-- On 17 Sep 2001, at 7:54, Dr. Evil wrote:
Yes, there are no "sustainable" non-tracable remote payment systems in existence, and it's almost impossible for such a system to exist. Why? There are many reasons. One of the most obvious ones is that it would be so disruptive to the activities of so many very powerful institutions (tax collectors and law enforcement mainly) that they will shut it down, where ever it may be, as soon as it gets big enough to be on their radar. Staying small enough to be under the radar is also not a sustainable strategy
A sensible strategy is to set one up, stay small (micropayments) until the momentum starts building, then move to some place that still permits bearer bonds -- Antigua or Nauru. If they try to close you down in the micropayment stage, the judge, being unfamiliar with crypto anarchist theory, is likely to microfine you. The law is not concerned with trifles.
The more fundamental reason why an untracable payment system is unsustainable is that it will be used to pay for things which society (including all of us on the c'punks list probably) abhors, such as non-state-sanctioned murder-for-hire, and eventually the operator will be found and put out of business one way or another.
By this argument we should have abolished cash already. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG JFaP31zYOsi+UM+0wvKxy2yqIv9jQbGD7nvxEJog 4j+MeJE2wu3qTScZeQQkLBEBYFCVbWKXNMqDJamkE