Virtual Cash

[Eli Brandt]

> 	Money has value because we agree it has value.  As long as
> noone is willing to give me a meal, a nights lodging, or 30 minutes
> CPU time for some number of tacky tokens, they will be just that;

The simple model: I offer to accept U.S. dollars and hand out tokens
at a one-for-one rate.  I also promise to redeem them at the same
rate.

Unfortunately, nobody would trust me, and they'd be smart not to.
I'm not an established financial institution.  Not only might I
abscond with the money, I don't have the financial reserves to
cover redemptions and still make money on a no-fees system.  And
I don't know the laws involved, so you might lose out when I get
hauled off to jail.

Poll: assuming you had a use for FedNote-backed 100%-reserve digicash, 
what service fee would you be willing to pay, and how much money
would you be willing to leave in the hands of some random individual?

   Eli   ebrandt at hmc.edu