Bitcoin Forum

Hopkins researchers are creating an alternative to Bitcoin

Inside a drab computer lab at the Johns Hopkins University, a team of researchers is trying to build something that has never existed before: a digital currency that changes hands completely in secret. Its name is Zerocoin.

The untraceable currency is designed to compete with other virtual moneys such as Bitcoin, which are drawing attention as alternatives for businesses and individuals — and drawing criticism from some who believe they enable money laundering and other criminal activity.

Advocates say such digital currencies, made possible by complex computer formulas, will eventually be widely embraced by users who want to exchange money instantly and directly, without a bank as middleman. Bitcoins are already being accepted as payment by a growing number of businesses large and small — from Overstock.com to the D Casino Hotel in Las Vegas to the Fells Point bar Bad Decisions.

Matthew Green, the Hopkins assistant professor of computer science who is leading the Zerocoin project, says there is a legitimate need for anonymous financial transactions. If virtual currencies are going to exist, he and his team of graduate students say, there should be one that provides the same kind of privacy that people have when exchanging traditional forms of money.

"In our field, the probability that you're going to have an impact on the world is kind of low," Green said. "We want to make something that the world wants and can get use out of."

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-hopkins-bitcoin-20140201,0,1223396.story#ixzz2s8MtRAgZ

Zerocoin already has a lot of hype behind it

My understanding of Zerocoin's official site (http://zerocoin.org/), it will be using btc while adding a extra element of anonymity.

It won't be used for Bitcoin any time soon as it requires changes to the protocol which I think the core devs would rather see tested on alts first (as the changes aren't just minor tweaks).

Also in its current form each ZEROCOIN_SPEND requires around 24K of "proof data" to accompany it (although this is supposed to be reduced to only 200-300 bytes by May).

Some of the Nxt crowd are looking to create a prototype for ZC now though - it usage will have to be via a SWIG layer (being looked into at the moment) but assuming they get that working you could very likely expect ZC to become part of Nxt after May.

So this isn't strictly a new cryptocoin, right? Just an "addon" to Bitcoins if you want complete anonymity.

Correct (more or less - as it *does* require protocol changes so it is not *strictly* an "add on") although I do understand that they are going to release their own alt coin (if for no other purpose than to demonstrate how it can be used with Bitcoin or other alts).

What's the name of the crytocurrency?  Is it Zerocoin also?? I'm assuming Zerocoin is only referring to the protocol at the moment..

I haven't read anything about what they are going to call it (although I hope they don't name the alt Zerocoin as well as that could be rather confusing).

Its my understanding that it is being released as a stand alone coin as well as an add on to the existing bitcoin protocol

Thanks for the link.


It is going to be released as a stand alone coin.
If it works well, the bitcoin core devs can do some protocol changes to adopt it as well...

It'll have some masterkey or something and the only way it will be released in a centralized way.