Back in 2017 I suggested applying immutable blockchain technology to tracking the bitcoin price forecasts from the plethora of self-annointed pundits.

In this same spirit of entertainment, here’s another suggestion for blockchain I wish had occurred to me:

Log all the promises of the various UK politicians and talking heads about the benefits of Brexit for Britain.

Claims of the ease of separation and the strength of the UK’s negotiating position relative to the EU now appear to have been a bit exaggerated. (No matter your position on the referendum, there was undoubtedly grandstanding on both sides, although right now it seems that the promises from the Leave camp were more egregious).

A tamper-proof blockchain application might have reined in the flurry of denials and disappearances by those very same talking heads as reality demonstrates the disingenuity of their promises.

Fortunately, a digital record still exists, albeit not entirely tamper-proof as a blockchain app would have been. At least Twitter doesn’t have an edit function.

So kudos to UK activist group Led by Donkeys for reminding citizens of the false promises in a highly visible way: large billboards around the country.

Led by Donkeys has raised over 150k£ in a crowdfunding campaign to provide this public information service. Something about a false promise from the digital world manifested in the physical world on a large billboard feels gratifyingly more permanent. Whether you agree with Brexit or not, doesn’t this seem brilliant ?

Photographs by Steve Morgan and Led By Donkeys