Bitcoin Forum
March 28, 2024, 04:49:22 PM *
News: Latest Bitcoin Core release: 26.0 [Torrent]
 
   Home   Help Search Login Register More  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: An idea for how we can take bitcoin to the next level  (Read 568 times)
djetter (OP)
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Activity: 3
Merit: 0


View Profile
February 08, 2014, 08:57:51 PM
 #1

The recent coinbase thefts have made me realize that we are going to have an uphill battle trying to get the average consumer to use bitcoins in place of credit cards. When I use a credit card, I have zero liability, so I am not overly concerned about theft or fraud. Bitcoins, on the other hand, are easier to keep safe, but there is always the possibility, no matter how small, that the password to my offline or cloud-based Bitcoin wallet will be compromised. If that happens, I instantly lose everything in that wallet, and that's scary.

So, I had an idea for how we could have the best of both worlds: What if we had another type of crypto coin that acted as a money substitute for bitcoin? You could call it a 'bitproxy' or a 'bitsubstitute'. This bixproxy would not be mined. Instead, the bitcoin protocol could be modified so that every bitcoin holder could create one, and only one, bitproxy. I could then deposit all of my bitcoins into a bank, and in exchange, the bank would give me bitproxies.

Unlike bitcoins, bitproxy transactions would not be final; they could be reversed by my bank at any time, just like credit card transactions. If someone gets their hands on my phone and steals the contents of my bitproxy wallet, no problem; I just call up my bank, prove that I am who I say I am, and my bank will transfer the bitproxies back to me.

Merchants would readily accept bitproxies, so long as those bitproxies were issued by a reputable bank. Periodically, the banks would finalize the bitproxy transactions by transferring the actual bitcoins to each other in a clearing process. A merchant would know that the transaction he conducted with me is final when the underlying bitcoins have been transferred from my bank to the merchant's bank.

Essentially, I am proposing a full reserve banking system, in which bitcoins act like the gold, and bitproxies act like a bank receipt for that gold. In addition, it would be impossible for a bank to engage in fractional reserve banking, because the bitcoin network would ensure that there is at most one bitproxy for every bitcoin at any given point in time.

Now, monitoring transactions for fraud requires time and resources, so banks will probably charge the merchants a transaction fee every time they accept bitproxies, just like credit cards. But, bitproxies would still be preferable to credit cards, for the following reasons:

  • I don't have to reveal my personal information to the merchant
  • The merchant does not receive the private key to my bitproxy wallet
  • My bitproxies are 100% backed by bitcoins, so their value will not deteriorate as the government inflates the money supply
  • I have the same fraud protection as I do with a credit card

This seems like such a great idea, I'm sure I'm not the first one who has thought of it. Does something like this already exist? Or are there some fatal flaws that I haven't thought of?
1711644562
Hero Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1711644562

View Profile Personal Message (Offline)

Ignore
1711644562
Reply with quote  #2

1711644562
Report to moderator
Advertised sites are not endorsed by the Bitcoin Forum. They may be unsafe, untrustworthy, or illegal in your jurisdiction.
1711644562
Hero Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1711644562

View Profile Personal Message (Offline)

Ignore
1711644562
Reply with quote  #2

1711644562
Report to moderator
1711644562
Hero Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1711644562

View Profile Personal Message (Offline)

Ignore
1711644562
Reply with quote  #2

1711644562
Report to moderator
1711644562
Hero Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1711644562

View Profile Personal Message (Offline)

Ignore
1711644562
Reply with quote  #2

1711644562
Report to moderator
landslide
Sr. Member
****
Offline Offline

Activity: 616
Merit: 251



View Profile
February 08, 2014, 09:02:10 PM
 #2

A fast system needs to be set up, so people can use their smart phone to scan and pay with bitcoin, just like they use credit cards. The problem is that this payment system is not available.
Bit_Happy
Legendary
*
Offline Offline

Activity: 2100
Merit: 1040


A Great Time to Start Something!


View Profile
February 08, 2014, 09:04:53 PM
 #3

A fast system needs to be set up, so people can use their smart phone to scan and pay with bitcoin, just like they use credit cards. The problem is that this payment system is not available.

Yes, greed made BTC valuable before it was ready for the big time. Some great changes are already happening.  Smiley

Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.19 | SMF © 2006-2009, Simple Machines Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!