digital cash/legal tender

[Perry E. Metzger]

F_GRIFFITH at ccsvax.sfasu.edu says:
>   In order for electronic money to be true cash, it must be able to
> circulate from Alice to Bob to Carl to Dave without the need to
> contact the issuing bank.  Otherwise, it is merely an electronic
> check, perhaps anonymous.

No digicash system can possibly operate under this constraint. Mere
numbers, unlike gold, can be duplicated. Without some sort of central
verification involved the techniques cannot work. I suppose "true"
digitcal cash by your definition is impossible.

Perry