From: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Dec 95 12:33:26 PST
To: Jon Cooper <jcooper@virtu.sar.usf.edu>
Subject: Re: More FUD from First Virtual
Message-ID: <2.2b8.32.19951208203419.006933d4@panix.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 02:52 PM 12/8/95 -0500, Jon Cooper wrote:

>   The US government can stop it.  It is irrelevant what *should* stop 
>it, but it's extremely useful to note that the US government's political 
>climate of paranoia and FUD in general will certainly not allow truly 
>anonymous cash systems inside of our country in the forseeable future.

But who's going to ask?  If an anonymous payment system springs up outside
the US, we can use it as a store of value if nothing else or for shopping
overseas. 
Domestically, we can convert non-anonymous payment systems into
semi-anonymous ones.  What counts is difficulty of transaction and market
demand not legal structure.  Thus, about five minutes after the "temporary
VISA card" travelers check substitutes are issued, I can start selling them
for (discounted) cash to all comers.  Likewise Ecash laundry servers letting
anonymous people use non-anonymous Ecash.

It remains to be seen how much customers value anonymity.  There should be a
niche market in any case.

DCF

"Every man his own ISP."