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How to Make a Mint: The Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash (1997)

23 points by ethana 12y ago

nkurz 12y ago
In case anyone is confused on why this 1996 paper would be making the rounds on HN recently, it's because it's an official NSA publication that predates Bitcoin. There have been persistent rumors (mostly from the tin-foil hat wearers) that that NSA was involved in the creation of Bitcoin. While not evidence of any sort, this paper lends a bit more credence to that belief. Personally, (he says after checking that his hat is properly positioned to block the rays) I think it's a story worth considering. The NSA has people on staff with the skill to implement a cryptocurrency, and is one of the few organizations capable of creating Satoshi Nakamoto from thin air without making any major blunders so far. More info on the theory here: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/nsa-bitcoin-1996/ https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/nsa-bitcoin-1996/
- bravura 12y ago
  One wonders why, if the NSA were going to do this, they would publish on crypto-currency first. I didn't read the paper, but here's the last paragraph: "In conclusion, the potential risks in electronic commerce are magnified when anonymity is present. Anonymity creates the potential for large sums of counterfeit money to go undetected by preventing identification of forged coins. Anonymity also provides an avenue for laundering money and evading taxes that is difficult to combat without resorting to escrow mechanisms. Anonymity can be provided at varying levels, but increasing the level of anonymity also increases the potential damages. It is necessary to weigh the need for anonymity with these concerns. It may well be concluded that these problems are best avoided by using a secure electronic payment system that provides privacy, but not anonymity." I'm not sure what to take from that. In any paper, you know that most people will only read the intro and the conclusion.
  - exit 12y ago
    > Anonymity creates the potential for large sums of counterfeit money to go undetected by preventing identification of forged coins. the blockchain solves the problem of forged coins.
- yzzxy 12y ago
  I wonder what institutional[0] NSA motives could have been in the unlikely event there is a link. I'm guessing fundamental security weaknesses in BTC would have been discovered by now, so there's probably no hope of ensnaring thousands of criminals through some kind of bitcoin-based information channel. [0] Bitcoin could just as easily been a pet project of a crypto researcher employed at the NSA.
- irickt 12y ago
  So Bitcoin turns out to be the greatest sting ever conceived.
arthurcolle 12y ago
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1389&context=aulr https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?...

23 points by ethana 12y ago

nkurz 12y ago

In case anyone is confused on why this 1996 paper would be making the rounds on HN recently, it's because it's an official NSA publication that predates Bitcoin. There have been persistent rumors (mostly from the tin-foil hat wearers) that that NSA was involved in the creation of Bitcoin. While not evidence of any sort, this paper lends a bit more credence to that belief. Personally, (he says after checking that his hat is properly positioned to block the rays) I think it's a story worth considering. The NSA has people on staff with the skill to implement a cryptocurrency, and is one of the few organizations capable of creating Satoshi Nakamoto from thin air without making any major blunders so far. More info on the theory here: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/nsa-bitcoin-1996/ https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/nsa-bitcoin-1996/

bravura 12y ago
One wonders why, if the NSA were going to do this, they would publish on crypto-currency first. I didn't read the paper, but here's the last paragraph: "In conclusion, the potential risks in electronic commerce are magnified when anonymity is present. Anonymity creates the potential for large sums of counterfeit money to go undetected by preventing identification of forged coins. Anonymity also provides an avenue for laundering money and evading taxes that is difficult to combat without resorting to escrow mechanisms. Anonymity can be provided at varying levels, but increasing the level of anonymity also increases the potential damages. It is necessary to weigh the need for anonymity with these concerns. It may well be concluded that these problems are best avoided by using a secure electronic payment system that provides privacy, but not anonymity." I'm not sure what to take from that. In any paper, you know that most people will only read the intro and the conclusion.
- exit 12y ago
  > Anonymity creates the potential for large sums of counterfeit money to go undetected by preventing identification of forged coins. the blockchain solves the problem of forged coins.
yzzxy 12y ago
I wonder what institutional[0] NSA motives could have been in the unlikely event there is a link. I'm guessing fundamental security weaknesses in BTC would have been discovered by now, so there's probably no hope of ensnaring thousands of criminals through some kind of bitcoin-based information channel. [0] Bitcoin could just as easily been a pet project of a crypto researcher employed at the NSA.
irickt 12y ago
So Bitcoin turns out to be the greatest sting ever conceived.

arthurcolle 12y ago

https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1389&context=aulr https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?...