David Chaum: imagine 35 and a half years ago...
The NSA was trying to block all public research in cryptography. This was disturbing to graduate students in Berkeley, the home of free speech.
...in the front row were all the NSA people, only listing addresses as Maryland.
"By paying $100 to come to this conference you have become a member of the International Association for Cryptological Research."
"By paying $100 to come to this conference you have become a member of the International Association for Cryptological Research."
"What I called a digital bearer instrument - if you had the number, you had the money."
In the day, blinded signature was described with ‘carbon paper’ that allowed the impression of the bank’s seal to be pressed through an envelope onto paper inside the envelope, unseen by the bank.
The criminal use of payments systems by BIS was defined as the use for bribery, extortion or black markets - schemes where intractability was a big problem for society ...
with cash, both payer and payee had protected privacy, whereas for blinded cash only the payer’s privacy was protected, which made blinded cash useless for those crimes.
"Why did I push eCash out to the world in those days?
Because the public would come to understand and expect the ability to protect their own privacy with cryptography."
Because the public would come to understand and expect the ability to protect their own privacy with cryptography."
