Crypto and anon escrow are largely irrelevant to the world market in assasinations, nuclear terrorism or whatever. To put my response to the whole 'HIT MEN' thread very concisely: 1. 'crypto anarchy' does make it easier for people to _hire_ murderers. It does NOT make it any easier to _commit_ murders. 2. it may be difficult for an escrow agency to have good reputations among murderers as well as doctors. I agree with Sandy that people don't bother only about reputations for specific activities, but consider organizations as a whole. However, reputations as I defined them in my "Social punishment" posts are clearly valid within possibly independent social units. You may have a good reputation with murderers but not with Aunt Maud. 3. Sandy says (2) leads to agencies with limited clientele, therefore higher rates, therefore more fraud. Narcotic drug trafficking is a $500 BILLION annual industry (HDR 1994). Part of the high cost is the 'illegal' and possibly 'immoral' status of the trade. This does not necessarily mean an unsustainable market - indeed it's one of the world's fastest growing businesses. Nor do the high premia result in unsustainable levels of fraud. I wouldn't put my money in a bank run by the Cali cartel, no matter how unlikely they are to ever fail. But enough people in the drug business trust them. Enough people trust the shady runner in the New York alley. 4. A agency only need to have a good reputation with its _clients._ It doesn't matter that others hold the agency in poor regard. Conversely, the agency _needs_ a good reputation with its clients, it doesn't matter that others hold it in _high_ regard. To conclude, I don't believe that crypto anarchy will significantly change the _amount_ of murders and such crimes. Or even the ability of the law enforcement to solve them (even without crypto, hardly any murders are solved by tapping phones). Crypto anarchy will only make it possible to be involved in such activity from anywhere in the world, just as cyberspace will enable lots of others to interact more conveniently. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rishab Aiyer Ghosh "Clean the air! clean the sky! wash the wind! rishab@dxm.ernet.in take stone from stone and wash them..." Voice/Fax/Data +91 11 6853410 Voicemail +91 11 3760335 H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA