Zerocoin, the bitcoin killer? Time will tell but I say yes

[maxxoccupancy]

Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, etc, are brands, just like NIKE, SONY, and Apple.  When you look at Nike, they don't ever talk about the technology and features that go into each shoe.  Perhaps they have better materials and stronger springs--who knows.  In their advertising, they talk about self-improvement--ordinary people pushing themselves just like our great athletes do.

I help authors, speakers, a startups with branding.  In this cluttered, busy world, people won't remember much about us, so we have to be very clear about what we want them to remember about our coin.  Brands are communicated in images, advertisements, news stories, and even through the customer service experience.  

No doubt that Bitcoin got off on the wrong foot.

[Dalmar]

I don't believe that. It's the standard conspiracy theorist line but if you examine closely you will see that the core developers gave the original Zerocoin protocol a fair shake and rejected it for technical, not political, reasons.

Did you not watch the NY hearings? All those 'big shots' of the bitcoin world were ass kissing the regulators and constantly hammering on that bitcoin has a public ledger. It was like their most important argument for requesting light regulation.  

Also, we already know by now that the bitcoin foundation is corrupt. Chances of full anonymity implementation of a mainstream bitcoin are very slim.

[anti-scam]

I don't believe that. It's the standard conspiracy theorist line but if you examine closely you will see that the core developers gave the original Zerocoin protocol a fair shake and rejected it for technical, not political, reasons.

Did you not watch the NY hearings? All those 'big shots' of the bitcoin world were ass kissing the regulators and constantly hammering on that bitcoin has a public ledger. It was like their most important argument for requesting light regulation.  

Also, we already know by now that the bitcoin foundation is corrupt. Chances of full anonymity implementation of a mainstream bitcoin are very slim.

They said it because it was true. They didn't say that it couldn't change. If the core developers won't move on it, there are always other segments of the community who will. Ultimately miners and full nodes will decide.

[infofront]

Anoncoin is adding the zerocoin protocol. http://www.reddit.com/r/Anoncoin/comments/1x71aj/zerocoin_update/

Keep in mind zerocoin is more of a protocol than a currency. We don't know if or when the researchers might actually release a coin into the wild. It looks to me like they'd just release a set of technical specs. So if Anoncoin can pull it off, Anoncoin basically will be zerocoin.

[anti-scam]

Anoncoin is adding the zerocoin protocol. http://www.reddit.com/r/Anoncoin/comments/1x71aj/zerocoin_update/

Keep in mind zerocoin is more of a protocol than a currency. We don't know if or when the researchers might actually release a coin into the wild. It looks to me like they'd just release a set of technical specs. So if Anoncoin can pull it off, Anoncoin basically will be zerocoin.

The Zerocoin devs have already committed to releasing a currency. The next version of the Zerocoin paper will be presented in May at which point we can expect to see more info.

[Skinnkavaj]

Isn't darkcoin (already released) anonymous and kinda defeats Zerocoin purpose?

[infofront]

Isn't darkcoin (already released) anonymous and kinda defeats Zerocoin purpose?

Darkcoin uses the coinjoin protocol which is mostly anonymous, but there are lots of tricks and exploits for someone (especially a government)to be able to figure out a user's identity. So it's really not much better than bitcoin for anonymity.  It's just hyped.

[danonthehill]

I seriously doubt the dev's intentions for the Zerocoin protocol.  Take a look at them.  All are from the faculty at John Hopkins University: 2 PHD students and there supervisor professors, and I seriously question that such an institution would  be associated with research that leads to a commercial venture that would grant anonymity to terrorists or criminals.  This is an ivory-tower coin masquerading as something street.  I doubt further that the devs would have any long term commitment to a community in which they have no roots.

[msin]

Anoncoin is adding the zerocoin protocol. http://www.reddit.com/r/Anoncoin/comments/1x71aj/zerocoin_update/

Keep in mind zerocoin is more of a protocol than a currency. We don't know if or when the researchers might actually release a coin into the wild. It looks to me like they'd just release a set of technical specs. So if Anoncoin can pull it off, Anoncoin basically will be zerocoin.

Yeah, Nxt is about to release zerocoin as well.

[illodin]

Zerocoin's "business model" is inherently flawed. It involves complex cryptography with anonymity implications so it has to be open source to be trusted, but if it is open source then it can be easily copied by Bitcoin. The only point to releasing it as its own currency is for a nice pump and dump.

They could just release the source under a strict license that prohibits its use anywhere else.

[anti-scam]

Zerocoin's "business model" is inherently flawed. It involves complex cryptography with anonymity implications so it has to be open source to be trusted, but if it is open source then it can be easily copied by Bitcoin. The only point to releasing it as its own currency is for a nice pump and dump.

They could just release the source under a strict license that prohibits its use anywhere else.

Then the protocol would simply be reimplemented. It wouldn't be as trivially easy, but a community with billions of dollars could easily get it done.

[TonyT]

Whether the answer is ZeroCoin or something else, I think that we have seen that there are enough problems already with the Bitcoin protocol and approach to mining that something else may be necessary to protect a buy in from loss due to government efforts to seize or trace funds, scams, and volatility.  There's no question in my mind that there's a tremendous need for an anonymous digital currency.  My investment in the protocol is to push the bleeding edge.  Get more people into this to try it out, find out what works and what doesn't, then

Ethereum is, in my mind, a great evolutionary step forward in digital currency.  However, putting everything behind the Bitcoin brand name is a strategy that I don't entirely agree with.  For the time being, I think that we need a whole marketplace of altcoins that employ and different technology and different ideas.

I agree.  And I agree with Dalmar that anonymity by black marketeers spurred the creation of bitcoin, sort of like porn spurred the development of the mainstream internet.  Follow the money... I see a bright future for Zerocoin, and a not so bright future for bitcoin, especially after the Mt. Gox fiasco and impending regulation, see below.

TonyT

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/japan-studies-regulation-of-bitcoin-after-mt-gox-goes-dark/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

February 26, 2014, 8:40 am
Now, Nations Mull the Ways to Regulate Bitcoin