Don't confuse cost with value.  The value of Bitcoin is as an alternate, digital currency.

The technical solution, and what will occur, is for taxes to evolve to make economic sense.  Bitcoin does not threaten a capitation tax, or tariffs for instance.

Any publicity is good publicity.  I wonder how well the average German will take a lobby of payment processors complaining about "tax evasion" and defending "consumers" in the current climate, in which the Merkel government is facing collapse due to taxpayer bailouts of foreign "consumers".  Germans are generally law-abiding, but they aren't stupid.  But I don't believe this is intended for general consumption anyways.  It's a call for the overlords to circle the wagons.

Okay so if we assume it's self-funding, then you would basically purchase the app, and then odds are there will be no Bitcoins near you.  So you wait as other people purchase the app, and maybe a Bitcoin appears near you and you can go get it?

It would be interesting as a price model, ie "How far is someone likely to go to get a Bitcoin?" 

The goals are obviously similar.  I would say that this is more like a deposit-backed account with some added protections.  As I understand it, Beertokens is more like buying shares of a trust or corporation.

Further, my focus is on enabling local trade, while moving towards the goal of seamlessly integrating the local economy with the larger Bitcoin economy in the future.


I'm working on a modified version of the official Bitcoin client to handle transaction processing.  One difference is that there is no need for a Bencoin block chain or miners.  The Bencoin client keeps the Bitcoin blockchain only for third-party verification purposes.  Miners operate through a pool to mine actual Bitcoins.  Other than that, and what I posted already, as Grondilu pointed out all of the other software already exists in one form or another.  I don't have a website yet.

The issue is with the Bitcoin client, not OpenSSL.  Here is a client-generated key (with address) extracted using bc_key:


Note the repetitive slashes and the fact that it's like 3x longer than necessary.

And here is an OpenSSL-generated key:

I notice this also and it is troubling me.

That wiki description is a very good explanation.

Currency is anything with current value.  Money is anything with future value.  Investments are things which increase in value.

Bitcoin pretty clearly has current value.  It may be money, like precious metals, despite the fact that nothing guarantees it as such.  It may also be an investment, albeit a risky one.

No, that's assuming you have extracted the key first.  Search the forums, there are patches and (I think) utils that will do so.

e: My precioussss

openssl pkeyutl

Ahhh.. hahahaha

That's ironic since, by some interpretations, voting is considered "challenging the status quo".

The point of sending the private key is that you are sharing a Bitcoin address with the Central Bank.  You must trust the Central Bank implicitly, as long as you use it, with whatever funds are represented by the Bitcoin address.  But you can revoke the account and withdraw the (Bitcoin) funds at any time.  You can also verify the balance independently, through the Bitcoin network.  This provides a check against the Central Bank.

I will have to look further into the address issue.

e: Okay I think at most the participant may need to create two addresses.  That's no problem.

With all the recent talk about "Towncoins" and forks and such, I suppose now is time to introduce an idea I've been kicking around for a while.  This has evolved somewhat over the past few months.  But it is basically just a local currency backed by Bitcoins.  Originally I looked into creating actual physical paper currency.  But I've decided on a much better approach that can be completely integrated with the existing Bitcoin network, and enables a higher level of trust for all participants, while maintaining the goal of a stable currency to encourage local trade.  So far I have a general idea of an implementation based on existing Bitcoin software, and a small proof-of-concept.

So I present to you, Bencoins.  Please let me know your thoughts.

FAQ:

What is a Bencoin?

 A Bencoin is a Bitcoin private key, generated by an individual participant, that is then encrypted and deposited with a Bencoin central bank.  A Bencoin represents a Bitcoin-backed account with the local central bank.  It can be used like a checking account for local transactions.

What is Bencoin good for?

 Bencoin is useful for creating a local digital currency pegged to Bitcoins.  The economy can be limited to authorized participants.  Transactions can be processed immediately.  Later, the Bitcoin peg can be removed and the local Bencoin economy seamlessly integrated into the larger Bitcoin economy.

Why would I want to do that?

 You might want to create a local currency without forking Bitcoin, and without opening your currency up to the entire Bitcoin economy.  A local authority can maintain a peg, and adjust it's value, while still being able to remove the peg later.  Local miners can mine real Bitcoins through a central pool, contributing to the security of the Bitcoin network, while the Bitcoins generated are converted into the local Bencoin currency and distributed based on the rules of the local currency.

How is a Bitcoin peg maintained?

 The central bank can exchange Bencoins for Bitcoins at a set rate.  It can also act as a mining pool operator.  Bitcoins generated by the pool can be distributed as Bencoins at the set rate.

What are the limitations?

 Unlike Bitcoin, Bencoin is totally dependent upon a local central authority.  Bencoin transactions are not particularly anonymous.



Concept:

Central Bank
   Acts as Bencoin central authority
      Responds to account queries
      Processes Bencoin transactions
   Acts as an exchange
      Exchanges Bencoins for Bitcoins
      Maintains currency peg
   Acts as a normal Bitcoin node
      Maintains a Bitcoin address for each participant
      Reconciles Bencoin accounts with the Bitcoin network (every 24 hrs)
   Acts as a Bitcoin pool operator
      Distributes Bencoins according to local rules
Participant
   Has a single Bencoin address
      Used to authenticate transaction requests with the central bank
   Acts as a normal Bitcoin node
      Helps to strengthen the Bitcoin network
      Can verify Bencoin account balance through the Bitcoin network
      May have a Bitcoin address as well (ie savings account)
   May act as a Bencoin miner with the central bank's pool



Proof-of-Concept:

Central Bank generates the Bencoin signing keys:
   openssl genrsa 3072 >bank_prv.pem
   openssl rsa -in bank_prv.pem -pubout >bank_pub.pem
Central Bank publishes the public Bencoin signing key.
Participant generates a Bitcoin key:
   openssl ecparam -name secp256k1 -genkey >bitcoin_prv.pem
Participant encrypts the Bitcoin key with the Central Bank's public key to issue a Bencoin:
   openssl rsautl -encrypt -inkey bank_pub.pem -pubin -in bitcoin_prv.pem -out bencoin.pem
Participant deposits the Bencoin with the Central Bank.
Central Bank decrypts the Bencoin:
   openssl rsautl -decrypt -inkey bank_prv.pem -in bencoin.pem -out bitcoin_prv.pem
Central Bank imports the Bitcoin private key.

Finally a real mention on the Keiser Report.  But the fact that this guy was behind Hushmail does not inspire confidence.  Hushmail was a completely doomed-from-the-start "encrypted" webmail scheme that suckered a bunch of idiots into using it and then opened all of their mailboxes as soon as the authorities came knocking.

For comparison, right now the Bitcoin network uses about the same amount of energy as the Bank of America Tower in New York.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America_Tower_%28New_York_City%29
http://www.solaripedia.com/13/173/1728/bank_of_america_tower_cogeneration_diagram.html

Stockholm syndrome.  I wish I were joking.

Quantitative easing was the central banking equivalent of the Fed saying "call" and then smarmily laying down a pair of fives.

The choice is whether to vote or not.  All the other bullshit is designed to misdirect your attention from this fact.