[p2p-research] Open Transactions: untraceable digital cash

[Michel Bauwens]

On Mon, Nov 29, 2010 at 3:35 PM, Fellow Traveler <
fellowtraveler at rayservers.net> wrote:

> WHAT IS 'Open Transactions' ?
>
> It's a solid, easy-to-use, FINANCIAL CRYPTO and DIGITAL CASH LIBRARY.
> Including an operational API, SERVER and CLIENT.
>
> Featuring:
>    -- Untraceable Digital Cash (real blinded tokens).
>    -- Pseudonymous User Accounts ('account' == PGP key).
>    -- Many Financial Instruments (cheques, cash, vouchers, invoices...)
>    -- Anyone An Issuer (Ricardian-style Contracts)
>    -- Triple-Signed Receipts
>    -- Basket Currencies
>    -- NEW! Markets with Trades
>    -- NEW! Payment Plans
>    -- NEW! Native API for Java, Ruby, Python, PHP, Perl, C,
>       C++, Objective-C, C#, Tcl, and LISP
>    -- NEW! XmlRpc/HTTP transport layer (build option)
>    -- Soon: Stocks that pay dividends, Bonds that pay interest,
>       and even Collateralized Debt Obligations.
>    -- Soon: 2-D Barcodes to make possible 'Any screen a cash
>       register' and 'Any camera phone a customer.'
>
> Please see the Project page:
> http://github.com/FellowTraveler/Open-Transactions/wiki
>
> FAQ:
> http://github.com/FellowTraveler/Open-Transactions/wiki/FAQ
>
> Business Cases:
> http://github.com/FellowTraveler/Open-Transactions/wiki/Business-Cases
>
> Release Notes:
> http://github.com/FellowTraveler/Open-Transactions/wiki/Release-Notes
>
>
> "Seeking developers to contribute by writing client software and
> doing other integrations!  I will support you on the OT API. Let's
> make this happen!" -Fellow Traveler
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> The server itself is a transaction processor in the cypherpunk
> tradition. In more detail:
>
> -- Many financial instruments are supported: Users can write
> cheques, purchase cashier's cheques ('vouchers'), and withdraw in
> untraceable digital cash. The software uses Chaumian-style, blinded
> tokens courtesy of the Lucre library by Ben Laurie.
>
> -- It's like PGP FOR MONEY. The idea is to have many cash
> algorithms, not just Lucre. I'd like to add Chaum's version, Brands'
> version, etc. So that, just like PGP, the software should support as
> many of the top algorithms as possible, and make it easy to swap
> them out when necessary.
>
> -- User accounts are pseudonymous. A user account is a public key.
> (This is like PKTP.) You can open as many user accounts as you want.
> Full anonymity is possible only for 'cash-only' transactions (where
> users only perform token exchanges), whereas pseudonymity means that
> transactions can be linked to the key that signed them. (While the
> real life identity of the owner is hidden, continuity of reputation
> becomes possible.)
>
> -- ANY USER CAN ISSUE new digital currencies and digital asset
> types, by uploading the new currency contract to the server. (This
> functionality is comparable to Ricardo, the transaction server by
> IanG.)
>
> -- Triple-Signed Receipts. Client and server are able to agree on
> balances while simultaneously not storing any transaction history.
> No digital assets can ever be transferred or withdrawn without an
> authorizing signature from the account owner. (Account transfers are
> received via inbox. See Bill St. Clair's excellent Trubanc for an
> example of this.)
>
> -- Open Transactions also features MARKETS. Any two asset types can
> be traded against each other. The markets are full-featured and
> include LIMIT ORDERS, STOP ORDERS, FILL-OR-KILL orders, DAY orders
> (date ranges), and stop limits.
>
> -- Open Transactions also supports BASKET CURRENCIES. Users can
> define their own, and the server handles the process of exchanging
> in and out of basket accounts. Baskets are treated by the software
> like any other asset type, (you can open accounts, transfer funds,
> withdraw cash, write cheques, and even trade basket currencies on
> markets.)
>
> -- Open Transactions also supports PAYMENT PLANS. Users can sign
> contracts with each other, and the server will carry out the terms
> and implement the payment plan. (A future goal is to issue new asset
> types based on revenue from payment plans--so they can also be
> traded on markets.)
>
> -- CONTRACTS, in general, are very important to Open Transactions;
> they are the building block of the entire library. Open Transactions
> uses a Ricardian-style contract, and all the various instruments,
> data files, and messages resemble PGP-signed XML files. All objects
> serialize to a string.
>
> -- The philosophy of the software is based around the SEPARATION OF
> POWERS (issuers and transaction servers being separate entities --
> See Loom for another example of this.) as well as the DISTRIBUTION
> OF RISK. For example, Asset accounts can be distributed across
> multiple servers, and asset types can be distributed across multiple
> issuers (via baskets.)
>
> -- Future (possible or planned) instruments include:
> interest-bearing bonds, dividend-paying stocks, and Collateralized
> Debt Obligations. The CDOs work by grouping a tranch of payment
> plans together so that the payments flow into an internal server
> backing account (for a new issuer account, to issue the shares in
> the CDO.) This is similar to how basket currencies are implemented.
> The shares can then be traded on markets like any other asset type.
> Stocks and Bonds will also do their payouts via a similar mechanism.
> These features aren't available yet, but they are easy to add given
> the existing OT infrastructure.
>
> -- All communications are secured with OpenSSL. All messages are
> also signed and encrypted. All transactions require signatures from
> relevant parties including the server.
>
> -- Open Transactions is open-source, written in C++,
> object-oriented, and includes a high-level API in Java, Ruby,
> Python, C, C++, Obj-C, C#, Lisp, Perl, PHP, and Tcl. (Also
> supporting JRuby, Jython, and any other language available on the
> JVM.)
>
> -- The software is fully cross-platform: Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD,
> Android, and Windows are supported with makefiles, project files,
> and instructions.
>
> -- The library is transfer-protocol neutral as well as storage
> neutral, and could be utilized across a variety of different
> transfer protocols and storage systems. (The current test server and
> client use SSL for transfer in addition to XmlRpc/HTTP, and they use
> the filesystem for storage.)
>
> The intention is for this software to be integrated as many places
> as possible... Games, digital cash wallets, distributed data stores,
> secure voip apps, anonymous bit torrent networks, mixnets,
> remailers, nym servers, etc. There are many other potential uses.
>
> This product includes software developed by Ben Laurie for use in
> the Lucre project.
>



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