From: Elliot Berke

To: Joseph Wenzinger

Cc: Amy Rothstein

Subject: RE: DataVault

Date: Monday, October 31, 2022 8:50:22 AM

Joseph and Amy:

Please see answers below:

DataVault AOR I

1. DataVault is a for-profit corporation established under the laws of the state of Delaware.

Yes. Data Vault Holdings, Inc. is a Delaware Corporation and is the parent company of the

wholly owned DataVault, Inc. also incorporated in Delaware. 

2. DataVault’s ordinary business includes creating and selling nonfungible tokens (“NFTs”) to a

range of entities, including charitable organizations and for-profit entities, for the entities’ use

as souvenirs and in their fundraising endeavors.

Yes, this is accurate. NFTs allow for the secure delivery of contents including artwork,

written, verbal and interactive communications. Souvenirs, event access, and membership

can all be memorialized and recorded via blockchain providing exceptional audit trail,

statistics, and reporting.

3. DataVault proposes to sell NFTs to political committees in the ordinary course of its business,

at the usual and normal charge, and on the same terms and conditions as it sells NFTs to its

similarly situated non-political clients, including charitable organizations.

Yes, their pricing is homogenous for all market sectors and value is determined by the

underlying content provided within an NFT. Artwork, license rights and multimedia and any

other underlying contents are priced via customary and established pricing practices that

remunerates artists and pays for field of use license of the patented technology utilized and

owned by Data Vault Holdings, Inc. operated and licensed by its DataVault, Inc. and its'

patented Information Data Exchange designed specifically for branded, data-backed NFT

assets.

4. DataVault will not engage in fundraising on behalf of its political committee clients.

Correct. The DataVault platform is designed as tool that allows for Web 3.0 tools, namely NFTs

and the data-backed token trading capability unlocked by their U.S. built and patented

technology known as the Information Data Exchange.
 5.The “blockchain” to which DataVault’s NFTs would be published is the same Ethereum

blockchain network as described in Advisory Opinion 2019-08 (Omar2020).

Data Vault is not limited to the Ethereum Blockchain Network. In every case NFTs are

purchased for cash. Any purchase by Crypto Currencies is converted to USD ($) at the time of

the purchase in real-time. This solves for issues brought on by the volatility of crypto

currencies. Every purchase of NFTs by any authorized purchaser who passes required

identity and purchase requirements and authorized by NFT owner produces a blockchain

recorded transaction.

Additionally, NFT products can be minted on an expanding list of blockchains including but

not limited to Binance, Ethereum, Phantom, and primary to this political vertical

DataVault’s preferred or suggested network for political NFT creation is Chia Networks due

to its focus on environmental impact of its crypto currency.

Chia is a cryptocurrency and blockchain smart transaction platform. Chia was designed

from the ground up to make cryptocurrency easier to use -- and harder to lose -- than

cash. The PoST consensus has a much lower energy consumption compared to Proof

of Work (PoW), and part of Chia's vision involves improving the carbon footprint of

the blockchain industry.

On August 1, 2017, Bram Cohen founded the Chia company and incorporated it in the

state of Delaware. Bram led the development of Chia, along with many engineers,

researchers, and open-source contributors. Along the way, Chia created three new

inventions in applied cryptography, and advanced the interest and adoption in a fourth:

Proofs of Space and Time (PoST), the first (and only) Nakamoto consensus since Proof

of Work.

The first production use of BLS Signatures.

The first production use of a Verifiable Delay Function (VDF).

The first production use of class groups of unknown order.

Chia's mainnet was launched on March 19, 2021. Development of its ecosystem is

ongoing.

6.The term “smart contract” as it appears on page 2 of DataVault AOR I refers to an

agreement for ownership of an NFT.

 Yes.

7. At this time, DataVault does not intend to process contributions to its political committee clients

or to receive any funds from their contributors. Accordingly, DataVault does not wish the

Commission to address those issues.

Yes. Through the use of their Information Data Exchange DataValut allows for the direct

connect of purchasers of NFTs to political committees' bank accounts in a direct purchases.

Technology, content creation costs, minting and transfer costs are the cost of goods sold for
the NFTs are paid to DataVault by political committee as they would a vendor.

DataVault AOR II

2. DataVault is a for-profit corporation established under the laws of the state of Delaware.

 Yes. Also, Data Vault Holdings, Inc. wholly owns Adio, LLC a limited liability company

incorporated in New York. 

 3. DataVault’s ordinary business includes licensing its Adio Tones technology to a range of entities,

including charitable organizations and for-profit entities, for the entities’ use in their fundraising

endeavors.

 Data Vault Holdings, inc. through its Adio, LLC operation licenses the Adio technology.

4. DataVault proposes to license its technology to political committees in the ordinary course of its

business, at the usual and normal charge, and on the same terms and conditions as it licenses its

technology to its similarly situated non-political clients, including charitable organizations.

Yes pricing of Adio technology license is homogenous and established across all market

verticals and is licensed on the same terms and conditions and is similarly marketed and

priced within all the markets we address with our technologies.

5. DataVault will not engage in fundraising on behalf of its political committee clients.

 Correct.

6. The statement on page 2 of the AOR that a “person’s phone would receive a notification that

would include the political committees’ mobile donation website” should state that a “person’s

phone would receive a notification that would include a link to the political committee’s website.”

Yes. That would be correct and thank you for the modification that accurately describes

how the patented Adio technology works.

Elliot S. Berke

Managing Partner

Berke Farah LLP

701 8th St. NW, Suite 620

Washington, DC 20001

202.744.0894 (Tel.)

eberke@berkefarah.com

http://www.berkefarah.com
This e-mail may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient,

please advise by return e-mail and delete immediately without reading forwarding to others. The

following statement is provided pursuant to U.S. Treasury Department Regulations: This

communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the

purpose of avoiding penalties that the Internal Revenue Service may impose on the taxpayer.

From: Elliot Berke 

Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2022 7:05 PM

To: Joseph Wenzinger <JWenzinger@fec.gov>

Cc: Amy Rothstein <ARothstein@fec.gov>

Subject: Re: DataVault

Thank you. Will review and report back.

Elliot S. Berke

Managing Partner

Berke Farah LLP

701 8th St NW, Suite 620

Washington, DC 20001

202.744.0894 (Tel.)

eberke@berkefarah.com

http://www.berkefarah.com

This e-mail may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient,

please advise by return e-mail and delete immediately without reading forwarding to others. The

following statement is provided pursuant to U.S. Treasury Department Regulations: This

communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the

purpose of avoiding penalties that the Internal Revenue Service may impose on the taxpayer.

On Oct 26, 2022, at 6:56 PM, Joseph Wenzinger <JWenzinger@fec.gov> wrote:

Mr. Berke:

Thank you for responding to our questions to help clarify certain points in Advisory

Opinion Request 2022-22 (DataVault I) (“DataVault AOR I”) and Advisory Opinion

Request 2022-23 (DataVault II) (“DataVault AOR II”). Our understanding of the

information you provided appears below. Please confirm the accuracy of the

statements below or correct them as necessary and return them to us via email. Your

response may be posted on the Commission’s website as a supplement to DataVault’s

advisory opinion requests.
DataVault AOR I

1. DataVault is a for-profit corporation established under the laws of the state of

Delaware.

2. DataVault’s ordinary business includes creating and selling nonfungible tokens

(“NFTs”) to a range of entities, including charitable organizations and for-profit

entities, for the entities’ use as souvenirs and in their fundraising endeavors.

3. DataVault proposes to sell NFTs to political committees in the ordinary course of

its business, at the usual and normal charge, and on the same terms and

conditions as it sells NFTs to its similarly situated non-political clients, including

charitable organizations.

4. DataVault will not engage in fundraising on behalf of its political committee

clients.

5. The “blockchain” to which DataVault’s NFTs would be published is the same

Ethereum blockchain network as described in Advisory Opinion 2019-08

(Omar2020).

6. The term “smart contract” as it appears on page 2 of DataVault AOR I refers to

an agreement for ownership of an NFT.

7. At this time, DataVault does not intend to process contributions to its political

committee clients or to receive any funds from their contributors. Accordingly,

DataVault does not wish the Commission to address those issues.

DataVault AOR II

1. DataVault is a for-profit corporation established under the laws of the state of

Delaware.

2. DataVault’s ordinary business includes licensing its Adio Tones technology to a

range of entities, including charitable organizations and for-profit entities, for

the entities’ use in their fundraising endeavors.

3. DataVault proposes to license its technology to political committees in the

ordinary course of its business, at the usual and normal charge, and on the same

terms and conditions as it licenses its technology to its similarly situated nonpolitical clients, including charitable organizations.

4. DataVault will not engage in fundraising on behalf of its political committee

clients.

5. The statement on page 2 of the AOR that a “person’s phone would receive a

notification that would include the political committees’ mobile donation

website” should state that a “person’s phone would receive a notification that

would include a link to the political committee’s website.”

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you.

Joseph Wenzinger

Attorney, Policy Division
Office of General Counsel

Federal Election Commission

Office: (202) 694-1351

Cell: (202) 322-3186