Cornell Bitcoin Club Meeting #15 Follow-Up & #16 Info
Hi All,
Hope you all had a nice fall break!
Here are the slides & recording from the 15th meeting. Rafa did an amazing job leading us in a discussion about Bitcoin's impact on emerging markets, exploring potential pros and cons.
See you tomorrow at 6:00 pm in Gates G01! Matthew Correa, our club's Secretary, will be leading our conversation on the topic of "Navigating Bitcoin’s Role in Democratic Resilience and Ruin." Matthew prepared the following overview:
"Democratic decline is defined as a phenomenon where a country experiences the systematic erosion of democratic processes like the suppression of free elections, the curtailing of judicial independence, and the restriction of civic freedoms such as the right to petition the government. Using two case studies from Russia and Turkey, we will assess how citizens leverage Bitcoin as a tool for financial independence and resistance against authoritarian regimes. We will also evaluate Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and whether it is crucial in supporting democratic resilience or weakening state institutions’ governance. Consequently, a policy-response simulation offers an opportunity to understand Bitcoin’s impact on the complex dynamics behind democratic backsliding."
As a primer or in case you can't make it, here are 2 podcast episodes and 1 documentary you might enjoy:
Anna Chekhovich x Peter McCormack. Anna is CFO of The Anti-Corruption Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 2011 by Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
Immutable Democracy documentary (17 minutes) explores the implementation of a Bitcoin-based immutable backup solution for the 2023 Guatemalan elections.
Also, you might have seen a lot of news last week around HBO releasing the documentary "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery" In short...
Be in touch if there's anything we can do for you. Thank you!
Warmly,
Ella