09-15-2026 
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
TL;DR: Votari, the BSV-based app for verifiable elections and surveys, has moved from its January soft launch to full release on iOS and Android. The biggest change: three eligibility models (open, email domain, and passport verification) instead of passport-only, allowing organizers to choose the appropriate identity level for each vote. All results are anonymized, stored on-chain, and independently auditable—the core reason the app was built on BSV in the first place.
Key Takeaways
- Votari is now live on app stores after a five-month trial period that tested its core voting architecture with real users
- Three eligibility models: Open public votes, email-domain-restricted elections, and high-assurance passport verification—organizers choose what fits their needs
- On-chain auditability: All election results are anonymized and stored on the BSV blockchain, independently verifiable long after the vote ends
- Minimal trust design: Votari removes the need to trust any central operator with vote integrity while leaving eligibility definition to whoever knows the electorate (a company, association, or government)
- Target market: Organizational elections—boards, committees, professional bodies, universities, housing organizations—rather than waiting for national legislative approval
- Non-custodial: Votes are constructed on the voter’s own device; no private database holds or controls anyone’s ballot
Votari, the BSV-based app for verifiable elections and surveys, is now live in full release on the app stores, five months after its soft-launch preview. The main change since January is that users can now create and run real elections rather than just the original trial polls, and organizers can choose from three different eligibility models depending on what the vote actually needs.
All Votari election results are anonymized and stored on-chain, so they can be audited far into the future. That integrity is the core of the product, and the main reason the app is built on a scalable blockchain like BSV in the first place.
When we covered Votari’s preview release in January, registration was via passport verification only, with processing done locally on the voter’s own device. That remains the strongest identity option, but it’s no longer the only way in.
The app now supports open elections where anyone can vote, elections restricted by email domain, and higher-assurance elections using passport verification. The change came directly out of the trial period, developer Rui da Silva told CoinGeek.
“One of the most useful things we learned from the trial period was that identity and eligibility are not actually the same problem,” he said. “For some elections, proving a real-world identity very strongly is essential. For others, the relevant question is simply ‘is this person a member of this organization?’ And sometimes you deliberately want an open public vote.”
Trying to force every election through the strongest possible identity process creates unnecessary friction, he said. The architecture evolved to allow the organizer to pick an eligibility model appropriate to the election, while the vote itself remains verifiable on-chain.
The passport question
In January we noted the passport requirement would be a problem in regions where many potential voters don’t hold one. da Silva said that was never a realistic assumption.
“The broader direction is therefore not ‘find one universal identity system’. It is to separate the integrity of the election from the mechanism used to establish eligibility,” he said.
A company might already know everyone with an @company.com address is entitled to vote. Another election might not require identity at all. A government or regulated body might demand much stronger evidence. Votari accommodates all of these without changing the fundamental voting architecture—which also makes the system more practical internationally, since it doesn’t assume every country has the same identity documents or infrastructure.
What ‘minimal trust’ actually means in different voting scenarios
Votari’s pitch is “minimal trust,” and da Silva specified what that removes, and what it doesn’t.
“The important distinction is between trusting someone to define who is eligible for an election and trusting them with the integrity of the election itself,” he said.
Somebody always has to establish the electorate—a company knows its shareholders, an association knows its members, a government knows its electoral roll. What Votari removes is the need to then trust that same organization, or Votari itself, to privately maintain the voting database, count the votes correctly and report an honest result.
“The election definition and voting record are independently verifiable against a public record. Votes are constructed on the voter’s device, and Votari is not the sole custodian of a private database that everyone has to accept as the authoritative version of what happened,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean there is literally zero trust anywhere. You still rely on things such as the eligibility source, your own device and software, cryptography, and the underlying network. The objective is to minimize the amount of discretionary trust and, particularly, to remove the ability of a central operator to alter an election invisibly.”
Auditors still have a role, but one based on evidence rather than reputation, he added.
“An auditor should be able to independently verify evidence rather than asking you to trust their word that a private system behaved correctly.”
The enormous space in between
Formal national elections need legislative support that isn’t arriving any time soon, and da Silva doesn’t pretend otherwise. But he doesn’t accept that the choice is between national ballots and favorite-color polls.
“I don’t think the choice is ‘national elections or trivial polls.’ There is an enormous space in between,” he said. “Companies, associations, boards, committees, professional bodies, universities, student organizations, housing organizations, and membership organizations make decisions through elections all the time, and many of those decisions have real financial or governance consequences. That is where I expect adoption to start.”
It’s a point we’ve made before. BSV-based project AnonSurvey has operated in the same territory for years, building bespoke blockchain voting and survey solutions aimed at organizations rather than waiting for governments to come around.
One practical point in Votari’s favor is that the interface itself is simple to navigate and understand. The trial polls so far have been basic questions like favorite colors and seasons, and user feedback has been generally positive. Ease of use matters here, since most people voting in these elections will be total newcomers, not blockchain enthusiasts or regulars.
Votari is already in conversations around pilots and organizational use cases, da Silva said, though he won’t name names until the projects are far enough along to be public.
“Our approach is to prove the technology in increasingly consequential elections rather than claim that a national government is suddenly going to replace its electoral system,” he said. “Longer term, statutory and public elections are obviously interesting, but I see that as something that has to be earned through evidence rather than asserted because the technology exists.”
FAQs
What is Votari?
Votari is a BSV-based mobile app for creating, running, and auditing verifiable elections and surveys. It launched in January 2026 as a soft-launch preview and is now available in full release on the iOS and Android app stores.
How does Votari prove election integrity?
Every election definition and vote is recorded on BSV blockchain. Results are anonymized and stored on-chain, meaning anyone can independently audit the record long after the vote ends. Votari does not maintain a private database that users have to trust.
What identity verification options does Votari offer?
Votari supports three models: Open elections (no identity required), email domain verification (e.g., only @company.com addresses can vote), and passport verification using local facial recognition. The organizer chooses the model that matches their election’s needs.
Who is Votari for?
Votari is aimed at organizations that need legitimate, auditable elections—companies, boards, committees, professional bodies, universities, student groups, housing organizations, and membership organizations. It is not currently positioned for national-level democratic elections.
Is Votari non-custodial?
Yes. Votes are constructed entirely on the voter’s own device. Votari does not hold, collect, or control any private voting data. The only data stored on-chain are anonymized election results and verifiable records.
How is Votari different from existing polling apps?
Traditional polling apps require you to trust the platform operator to maintain the database, count correctly, and report honest results. Votari’s blockchain-based architecture makes the entire process independently verifiable—auditors can check evidence rather than accepting the platform’s word.
Is Votari related to BRC-120 or x402?
No. Votari’s developer, Rui da Silva, is also involved in the Merkle Works x402 project (BRC-120), but Votari is a separate product. Governance and machine payments are architecturally independent.
Can Votari be used for formal national elections?
Not currently. Formal national elections would require legislative frameworks that are not yet in place. Votari’s approach is to prove the technology’s viability in organizational elections first, thereby earning credibility for future statutory use through demonstrated evidence.
Watch | Philippine Blockchain Week 2026: What’s working now?
