From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 05:25:49 +0800
To: Adam Shostack <adam@homeport.org>
Subject: Re: mirroring services, web accounts for ecash
In-Reply-To: <v03102805b0e09252f52e@[207.167.93.63]>
Message-ID: <v03102801b0e189685883@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 7:47 AM -0800 1/13/98, Adam Shostack wrote:

>	I think that a Silk Road system, where most of the money flows
>between neighbors, might be a useful model.  Its also worth

A flaw here is that the Real Silk Road (tm) had merchants up and down the
line knowing the value of what they were buying, the rugs, silks, spices,
gold, etc.

Extending this to a long series of "encrypted" items is much more
problematic. If the "final buyer" in "Damascus" ends up with a worthless
item, does he blame the seller in "Kabul" or the seller in "Tashkent" or
the seller all the way back the line?

I don't see a "Silk Road" chain as being any improvement over the direct
broadcast offer of a conventional Blacknet system.

>considering getting the US Government to build and operate most of
>Blacknet for us as a base for sting operations, much the way Arizona
>State police distributed $7m marijuana to get $3m in seizures.  Lots
>of people got to smoke, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Even less likely. (Though I did hear of some interest by the DoD in what
Blacknet could mean for their ability to keep secrets.)

And with full untraceability, it would hardly work for "stings." Unless
they could cause participants to trip themselves up and make mistakes,
revealing their true names. Unlikely after the first few publicized
mistakes.

--Tim May

The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."