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Financial Anonymity and Privacy with DMT?
An anonymous reader asks: "I'll have to quote a fellow cypherpunk to give my question the correct framing:
'...this is a time when the world needs these services more than ever. In crises there is a tendency for repressive governments to crack down on communications and free access to information. Lately the fear of terrorism has eroded many rights we took for granted. One of those rights, financial privacy and anonymity is disappearing fast, as the US takes steps to stop the movement of terrorist funds. There is a system out there that might help slow the erosion of rights: DMT. Might it be a solution to the erosion of financial privacy and anonymity?"
Has anyone used this system, or know of organizations that do? What magnitude of money flows in and out, and are there enough users to afford decent anonymity?"
"DMT was launched a few years back:
'The Digital Monetary Trust is a computer system and mechanism that gives users the ability to hold assets anonymously, along with the ability to anonymously transfer these assets to other parties. You can think of a DMT customer account as an anonymously-held checking account (in which the customer is anonymous both to the bank and to other people), but one which allows the customer to write checks to third parties (and these third parties will also be anonymous to the bank and the outside world; in fact, you can even arrange for the receiver of your check to be anonymous to you also).'Since then there has been very little public discussion about its security, anonymity, and use.
Has anyone used this system, or know of organizations that do? What magnitude of money flows in and out, and are there enough users to afford decent anonymity?"
does the system involve hallucinogens?
What good is it if your assets are locked into a system that can lose them without recourse? Who do you sue if the system wipes out your account? If people can't turn to the government for help in such situations, they won't use it. The government doesn't want people to use it, so they won't help. Hell, PayPal is only quasi-legal and on the edge of being shut down as it is -- what makes you think the government is going to allow DMT?
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
2. ???
3. Profit
So, of course, the existing 'banking' system will fight this tooth and nail because it would take away from *their* profits.
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
It's called cash, that's why it still exists. Unless they start RFIDing greenbacks, I don't see why we need anything else. You may also search Google for "Swiss Bamk Accounts" if you need to laund^H^H^H^H^Hmove lots of cash out of the country.
How about cash? Silver and gold coin?
Most everyone accepts gold and silver, even if it's half of market value....Fed Notes aren't even near half of market value.
For EVERYONE who has used freenet in the last 2 months, and have either gave up, or gotten fed up with it, i would ask you try this out. It is a fork of freenet based off the Prodnet build of a while back... It is reaching it's 3rd release, and is functioning quite well(yes, it actually works!). Join IIP's #freenetfork channel to ask questions.
NOTE: for those serious about their anonymity, be warned that the network is small at the moment, with a larger userbase anonymity scales, but be careful what you put on their early on.
Last I heard the swiss have started bowing to pressure and reporting to your government what you have. I suppose a lot of money could still buy them off, but for most of us swiss banks no longer shield your money from your governement.
There are a few countries that do still shield your money, but they are not as stable as the Swiss. Half of what the swiss give you is a bank that as been around for a few hundred years and plans to remain open for a few hundred more. (they do however go out of buissness once in a while, I'm not sure what protection you have)
HURR HURR DMT HURR!!11!1!11!!!
--------8<------cut here----->8---------
I think that most people here realize that DMT is a drug. We were having a nice conversation before you you went for the cheap, drug related pun.
Thank you, and please continue your Wal-Martization of America.
From reading the DMT docs, it seems that the number of uses would greatly affect the security and anonymity of the system.
Until a system like this is embraced by companies/people willing to take payment from DMT. All funds must be removed from the system before they can be utilized.
If the number of uses is small then monitoring of the network and of transfers in and out could provide enough information to link transactions to users.
I like the idea though, i can't wait till the day when true anonymous money is possible.
Funnily enough the idea has already been used for Bin Laden and Saddam.
Assassination Politics
1. Why would anyone use this sort of system? Do you really care that the government knows what sort of underwear you buy? Doesn't Walmart already have this sort of information? How about affinity/reward cards? What legitmate purpose, besides "I don't want the goverment to know because I don't trust them" argument, would you have for using this system?
2. If you do use this thing, don't you think that it would raise big time flags to every single goverment organization and have every open aspect of my life under the microscope?
3. How useful is this since you can't pay every day things (lunch, bills, rent) with it?
4. If big evil org. wanted to track you they can with or without this system. e.g. -
In the middle of this page:
http://www.orlingrabbe.com/DMT_simple.htm
He talks about a keylogger used to crack encrypted files, but then he doesn't specify how this system prevents this from happening.
5. Isn't this system the big single point of failure? I don't know where its located but if I was an organization couldn't just get a court order to get the information I want? Couldn't I bribe/beatup/hack the infomration I want? With swiss bank privacy at least that is in their constitution.
5. Even if you still think its a good idea, why not just buy gold coins? The ultimate non-reliance on any organization/system.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
I dont think it would be implimented in a normal legal bank. It would work if you were say the mafia or a large organized crime ring in a foreign country. They have the trust--fear factor to get it big enough to work. They could offer the service to normal people to have it be a front, but not, it would be used to move both legal and illegal funds.
Some claim that dimethyl-triptamine will show you the secrets of the universe; I, however, doubt that it will help you with your finances.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso