Chris McCoy is a systems architect who created the STORE protocol and founded Data4America to address policy challenges through technological implementation and data-driven analysis. His two-decade track record of anticipating technological shifts—from social platforms to blockchain to AI governance—provides unique forecasting perspective for policy research, combining theoretical insight with proven execution at civilizational scale.
Chris McCoy is the CEO of STORE Research (User-Owned Cloud Computing) and Founder of Data4America. He develops math-based protocols that align incentives to solve coordination failures, ensuring powerful AI tools serve democratic participation rather than corporate concentration.
McCoy's Byzantine Fault Tolerant Democracy protocol has governed $28.03 million in real economic decisions over 8 years with zero constitutional violations, operating 450+ AI endpoints across 5 global data centers. His Hilander Democracy implementation achieved 97% community approval in Kelso, Washington, proving mathematical governance scales from local communities to global infrastructure.
Drawing from the systematic research methodology that characterized his second cousin twice removed, Nobel laureate Linus Pauling's groundbreaking work, McCoy applies mathematical rigor and interdisciplinary thinking to coordination challenges. As inventor of the BlockFinBFT consensus algorithm (US Patent), he bridges constitutional mathematics with modern governance systems. His Hometown Investment Zones research demonstrates how employment-based corporate taxation could save companies billions while creating community ownership - showing how mathematical protocols satisfy competing interests through optimization rather than political compromise.
Data4America advances this systematic approach to policy analysis, using verifiable frameworks to address challenges in monetary systems, economic growth, housing, cryptocurrency regulation, and AI governance before they become civilizational crises.
Growing up in rural Washington on food stamps before becoming a systems architect gave Chris unique perspective on how policy decisions affect resource-dependent communities—insights he applies to examining systematic challenges before they become crises. His 'purple' policy approach stems from authentic lived experience spanning economic struggle and success, rural and urban environments, traditional and innovative sectors. Through Data4America, he advances understanding of critical policy issues from monetary policy to economic growth, housing, cryptocurrency regulation, and AI governance, demonstrating how technology implementation experience provides essential context for effective policy analysis in our technological century.
Related to Linus Pauling (second cousin twice removed, but who's counting), Chris brings unique forecasting perspective to policy research, combining theoretical insight with proven execution at civilizational scale. His experience building the first democratically governed cloud computing protocol with 450+ AI endpoints across 5 global data centers bridges technical innovation with policy analysis through systematic thinking and mathematical governance frameworks.
His journey took an unexpected turn when a neck injury ended his promising baseball career (91-92 mph fastball) at the University of Washington. Converting his understanding of athletic biomechanics into entrepreneurial ventures, Chris began teaching "feet to fingertips" kinetic energy to young pitchers, launching his first business while still in college. This led to co-founding I Love Baseball in 2005, a foundation that helps children in the Dominican Republic pursue both their baseball dreams and education simultaneously.
Inspired by NaShuntae Pleasant-Miles, an influential 1999 Washington DECA State President who passed away from a brain tumor in 2003, Chris followed her leadership example by serving as Washington DECA State President and later National DECA President representing 165,000 students. He later co-founded NaShuntae's Gift with her father Nate Miles (who became a key investor and mentor in Chris's early entrepreneurial ventures), creating a scholarship that honors NaShuntae's legacy by supporting students demonstrating perseverance and excellence.
In 2023, answering his great uncle Kirby McCoy's challenge to "do something great for the kids of Kelso," Chris implemented Hilander Democracy for his hometown—a real-world experiment in BFT Democracy that powers the Hilander Hall of Fame, celebrating over a century of Kelso's rich history. This innovative governance framework uses multi-layered thresholds to ensure transparent, verifiable decisions while maintaining community connection through in-person gatherings, demonstrating the same principles powering STORE's democratic governance at civilizational scale.
Throughout his career, Chris has demonstrated a unique ability to bridge diverse domains—from athletics to technology to governance systems. His ability to bridge worlds that rarely communicate—from resource-dependent communities to Silicon Valley innovation—informs Data4America's mission to make complex policy discussions accessible across traditional divides. His 'purple' approach stems not from political calculation but from authentic lived experience spanning economic struggle and success, rural and urban environments, traditional and innovative sectors.
With his resilient background, transitioning from a mineral mining family in Oklahoma (where his grandfather played catch with Mickey Mantle's father in the mines) to being raised by a teen mom to a tech entrepreneur building infrastructure where everyone has a voice as AI capabilities determine our collective future, Chris is positioned to shape discourse around American innovation, democratic systems, and public policy in the years to come.
Data4America's systematic approach to policy analysis is informed by proven governance implementation:
$28.03 million governed through STORE protocol's Byzantine Fault Tolerant Democracy over 8 years
97% community approval for Hilander Democracy implementation in Kelso, Washington
450+ AI endpoints operating under democratically governed infrastructure
These real-world applications of mathematical governance principles provide empirical foundation for our policy research and demonstrate how data-driven systems can work across scales from local communities to global infrastructure.
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