Re: [i2p] The Problem With Anonymous Money

Yodel is to a large degree pseudonymous. We can hold pseudonymous people
accountable to a degree. But as I have explained in my other email, the
traditional model of banking is _not the only way to do it_. A
distributed model can work well enough - even without coinage, virtual
or otherwise.

On Thu, Oct 13, 2005 at 07:01:21AM +0000, Polecat wrote:
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> Both parties can't be simultaneously anonymous.
> 
> Consider that Yodel bank has an IP address, founders, maintainers,
> administrators, controllers.  All of these people can be found with
> minimal effort from the state, even in our current governments.  Yodel,
> and other "anonymous" banks, have the weakness that the bank itself is
> not anonymous.  It can't be anonymous.  If it were anonymous, you would
> send your money to it, and then it would evaporate and you'd never see
> your money again.
> 
> Accountability, anonymity, they don't mix.
> 
> Now, that doesn't rule out an anonymous bank.  It is technically
> possible to have an anonymous bank.  In fact to a degree, most paper
> currency is an anonymous bank.  But even bills have serial numbers, and
> the problem with Yodel and such is, once they started succeeding, to
> protect their interests the corporates would require under pain of law
> that the bank, and all banks, keep track of their money.
> 
> So, what if someone uses a Yodel account /as/ a bank?  Well that doesn't
> work either, because if Yodel gets wind that Yodel2 is not keeping
> records, serial numbers, etc, then Yodel2's account will be frozen under
> pain of law, because the original Yodel will be forced to do so by the
> authorities.
> 
> It's a chicken and egg problem.  Supposing two anonymous people want to
> transact. One has a transmittable product. The other has anonymous
> e-cash.  Who sends their end of the bargain first?  That's why we cannot
> hold anonymous people accountable, and therefore cannot participate in
> transactions of money.
> - --
> polecat - get in touch with your primal ferret
> pgp key at http://polecat.i2p/polecat.asc
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-- 
Matthew J Toseland - toad-EI5O+8PHWbJeeLb3ft/[email protected]
Freenet Project Official Codemonkey - http://freenetproject.org/
ICTHUS - Nothing is impossible. Our Boss says so.

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