This is a digital payment scheme that respects the customers privacy, when buying from merchants. The alternative besides a cryptocurrency, would be a prepaid c

This is a digital payment scheme that respects the customers privacy, when buying from merchants. The alternative besides a cryptocurrency, would be a prepaid cc you buy with cash in a store, but then VISA knows everything you buy with it, whereas this system the payment provider (the "mint") and merchant are separated. If you directly buy things with SEPA then your bank knows everything you buy. This allows for lawful payments, allows any company to become a mint (no payment monopolies) and is free software so you can make your own wallet client and not have to rely on proprietary software wallet apps. People can still become a black market escrow, keep creating new merchants and facilitate user to user transactions unless there is some kind of cost or identification required to accept Taler payments, or exchange Taler for bitcoin. US law makers will likely try to prohibit Taler though if any online gambling accepts it as payment, for example Paysafecard had to design a special UIGEA compliant card in order for it not to be able to be plugged into a gambling site to get into the US payments market. Speaking of bitcoin pretty much every online exchange will start accepting Taler, then they aren't so exposed to banks shutting them down and can trade in any currency.