6 ms·
The difference here is that the Euros you're working with can't be held digitally as actual stored value. You can't carry them with you, and they must at all ti
by emhs 14y ago
The difference here is that the Euros you're working with can't be held digitally as actual stored value. You can't carry them with you, and they must at all times be tied to an identity. With true digital currency, you're not tied to someone else's server for transactions. You can make the exchange in person, no trusted third party required. Your Euros require a trusted bank to hold your Euros, and a trusted country issuing them.
- sesqu 14y agoThere have been schemes with cards that you can load digital currency to and off of, that to my understanding remove the server from the transaction. They still don't let you give ¤5 to your kid, but they're a step in that direction. It's just that no one wanted them. I'm not certain that they didn't need servers, I merely believe so.
- brian_cloutier 14y agoJust a small clarification, you can't carry bitcoins with you either. Bitcoins are not little pieces of information you can hold on a thumb drive, but an agreement by the network that a certain balance belongs to some address. You are absolutely tied to a server for transactions, and there is a trusted third party required. That third party is the bitcoin network itself. It is impossible to make a bitcoin transaction while offline because making a transaction means updating the state of the network, not merely giving somebody information.