From: rah@shipwright.com (Robert Hettinga)
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 94 22:17:37 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: In Search of Genuine DigiCash
Message-ID: <199408280516.BAA15352@zork.tiac.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 11:09 AM 8/27/94 -0700, Eric Hughes wrote:


>One can consider that a digital cash exchange creates a delay between
>the two legs of the transaction.  In between the beginning and end,
>the transaction is suspended.  That's the sense of the word.

If you mean the transaction that occurs between the net as a whole and
underwriter. I agree. There may be lots of non-trivial transactions on the
net in the meantime, however. Nevertheless I'll keep using "suspension
account" until I'm disabused of it, for lack of a more descriptive word,
than for anything else.

>
>"Float" is a financial concept, not an accounting one or a legal one.
>The issues are greater than financial ones only, and the terminology
>needed is correspondingly greater.

As an aside, most finance professors consider accounting to be applied
finance. I expect that accountants don't take to that kindly, however.

"Float" reminds me of "kiting checks", for some reason, so I'm glad not to
use it now.

Cheers,
Bob Hettinga

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