๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ซ๐จ ๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐
๐๐ ๐ซ๐ฆ โ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐ช?
Since the topic automatically resonates and I don't feel like illuminating it in the actual analysis, I'll put it in a Part 1. Obviously Wall of Text incoming.
For the "I have nothing to hide faction" I refer to a Snowden quote.
๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ.
Do we have that out of the way now. Who currently pays does this idR with cash or digitally via a EC / credit card. While with a cash payment in most cases very few data result* the digital payment methods always leave a data trace. Whether or not there is currently a "malicious" effort to abolish cash is irrelevant at this point. The question is rather how will payments be made in the future and what impact will this have?
If we assume that digital payments will prevail in the future, then the next question is in what form? We don't need to fool anyone, EC cards are on their way straight to the dump. ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ค๐๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง (many are just debit cards, but let's not make it more complicated than it is) are available from a variety of vendors, and their functionality can basically be lumped together in a simplified way. There is some sort of value attached to the card, this is converted via the card operator if necessary and routed to a payee. What value is behind the card is quite unimportant. It can be a credit line or a positive sum of any currency or currency substitute. Meaning whether you make a payment with euros, dollarinos, bitcoin, Chuck E cheese tokens or anything else doesn't matter. The card operator as a (simplified) middleman takes the input value and distributes it, after deducting fees, converted if necessary. In the process, this intermediary receives data for this transaction. In reality, this middleman consists of several stations and information on this payment transaction is also available at the payee. How the data is handled varies from country to country. However, the desirability of this data exists everywhere.
๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ, ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ง ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐รค๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ง. With the existence of cash as an alternative, too excessive evaluation is probably not something that is carried forward in a big way at this time.
Methods that try card payment to reduce the information at the payee or intermediaries are good, but miss a basic problem. ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ครถ๐ง๐ง๐๐ง. Since a sufficiently powerful state can force the central authority (simplifying the card providers) to cooperate.
So the obvious question now is, can you reliably process payments without a central authority? Yes you can. Bitcoin does it. Not so famously in Layer 1, which is why there is the Lightning Network (LN) as a Layer 2 solution. Hardly anyone will dispute that fast, inexpensive payments are possible via the LN. The basic problem with Bitcoin, however, is that Layer 1 is extremely open to analysis and the LN is currently still under development and we have to wait and see where the journey will take us.
Therefore, in the next part we will see if and how Layer 1 of a blockchain can be made more resistant to analysis and what else speaks for / against Monero.
Part 2: https://app.getquin.com/activity/tzibEgwsNA
Full Snowden quote:
Some might say "I don't care if they violate my privacy; I've got nothing to hide." Help them understand that they are misunderstanding the fundamental nature of human rights. Nobody needs to justify why they "need" a right: the burden of justification falls on the one seeking to infringe upon the right. But even if they did, you can't give away the rights of others because they're not useful to you. More simply, the majority cannot vote away the natural rights of the minority.
But even if they could, help them think for a moment about what they're saying. Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.
A free press benefits more than just those who read the paper. [1]
* Theoretically, cash could be tracked by using fingerprints or genetic traces during payment transactions. Similarly, bills have serial numbers that can be tracked. However, aside from ransomware and the like in criminal cases, cash tracking via serial numbers is, to my knowledge, rather anecdotal. See [0]
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_bill_tracking
