17 Dec
2003
17 Dec
'03
11:17 p.m.
Pat Farrell says:
Because you lose most (all?) anonymous abilities. (I think) So when the money Alice gave to Bob gets deposited by TCMay, That it was Alice's is instantly known. This is not how physical cash works.
There is a chain from TCMay through some number of steps to Bob. Even if you can't find it with this single case, you could use a zero-knowledge type proof to slowly uncover Bob's identity.
I keep wanting to believe in ecash, but I'm not convinced it can exist.
Just a little humor... Perhaps Electronic Cash has a sound. Phone Phreakers have something called a Redbox. This device makes the sound of a quarter. When an ATT pay phone asks you to deposit $1.75 you just make the sound of 7 quarters... :)