre-Convention Tension

When I spoke with Giraud the day before the vote, he seemed visibly nervous about potential interference during the night of the vote and/or legal action being taken to challenge the legitimacy of the election results after the fact.

Giraud, who is affiliated with the Williamson County Citizens, a group of “grassroots conservatives” that believes in small government, low taxes and reduced regulation, explained that the Republican sect to which he belongs has been deeply at odds with the Williamson County Conservatives, who he described as less ideologically-driven “establishment Republicans.”

At the convention, bona fide Republicans would vote for a total of eight party leaders, selected from the eight put on the ballot by Elevate, the Republican group with which Giraud is affiliated, and eight put on the ballot by the Williamson County Conservatives.

In the weeks leading up to the convention, reports stated that the Williamson County Republicans ran a misinformation campaign in which they claimed that Elevate was trying to suppress the vote because the Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP), made up of a majority of representatives from Elevate, mandated in-person voting at the convention, despite the fact that this mandate comes from Tennessee’s Republican party bylaws.

According to Giraud, the Williamson County Conservatives also claimed that the WCRP changed the venue last minute as a means to reduce voter turnout from supporters of Williamson County Conservatives.

Giraud argued that this wasn’t the case, though.

“Given the turnout we were expecting, we were getting very close to exceeding the maximum capacity or occupancy rate for the original venue, the Franklin Factory Liberty Hall,” he explained.

“So, someone at the Contest and Credentialing Committee (CCC) (which is a separate entity from the WCRP) said he had to change venue, which could disadvantage some voters. Now, the WCRP will have volunteers at the Factory with signs that say ‘Venue changed, go to the Marriott,’” he added.

“But we’re very concerned that if the opposition loses, they will threaten lawsuits because of what the CCC did.”

What is more, the Williamson County Conservatives bombarded Williamson county residents with mailers, texts and robo-calls, partially funded by former Democrats.

Giraud said that the Williamson County Conservatives “carpet bombed 16,000 bona fide Republicans in Williamson County with mailers — every 5,000 of which went out costing about $4,000.”

A report claimed that the Williamson County Conservatives spent $50,000 on this campaign and that the messaging was “emotionally-charged and aggressive,” leading to Williamson County Conservatives and Elevate both levying and responding to accusations made by the opposing group.

The Vote Counting Process

Simple Proof doesn’t guarantee the validity of the vote tallies it helps to preserve with the Bitcoin blockchain, so it’s up to the local election board to ensure the legitimacy of the voting process.

Giraud explained that only bona fide voters would be allowed into the voting area the night of the convention. He added that the voting area would be “secured by deputy sheriffs” and that all voters are given a wristband that they have to remove once they vote so that they cannot vote twice.

All voting is done on what Giraud called “bubble cards,” on which voters use a Sharpie pen to fill in their choice eight candidates from the 16 on the ballot (the Elevate candidates on one side of the ballot and the Williamson Country Conservatives candidates on the other).

Four volunteer observers — two from Elevate and two from the Williamson County Conservatives — monitor the vote.

During the vote, Giraud would act as a “Judge for Spoiled Ballots,” allowing him to take note of any ballots on which someone wrote outside of the bubbles or other irregularities that could nullify a vote.

Ballots are fed through a machine (a part of the voting process that Giraud noted that he doesn’t necessarily like — “I’m skeptical of anything that involves a machine when it comes to a ballot marking device,” he said.)

The machines then produce the final vote tally for the night, though, the results could be hand counted at the request of either Elevate or the Williamson County Conservatives.

The Voting Results

The Elevate candidates won all eight party leadership seats.

The victory did not go uncontested, though.

After the machines produced the results, the Williamson Country Conservatives requested a manual recount, which the Tennessee State Election Commission conducted, according to Giraud. The recount resulted in Elevate winning by a very slightly wider margin than was initially reported. (Simple Proof timestamped both the initial results and the results from the manual recount, linked in the first section of this piece, to the Bitcoin blockchain.)

“With the manual hand recount, we gained one vote,” said Giraud.

Giraud also reported that his anxieties around potential voting interference the night of the convention were allayed, as the process went smoothly, aside from a minor, unexpected occurrence.

“There were so many elderly people here that they opened the doors up for early voting,” he said.

By the end of the night, Giraud wasn’t just relieved, though, he was optimistic about what had transpired that evening and also hopeful that Simple Proof’s technology will be employed on a larger scale.

“I just introduced what I did to the soon-to-be-former Chair of the Williamson County Republican Committee, who is stepping down as of tonight,” said Giraud.

“He was very excited that we were doing this. I hope that he will help us take this further, not just in the county, but in outlying counties as well as up to the state at some point. That’s my goal for the state of Tennessee: increase transparency,” he added.

“I would hope even the other side would approach Carlos (Toriello) and Rafa (Cordon) and want to use this for documentation as well as future elections to hold us accountable and to force truth and accountability. That’s my goal as a concerned citizen.”