[kwlug-disc] Bank of Canada launching public consultations on a digital dollar

[CrankyOldBugger]

In the end, no matter what system we use, be it paper or digits, it will
still be unfairly distributed.

On Fri, May 12, 2023 at 4:33 PM Doug Moen <doug at moens.org> wrote:

> > I'm unclear on how you implement truly anonymous digital cash that
> > doesn't undergo Bitcoin style inflation. Is it possible to have true
> > anonymity and still peg the value to the Canadian dollar? ...
>
> NM, the probable solution to my problem is to use physical hardware, just
> as the original MintChip was physical hardware. So you carry a card that is
> charged with a certain amount of cash, and you can exchange money using a
> local and anonymous process. Bitcoin can't be anonymous because the
> blockchain is public. But a hardware implementation can also prevent cash
> from being duplicated, without the cash balance in your wallet being public
> knowledge, so a blockchain isn't needed. If you can transfer cash to and
> from a MintChip at an ATM, then there is a loss of privacy at that
> interface, but it's no better or worse than cash. Two people with MintChips
> could exchange digital cash without loss of privacy. using a card to card
> crypto protocol.
>
> This system could be equivalent to physical cash from a privacy and
> freedom perspective, without some of the downsides of Bitcoin. Like, it
> could support truly anonymous transactions, and it could be pegged to the
> Canadian dollar, so you don't have the insecurity of a wildly volatile
> currency.
>
> MintChip also supported online transactions. That could still be anonymous
> if there is a secure protocol for exchanging cash between MintChips that
> just happens to run over the internet in this case. You would need a
> MintChip physically plugged into a server for this to work for purchasing
> from an E-store.
>
> The MintChip web site says that it worked just as I was describing. I
> remember blog posts and stories revealing that it was all a false front
> government scam surveillance play, but maybe that was propaganda and I fell
> for it. Dunno.
>
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