Re: In Search of Genuine DigiCash

At  7:45 PM 8/27/94 -0400, Perry E. Metzger wrote:
>Eric Hughes says:
>>    >If there were already a fully identified digital money system,
>>
>>    Is there one?
>>
>> I don't think there is any digital money system at all, neither
>> anonymous nor fuly identified.
>>
>> There certainly are digital funds transfer systems, almost all fully
>> identified.  These are not digital money systems, although they may be
>> precursors.
>
>The U.S. banking system is largely a "digital money system" in the
>sense that the bulk of the money in the system is represented in book
>entry form in computer systems and has no other existance.

I suppose what I meant was is there any fully identified offline digital
cash system in the literature. I haven't heard of any from secondary
sources, like around here, or from my cursory reading of Schneier, for
instance.

The penalty for imprecision on a mail-list of scientists is blown
bandwidth.  My apologies.

Cheers,
Bob Hettinga

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rah@shipwright.com (Robert Hettinga) writes:

>I suppose what I meant was is there any fully identified offline digital
>cash system in the literature. I haven't heard of any from secondary
>sources, like around here, or from my cursory reading of Schneier, for
>instance.

"Fully identified cash" is not widely discussed in the literature because
it is (relatively) trivial, and here because it is not privacy
protecting.  "Fully identified cash" is equivalent to a check made out to
"cash".  All you need is a signed directive to your bank to transfer
money from your account number such-and-such to the bearer.

Such "cash" can be used on-line if the receiver sends it to the bank
right away and gets confirmation that the money has been transferred from
your account (that there were sufficient funds to cover the check, etc.).
It can be used off-line if the receiver checks your ID so that he knows
if the check bounces he can sue you or press charges.

See?  You already have all the technical requirements for your fully
identified cash by firing up PGP or RIPEM.  Just find a bank which will
honor your signed messages.  The CommerceNet people implied that such
payment options might be forthcoming.

Hal