<https://loom.cc/view/dbeea66e436bba06abbf48a696830808501fb5bd18c5e6038c9c896 43709ac05

Loom News What is Loom By Sandy Sandfort What the Heck is Loom? Before we discuss what Loom is, it might be a good idea to explain what Loom isn't. Loom isn't  digital money  an exchanger  an exchange provider  a way to trade physical assets  a system for tracking the ownership of assets Digital Money  Though Loom has been optimized to facilitate the creation of digital assets, it is the user who creates them. Loom is totally agnostic as to the nature of assets created by the user. Exchanger  Loom is not a market maker and takes no position in exchanged assets or other items. Exchange  Loom does not provide simultaneous exchange services. It only provides one-way transfers. The other half of an exchange must be performed in a separate transaction either within or without Loom. [Editor's note: Actually, the author of Loom has been planning a two- way internal asset exchange mechanism known as a "Vending Machine" for some time. It should be rolled out within a few months, probably by Sep 2009.] Trading System for Physical Assets  The map is not the territory. To the degree that Loom facilitates the transfer of assets, the only assets that can be transferred are digital ones. The trading of digital assets may or may not result in the exchange of real-world assets. Asset Tracking  To the extent that Loom is involved with assets, it only facilitates their transfer. It keeps track of nothing except digital locations. Loom Is Loom is an infrastructure for privately hiding and revealing secrets. Sorry, but that's it, that's the whole enchilada. Doesn't sound very impressive, does it? The Elegance of Loom Okay, you can reveal a secret to someone without using Loom. You can send an encrypted message or just whisper in their ear. With Loom, however, the secret gains a sort of persistence, transferability and flexibility not otherwise possible. Of course, it is optimized for monetization of digital assets and to facilitate their use in digital commerce. It can also be used, however, for whatever other interactions users invent. A secondary benefit is that Loom does not create a useful audit trail for snoopy third-parties. Now remember all the things we said Loom isn't? Well guess what. Loom can also assist in performing such functions. Digital Money  While Loom isn't a form of digital money, it facilitates the creation of digital money by providing an easy way to monetize digital assets. Exchanger  Loom is not a market maker for digital assets. However, it does provide a way for exchangers to do business with their customers. Just as important, exchangers can use Loom to lay off transactions among themselves quickly, easily and privately, thus increasing market liquidity and efficiency. Exchange  While not an exchange, per se, Loom is a simple and discreet way to perform part or all of exchanges of digital assets. Trading System for Physical Assets  Loom can assist in the direct trade of digital assets only. However, this does not mean it cannot play a role in the trade of physical assets. Digital assets such as the various forms of e-money, usually represent something tangible in the real world. So too, can it be with digital assets transferred in the Loom system. As in any use of digital assets, it ultimately becomes an issue of trust. Asset Tracking  This is something that Loom really cannot do. In fact, it is something it should not do. One of the major appeals of Loom, is that it provides its users with privacy in their transaction and a large degree of anonymity. Security Loom's security is based on three elements, the mathematics of really large numbers, open source software and server operator honesty. Math  Loom hides a client's secret in plain sight in one of 2128 (about 3.4x1038) digital locations. If you can guess where someone has stored his secret, it's yours. So how easy is guessing? Let's assume we want to hid a secret in a physical space. One cubic millimeter is pretty small but at least visible. So lets turn the entire bulk of the earth into one cubic millimeter information containers. Now imagine the problem trying to guess where a secret is hidden. Is it in a millimeter cube of iron at the center of the earth? Is it in a piece of ice at the top of Mount Everest? How about in that mug of beer in front of you at the restaurant? Finding that one particular cube isfor all intents and purposesimpossible. But there are far fewer than 2128 cubic millimeters in the earth. To have that many cubic millimeters would require about a third of a billion earths. Get the picture? Open Source  No software is perfect. Proprietary software is created and sold on the basis of security through obscurity. If no one can see the source code, then their will be no security breaches. Unfortunately, the history of proprietary software has long put the lie to that belief. Crackers have, do and will crack proprietary software. If you are running Windows, you are continually being sent security updates. These are almost never prospective. Each security update comes after the fact. A malicious cracker has found and exploited a flaw. Some user paid the price with their money or their privacy. Open source software is predicated on the demonstrable fact that there are more white-hat hackers than black-hat hackers. As a public service and for bragging rights, the white hatson their own time and dime pore over the source code of open source software, testing and probing in search of possible security flaws. When they find something, they shout if from the rooftops and it gets fixed immediately. Loom is not Enough Loom is very useful within in its primary function. However, there are ancillary services that could improve its usefulnessespecially for e- commerce. This is not a problem, but an opportunity. The existence and use of Loom create real opportunities for entrepreneurs to serve niche markets. Independent businesses that provide escrow, insurance and guarantor services immediately come to mind. However, the opportunities are probably endless. If you can figure out a way to better serve the Loom community, users will beat a path to your doorstep. References Volume of the earth is listed as 1.0832073 * 1012 cubic kilometres at Wikipedia.