In Canada, a Government-Backed Electronic Currency 248
An anonymous reader writes "Secure chips have already made it into our credit and debit cards. Next up, they could replace pocket change.The Royal Canadian Mint has been pushing forward with its "MintChip" prototype, a digital cash replacement aimed at transactions under $10, since it surfaced a year ago. The Crown corporation is factoring in developer feedback, hiring a product manager and consulting with the financial sector."
Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Insightful)
My credit card works fine on transactions below $10.
Where exactly is the need for this?
Re: (Score:2)
Well, for one thing, it is anonymous by design. Secondly, it is not tied to a bank account, so you could afford to lose this and your bank account would still be safe. Sounds good to me.
Devil is in the details, i.e., not allowing unathorized mods to the balance contained within the card, making sure debits and credits against the card work every time.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, for one thing, it is anonymous by design.
[citation needed]
According to Wikipedia it passes card IDs around in payment messages, which doesn't look very anonymous to me.
Re: (Score:3)
If you can buy the card with cash, it seems pretty anonymous.
Same as burner phones.
Re: (Score:3)
"Sounds good to me. Devil is in the details, i.e., not allowing unathorized mods to the balance contained within the card, making sure debits and credits against the card work every time."
The devil is right there. The question is why you don't see him.
If cash is replaced with an "all electronic" economy, you can take that moment and kiss your freedom goodbye. You have just given government and corporations control of ALL your money.
When was the last time they proved they can be trusted? Eh? It has been so long, I don't remember.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
My credit card works fine on transactions below $10.
Where exactly is the need for this?
Credit cards companies take a cut out of what merchants later get, and it's normally a percentage, but it is not unusual for there to also be a minimum transaction fee. So, small credit card transactions aren't good for retailers, since the lose an unusually high amount of money to the credit card company. ... in fact, in the states, July 2010's Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act recently legalized businesses setting a "minimum purchase with credit card" of up to $10.
Re: (Score:3)
I am not here to keep a store running profitably. Before that law normal agreements forbade that practice. Now, I just will not shop there.
If you want cash give me a better discount than my card does.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Their contracts probably forbid it. Credit card transaction fees are a race to the bottom (a sort of prisoner's dilemma). Because the cost of the fees are passed on to all the consumers (regardless of whether you pay cash or not), the only winning move as a consumer is to use your credit card (and get the "rewards"). The rewards, of course, are less than the fees, and the credit card companies bank the rest while you pay a hidden tax.
Because the market cannot correct this itself, this is exactly the thin
Re: (Score:2)
Because the market cannot correct this itself, this is exactly the thing that requires government intervention.
If I hadn't already commented, I'd mod this up. Not only is this a good spot for government intervention but it is an acceptable place. Providing electronic ways to transfer value is no different than creating physical dollars for transactions.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Informative)
If you want cash give me a better discount than my card does.
The CC companies specifically forbid this practice in the merchant agreement. Merchants cannot charge an additional fee for credit cards, and they cannot offer a discount for cash. Gas stations are normally exempted, and a few other low margin businesses may also be able to negotiate an exemption, but most shops are required to charge the same for cash and CCs, and just absorb the transaction fees as a cost of doing business.
Re: (Score:2)
Then as I cannot avoid the increased markup, my way is still the best.
I am not here to make someone else money.
Re: (Score:3)
" Merchants cannot charge an additional fee for credit cards, and they cannot offer a discount for cash."
They may not be able to charge a "fee", but they can and do raise their prices to compensate, so it amounts to the same thing.
The only difference is that cash customers end up helping to pay for the credit card transactions.
Re: (Score:2)
If a store can’t run profitability, then there will be no store, so you won’t be able to shop there.
Or, here is a different way to look at it. CC processors are an oligopoly with interests in keeping CC high, which hurt both the consumer and the shop owner. I tend to be on the free market / liberation side of things, but here is a case where the market is being distorted, and this seems to be a good experiment as breaking this oligopoly. It looks like it has some of the benefits of Bitcoins (bei
Re: (Score:2)
Oh noes, I shall have to find another store!
Perhaps order something online and have it shipped right to my home or office!
Unless this leads to reduced costs I would not give a damn. If this does not reduce the prices in the store, then it makes no difference to me.
I would be fine with even a tax paid for system to replace credit cards, but I will still use the credit card if I make out the best that way. That the merchant can't instead of won't give a discount for none credit card users does not matter to m
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think the stores actually want the business of the kinds of people who would raise a stink over not being able to pay for a $2 purchase with a credit card. If those kinds of customers are scared off, so much the better.
Re: (Score:2)
Cool, then I won't make a $200 purchase either.
No problem.
Stores for exactly the reason I listed do want $2 credit card users. They are the same people who make bigger purchases. Short of some rare occasions I don't carry cash. So I am not raising a stink, just walking out since I can't pay.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Informative)
Transaction fees. The policy for how this is handled varies from vendor to vendor, and some won't accept transactions below ten dollars at all. More obnoxiously, many put a 25 cent transaction fee on any direct bank debit (Interac) transaction under five dollars, and some will play with variations like 30 cents, or no limit, or something else. Supposedly this balances out the very small flat cost of all Interac transactions, but ultimately it means you're punished for using your card instead of coinage.
Otherwise, however, the debit system is quite successful, and some people can afford to not even have a credit card. If MintChip can genuinely avoid all transaction fees, it'll be the greatest thing since sliced bread for that alone.
Other goals of the system are account anonymity (a government building an anonymous financial system? say what?) and permitting arbitrary peer-to-peer transactions like PayPal... but with no intermediary. Unfortunately they have yet to figure out how to make people RTFA.
Re: (Score:3)
Afford not to have a Credit Card?
A credit card is more advantageous as you have more money. I get 1% back on most purchases and 5% back on some. I always pay it off every payday, so twice a month. So I am taking a loan with a negative interest rate. Why would you not borrow money, if the payoff was less than the loan?
I see by your UID you are new here, but on slashdot it is traditional to not read the article. Advanced users don't even read the summary.
Re: (Score:2)
I see by your UID that you are new here but on /. no one reads the article although we always criticise others for not doing so :-)
Re: (Score:2)
Most people should learn discipline. They should teach their children early. If you learn young it is easier.
A credit card cannot cost you money, it is not going out buying things while you are at work. It is not failing to make full payments each month. No matter if you are spending cash, debit, using checks or credit cards, you have to know how much you are spending.
This is very simple, watch close!
1. On payday move all money into interest bearing account.
2. Figure out amount you are willing to spend this
Re: (Score:2)
Well, the govt wants to finally close the tax hole on cash transactions.
No more will you be able to do casual transactions for cash and NOT be collecting taxes for it.
The electronic stuff is much more traceable, I imagine govt types have to reach for a tissue every time they think about getting rid of cash once and for all, and having every transaction fully traceable.
Re: (Score:3)
The article claims this to be an anonymous transfer method.
Also, you can always get foreign currency or gold, or silver, or some standard good. In some prisons canned fish became currency among prisoners because they were not allowed cash and no one wanted to eat the canteen's canned fish. So long as their are goods and services people want to buy without traceability they will find a way.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Insightful)
My credit card works fine on transactions below $10.
Where exactly is the need for this?
1. Credit cards do not do peer-to-peer payments. If my neighbor's kid mows my lawn, I cannot transfer $5 from my CC to his. If my daughter sets up a lemonade stand, she cannot accept CC payments.
2. Credit cards do not do anonymous transactions. Plenty (most?) people want to occasionally conduct transactions where neither the buyer nor seller disclose their identity.
3. Transaction fees. Visa and Mastercard charge high fees, and operate a cartel that keeps out competitors.
4. No assurance of payment. Even if the transaction is approved, the seller can still be subjected to a chargeback, and has no assurance of actually receiving the money.
Re: (Score:2)
1. There are lots of way to do exactly that. Paypal for one. There are even swipe attachments for smartphones.
2. It sounds like this card may not crack that nut. Since it sends cardID during the transaction you will have to replace cards frequently and never use them to pay something like a bill that shows who you are.
3. this will have to have some fees. Even if taxes pay them.
4. This is an advantage not a downside. If I get home and my widget is broken and you refuse to replace it I get my money back. Cash
Re: (Score:3)
I don't think a kid on a lemonade stand can officially accept paypal, isn't it 18 and older? Same with any merchant account which would let a kid mow a lawn or do all the normal things that kids can do for cash.
Re: (Score:2)
1. doubt many people have a paypal card, and many people don;t trust them.
2. anonymous transactions are overrated, but as long as its not an online transaction that is subject to all sorts of vetting, I'm ok with it.
3. just like cash, no fees, except what you pay in taxes in order to run the treasury and the mint.
4. Try going to a market stall and buy something really cheaply, if you get home and find its bust, you have yourself to blame. No big deal, you entered into the transaction knowing the risk. I'm s
Re: (Score:2)
I would be more likely to pay cash for a car than fruit.
For the car I likely have to go to the bank anyway for a bankcheck, so I might as well use cash.
Re: (Score:2)
We (Canadians) don't need this at all. All the major banks are rolling out tap-to-pay for their debit cards, which generally have a $50 limit by default. There is literally no point for the Mint to go anywhere near this.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So how do you buy something larger than $50?
You have to change payment methods?
I get charged $0.50 when I use my debit card. So I never use it as debit.
Re: (Score:2)
I get charged $0.50 when I use my debit card. So I never use it as debit.
I get 10 or 20 "free" debits a month, but never use debit except in emergencies. With debit, your cash is transferred out almost immediately. With credit, it's moved later. In theory, you'd get disputes resolved much easier if the merchant doesn't already have your cash.
Re: (Score:2)
So how do you buy something larger than $50?
Then you have to insert the same card into a card reader, authenticate with a PIN and then approve the transaction. For smaller payments you can skip all that.
I get charged $0.50 when I use my debit card. So I never use it as debit.
The problem isn't with the concept of debit payments, the problem is that your bank sucks.
Re: (Score:2)
I agree on that one.
I also shy away from it since you can't chargeback and no rewards. If they offered a discount I would use it.
It's about time (Score:2)
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:4, Informative)
They have too normally via their contracts. If they object and you can report them.
If you want cash, you have to give me a discount greater than my card gives me. I am not here to make your store profitable.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
A 3% charge is likely less than the cost of dealing with cash. It must be counted, moved to the bank, change must be brought back to the store and so on. It is also easy lost or stolen.
Lets not pretend CCs offer no value to the store.
Actually most places have made those clauses illegal or such that while they cannot have a free for CC use they can offer a rebate to cash customers.
Re: (Score:3)
"while they cannot have a free for CC use they can offer a rebate to cash customers"
I assume you mean a fee, not a free. In any case, that violates the terms and conditions that the merchant agrees to with their CC processor and they can face sanctions, higher fees or even just be dropped by the processor altogether if caught giving cash rebates. Some of the smaller merchants do it anyway and rely on the goodwill of their clientèle not to rat them out. Then some sanctimonious prick who objects to a
Re: (Score:2)
I thought the 2010 credit card reform stopped that.
Re: (Score:3)
The keyword is Canada. Not everything revolves around the US.
Re: (Score:2)
A 3% charge is likely less than the cost of dealing with cash. It must be counted, moved to the bank, change must be brought back to the store and so on. It is also easy lost or stolen.
Lets not pretend CCs offer no value to the store.
All true. I think the benefit of cash for the merchant is that it's easier to under report.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:4, Interesting)
A 3% charge is likely less than the cost of dealing with cash. It must be counted, moved to the bank, change must be brought back to the store and so on. It is also easy lost or stolen.
Lets not pretend CCs offer no value to the store.
All true. I think the benefit of cash for the merchant is that it's easier to under report.
One of the reasons I like using my CC (in addition to making it easier for me to track my spending) is that it makes it more difficult for the vendor to avoid reporting. I want my vendor to pay all those taxes and I want my wait-staff to report their tip earnings, and pay the taxes due thereby. Gotta keep that national deficit under control, eh?
One thing I find slightly funny is when someone says to me - "Hey - do you want to commit a crime with me? If you can pay me in cash, I won't charge you the sales tax. That way I can not report it as income, and thus avoid paying at least 30% while still being able to deduct all of my business expenses from the income that I do report. Oh yeah, and that will remove your ability to sue me for bad service or not actually doing the work, or any complaint really."
Actually they usually just say: "No tax if you pay in cash" and leave the rest "understood".
I usually respond with "How often do you think the average person informs on tax cheats via http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/nvstgtns/lds/menu-eng.html [cra-arc.gc.ca] ? I have used it a few times, it is oddly satisfying."
Actually I usually just say "No, I don't think so." and leave the rest "understood".
Re: (Score:3)
I can agree with the concept, but seriously, the wait-staff?
I usually try to not be a dick to the waiters/waitresses, especially in this economy.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Informative)
Actually ALL of those card benefits you receive come straight out of the merchant's pocket. Airmiles, purchase points and cash back are all being extracted from the merchants in addition to the CC fees which can be as high as 5% or more. There's a reason businesses prefer cash and why Interac is so popular in Canada with merchants as their fees are considerably lower.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Not you maybe, but most customers would want their merchants to stay in business. Businesses don't want people like you as a customer.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Insightful)
" If I can give him $100 and take $1 back vs giving him $100 and $0 back I know which I will select."
Then don't be surprised that the next time you go to the store you're paying $102 for the same amount of goods.... Merchants are there to make money, not run a charity. If the credit card fees and service fees gouge their margin, they'll get it back by passing it all along to us.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually I remember 30 years ago when most grocery stores didn't take credit cards, and it was an oddity when you found one that did. There's a reason why you always see bank ATMs in use, because credit cards are nowhere close to being a currency replacement.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Sure and I support that move.
This does not seem to fix that problem at all. Credit cards will still be in use doing their evil.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually you should care more than you want to. These bonuses and rewards are paid for by the merchant BUT guess who is paying the merchant for the rewards? You are! Nothing is free. Most Merchants inflate their prices to cover for these expenses. In the end all you are doing is keeping a marketing infrastructure alive by paying for it. Sure you get air miles or reward dollars but I assure you that you paid more than if you actually used your own money. It's a GIMICK and we are all fooled by it.
Re: (Score:3)
I can't get the money back any other way.
No matter what I do it costs the same so I might as well use the CC.
Classic tragedy of the commons. Only regulation can solve that. The regulation needs to allow different prices for different payment methods.
Re: (Score:2)
It already does. A gas station I frequent gives a 3-4 cent discount for paying by cash than by credit. In reality it's not a discount but the actual cost of the gas to me whereas their credit prices are higher to reflect the added cost of the transaction.
Oddly, almost everyone I see pays by credit which leads me to believe either people aren't aware of the price difference, don't care about the price difference or are t
Re: (Score:2)
Then why do I not see the same behavior in stores?
Gas stations I believe are generally allowed to do that only on gas by contract. Go check what they do for candy bars.
I imagine many people like me spend $40 total per month on gasoline. Which means even at $2/gallon prices only saving $7.20 yearly, which seems to not be worth bothering with cash.
Re: (Score:2)
If all else were equal more people would probably pay cash. But things are not equal. If you pay with a card there is no need to go into the store. If you pay with cash, you MUST go into the store. And once they have you in the shop, they can tempt you with all kinds of things you may not otherwise buy, or would buy somewhere much cheaper. Hmm, maybe I should get buy a coffee, soda, or water. Maybe a little snack would be good, etc. Furthermore, at least where I am, if you pay with cash you must pa
Re: (Score:2)
So you're saying our ADHD-adled society lacks self control and so to perpetuate the stereotype of those in the IT world shunning human contact, you'd rather keep spending more money. Got it.
Re: (Score:2)
Because they're charging you $3 extra. Sure, you get $1 of that back but you still lose out.
In the US there are a lot of gas stations that will give you a cash discount for this reason, and I often see places that have a minimum purchase requirement before accepting credit cards.
Re: (Score:2)
I pay no interest as I pay off the balance in the grace period. I have 28 days before interest begins to accrue.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you want cash, you have to give me a discount greater than my card gives me. I am not here to make your store profitable.
What an ass. Did you ever think for a moment that cutting out the retail bank as middleman could make life better for you, the merchant and society in general?
Re: (Score:2)
I don't have cash back on my card, but you would have to give me a hell of big discount to keep me from using my card. I don't care about the money, it about cash being a pain in the ass. (not literally, I carry my wallet in my front pocket, like a sane person)
Re: (Score:2)
s/credit/debit/
As a Canadian who ran a small business for a long time, we refused debit cards for small transactions as they have a fixed fee (We started at 50 cents but managed to negotiate it down to 15 cents over a few years). Credit cards have no fixed fee, but rather take a percentage (In our case, we started at a horrible 5% and negotiated it down to 1.9% for all but AmEx, which, like many Canadian businesses, we just stopped accepting). I had no problems running a credit card for a $1 purchase, aft
Re: (Score:2)
Ideally this would be a government function paid for by taxes the same way that minting coins was. Then this could replace the credit card system as it currently stands. While in the USA that would never happen because it would be called "Teh Socialisms", Canada might actually be able to get it done.
Re: (Score:3)
Then this could replace the credit card system as it currently stands.
Probably not. We've already got a replacement for the credit card systems called Interac. It's a direct debit transfer system with way lower fees than the credit card companies.
This would likely go in the niche currently partially occupied by Interac's Flash and e-transfer services, but be even simpler for small transactions.
Re: (Score:2)
Ideally this would be a government function paid for by taxes the same way that minting coins was. Then this could replace the credit card system as it currently stands.
As near as I can tell, minting coins and printing currency is at least self-supporting: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seigniorage&oldid=539786565#Seigniorage_today [wikipedia.org]
In some cases, national mints report the amount of seigniorage provided to their respective governments; for example, the Royal Canadian Mint reported that in 2006 it generated $C93 million in seigniorage for the Government of Canada.[6] The U.S. government, the largest beneficiary of seignorage, earned approximately $25 billion annually as of 2000.[7] For coinage only, seigniorage accruing to the U.S. Treasury per dollar issued for the fiscal year 2011 was 45 cents.[8]
Re: (Score:2)
So issue limited edition MintChips, and let the nuts collect those.
Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? (Score:5, Insightful)
agreed - cahs is very costly (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
mint shit (Score:3)
Re:mint shit (Score:5, Insightful)
I am so sure the BitCoin folks have no incentive or ideological basis that might taint their view of a workable solution other than their own.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Dude, I can totally hack that and make it output infinite cash.
Great. You are now a millionaire, nay a billionaire. Congrats.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like the Dutch "ChipKnip" (Score:2, Interesting)
Sounds a lot like the now pretty much dead "ChipKnip" scheme we had in the Netherlands. It wasn't practical; it died.
Comment removed (Score:3)
like the mafia, they want their cut and control (Score:4, Interesting)
the end game will be cashless society so banks and the government in their pockets get a piece of any action. If government labels you a "terrorist", your ability to buy, hold money and sell gets instantly revoked. convenient way to make everyone in an area come in for "questioning" just to get their "privileges" back
Re: (Score:2)
Can't happen.
Prisons prove this. They find some good to use as currency.
Re: (Score:3)
you mean goods that soon will all have embedded rfid in them?
Re: (Score:3)
So then people will place the item in the microwave for a couple seconds, or use gold, or silver, or shiny rocks or bottle caps.
Re: (Score:2)
anything without functional rfid will be considered counterfeit and violation of IP.
Re: (Score:2)
because putting them in livestock and produce and good from early manufacturing process onward is the stuff found only on wingnuts websites?
Re: like the mafia, they want their cut and contro (Score:2)
Shoes, tyres, etc already have them. Walmart love them for stock control - which means one in each carton at least, and then one each on high ticket items. They've experimented with pickup loops on the shelf, tracking stock in real-time. They've run commercials showing a man billed for all the items in his pockets via RFID - not showing their hand much...
Re: (Score:2)
Would you take Dr. Katherine Albrecht as a more authoritative source?
http://www.katherinealbrecht.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=102%3Afirst-chapter-of-qspychips-how-major-corporations-and-government-plan-to-track-your-every-move-with-rfidq&Itemid=94 [katherinealbrecht.com]
Just because it's on infowars, doesn't mean it's wrong.
Re: (Score:2)
Check out the video "Money as Debt".
The bankers and government already get their piece. It's the nature of the whole debt-based money system.
The vast majority of the money supply is created by private banks in the form of loans. The money itself is a debt instrument which has been borrowed from the bankers and has an interest obligation. Thus, the game is already rigged in their favor.
It's the greatest scam in the history of the world. Bankers have usurped the monetary power from almost every sovereign
just copy Hong Kong or Japan (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
we have the Octopus card in Hong Kong which works for convenience stores, subway and other transportation fees, and some retailers like Starbucks or our local supermarkets. it can only be topped up to 500HKD($64.43USD) at any convenience store or subway station and is anonymous.
While the card itself isn't linked to you by name and so can be passed around, wouldn't paying for the top-up require credit card or some other electronic funds transfer which could be linked to you (or someone close to you if they're topping it up)?
I suppose you could withdraw $500HKD in actual cash, then use that to pay for the top-up, but that kind of defeats the purpose of these cards...
Re: (Score:2)
The Japanese, for instance, love cash. And when you top up a Suica card, it's done at the train station and they take bills directly, I have no idea if it's even possible to use a card.
It might be an inconvenience to take cash and put it on the card, but it's a
I was part of the original MintChip challenge (Score:5, Informative)
After trying to get them to support Linux and even offering to do the development to get it to work with Linux they informed me that the hardware requires a binary blob and that Linux would never be supported.
Some other developer also found an easy way to pull money off the chip without permission using a bit javascript and I wasn't too impressed with the design and security.
There's a hard limit (1000?) transactions per chip so once you go over you need a new chip. I found that quite odd but maybe that's the limit to the amount of transactions this "anonymous" cash system can hold.
Paperless Economy = Paperless Voting (Score:2)
Just another debit card (Score:2)
âoeToday, people obviously use coins. They use bits of metal and bits of paper. "
Really? I doubt it. I for one hardly ever even carry cash. I always just use my debit card.
I honestly dont see the difference between this and a debit card as this system still uses a "broker" in the middle that knows the value of your account. other than this is more limited in its use (to $10).
Only If they came up with a way to eliminate the need for an account with the man in the middle then it would be a replacement
do not want (Score:2)
A government run, patented, closed source electronic currency = do not want.
Remember Mondex? Or Visa Cash? Thought not... (Score:2)
Mondex [wikipedia.org] was released before that, and was more sophisticated in that it allowed card to card transactions. This too was trialled in multiple locations.
Both have disappeared pretty much without a trace, usurpe
Secure? (Score:2)
Not hardly, this site even had a story with the title "Smartphone Used To Scan Data From Chip-Enabled Credit Cards". There is also the Cambridge chip and PIN attack from 2010. It's all just a matter of time before getting your Credit Card defunded becomes widespread. It never ceases to amaze me at the amount of people so ignorant as to put their entire trust and own life in the hands of Technology; when Technology has proven to us it's unreliable nature.
Re: (Score:3)
It looks like a linuxgerian scam...
Re: (Score:2)
This is a copypasta troll.
He spams this shit in many stories everyday.
Not sure why.
Re: (Score:2)
We already have electronic money, it's called a debit card
And they require a bank account, require the receiver to have a merchant account of some kind, and often have high transaction fees for small payments.
Re: (Score:2)
If it's government controlled or directly backed by USD, what's the advantage vs. a debit card?
If it was run by a private entity and backed by PMs, how would it avoid the same sort of government crackdown that we saw with e-gold or the liberty dollar?
The banker government is very jealous of its debt-based money monopoly. They won't hesitate to use violence against anyone who might provide an alternative. If Bitcoin operated under centralized control, they would have sent in the armed goons and shut it dow
Re: (Score:2)
In a same way that a bank employee can spend your cash anonymously I imagine.