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[GNUnet-SVN] [taler-marketing] branch master updated: major edits to e-K
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Subject: |
[GNUnet-SVN] [taler-marketing] branch master updated: major edits to e-Krona report |
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Thu, 19 Oct 2017 12:10:42 +0200 |
This is an automated email from the git hooks/post-receive script.
grothoff pushed a commit to branch master
in repository marketing.
The following commit(s) were added to refs/heads/master by this push:
new 9fff4c7 major edits to e-Krona report
9fff4c7 is described below
commit 9fff4c7ce7779472eea421d738d0d01f9826a4dc
Author: Christian Grothoff <address@hidden>
AuthorDate: Thu Oct 19 09:52:59 2017 +0200
major edits to e-Krona report
---
ekrona/e-krona.tex | 352 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------
1 file changed, 231 insertions(+), 121 deletions(-)
diff --git a/ekrona/e-krona.tex b/ekrona/e-krona.tex
index 37d0f1a..331da23 100644
--- a/ekrona/e-krona.tex
+++ b/ekrona/e-krona.tex
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
% \usepackage{verbatim}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{graphicx}
+\usepackage[a4paper,left=25mm,right=25mm, top=25mm, bottom=25mm]{geometry}
\def\UoL{University of Luxembourg}
@@ -14,8 +15,9 @@
\pagestyle{headings}
\thispagestyle{empty}
+
\begin{center}
-{\large Taler for eKrona}
+{\huge Taler for e-Krona}
\medskip
@@ -32,148 +34,256 @@
\section*{Introduction}
-Taler Systems is developing an online payment system called Taler, that could
easily fit the requirements of the e-krona project.
+Taler Systems is developing an online payment system called Taler,
+that could easily fit the requirements of the e-Krona project.
-Taler is an open source system based on a wallet and a central exchange. It
provides instant one-click payments, can offer privacy-by-design and assures
receiver transparency for tax purposes. It is fast and cheap, and can hence
also cover micro-payments economically (payments of the order of 1 cents).
+Taler is an open source system based on a consumer wallet, merchant
+backend and a central exchange for payment processing. It provides
+instant one-click payments, implements privacy-by-design and assures
+receiver transparency for tax purposes using modern cryptography. It
+is fast and efficient, and can hence also cover micro-payments
+(payments of 1 cent) economically.
The USPs of Taler are:
\begin{itemize}
\item All operations provide cryptographically secured, with mathematical
proofs for courts and auditors
-\item Customer payments are privacy preserving, like cash if desired
+\item Customer payments are privacy-preserving, like cash
\item Merchants are identifiable in each payment they receive
\item Payments are in existing currencies
-\item Payment fraud is eliminated, short of catastrophic failures in
cryptographic primitives
-\item Linear scalability
+\item Payment fraud is eliminated, short of catastrophic failure in
cryptographic primitives
+\item Linear scalability ensures Taler handles transaction volumes of widely
used systems
\item Suitable for micro-payments due to very low transaction costs
-\item Ease of use (one-click, instant)
+\item Ease of use (one-click, instant, no authentication during payment)
\item Open standard protocol without patents, with free reference
implementation
\end{itemize}
-Taler is intended to run with the following architectural elements.
+The Taler architecture includes a register-based system of bank accounts
+for customers and merchants with an escrow-account for the exchange. The
+exchange signs electronic coins into existence, customers use them to sign
+contracts and merchants deposit them in return for a credit to the register.
+The exchange collects cryptographic proofs that it operates correctly, which
+are then checked by an auditor (auditor not shown):
+\begin{minipage}{13cm}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{taler-arch-full.pdf}
+\end{minipage}
+\begin{minipage}{3cm}
+ {\Huge \}} register-based
+\vspace{3cm}
+
+{\Huge \}} value-based
+\end{minipage}
+
+
+\section*{What would a solution for a register-based e-Krona look like?}
+
+Taler's focus is on a cryptographic protocol for a value-based
+transaction system. However, Taler requires integration with
+some register-based accounting system, equivalent to traditional
+bank accounts. For this, it would be possible to use a permissioned
+block chain. Taler aggregates many small transactions from different
+customers to the same merchant, thereby reducing the transaction
+rate in the register-based solution.
+
+\section*{What would a solution for a value-based e-Krona look like?}
+
+Taler issues electronic coins based on deposits into an escrow
+account. Citizens could use their wallets to withdraw e-Krona
+from their traditional bank accounts, or they could be provided
+e-Krona directly (for example via social security) if they lack
+a bank account. Electronic coins are blindly signed
+by the issuing exchange, which is obliged to exchange e-Krona
+back into Krona when they are deposited by merchants. An auditor
+supervises the operation of the exchange.
+
+Our vision is thus very close to the electronic cash system
+``DigiCash'' proposed by David Chaum in the 1990s, except that
+Taler's design and implementation supports key features such
+as giving change, providing refunds, securely handling aborts
+and various other practical issues previous technical solutions
+lacked.
+
+\section*{What is your vision for an e-Krona?}
+% Are there other possible solutions than register-based and value-based that
you consider to be more appropriate?}
+
+We imagine a realistic e-Krona solution based on the Taler system to
+be effectively a hybrid solution, with a register-based component and
+a value based component, in order to fulfill the maximum requirements
+outlined in ``The Riksbank’s e-Krona project'' report.
+
+The e-Krona Taler wallet can exist on smartphones, in browsers, on
+smartcards or secure USB sticks. It is filled via wire-transfer to the
+Taler exchange's escrow account, where the subject identifies the
+Taler wallet eligible to withdraw the e-Krona. Note that regulators
+could limit the amount an entity is entitled to exchange from Krona
+into e-Krona. When withdrawing electronic coins, they are blindly
+signed by the Taler exchange and stored in the consumer's wallet,
+which is value-based. The consumer can then spend its coins at
+merchants using cryptographic signatures over electronic contracts.
+Merchants must immediately deposit the coins at the exchange, which
+performs an online check for double-spending. The exchange will then
+credit the merchant's register-based accounts.
+
+Thus, the Taler system combines value-based and register-based
+accounting, providing anti-money laundering capabilities by making
+income transparent, identifying the users of the system (upon
+withdrawal and deposit), but also providing privacy for citizens by
+not requiring identification of the buyer for ordinary transactions.
+Thus, Taler is a hybrid system combining the advantages of value-based
+and register-based solutions.
+
+Specifically, Taler addresses the following requirements outlined in
+the report:
+
+\begin{description}
+\item[Specified in Swedish Krona]
+ Taler is designed to work for all currencies for which
+ a register-based accounting system exists.
+\item[Payment size]
+ Taler is designed to handle micropayments as well as arbitrarily large
payments between consumers, companies and authorities.
+ Regulation may impose limits on withdrawals and maximum amounts transacted.
+\item[Direct claim on Riksbank]
+ The Taler design involves the exchange owning an escrow account
+ (for example, with the Riksbank) to keep the funds to back the issued
electronic coins.
+ The contractual obligations of the system are supposed to entitle the holder
of
+ e-Krona to exchange them anytime into other representations of Krona.
+\item[Accessible in real-time]
+ Customers and merchants always have access to their full account
+ histories and their balances on their local computer. Backups and
+ cross-device synchronization will also be supported.
+\item[Payments in real-time]
+ Payments typically clear in one network RTT.
+ The system is designed for 24/7 operations.
+\item[Offline payments]
+ For Taler transactions, either the payer or the merchant must be online and
able to
+ communicate with the exchange. Otherwise the merchant cannot be sure that
the payer
+ did not double-spend and risks being defrauded.
+\item[Anonymous payments]
+ Taler is designed for payers to remain anonymous when buying goods, unless
regulation
+ requires disclosure (i.e. for particular sensitive purchases).
+ However, the merchant is never anonymous.
+\item[e-Krona account]
+ A register-based account is required for merchants to receive transactions.
+ The exchange also must have an escrow account.
+\item[Riksbank functions]
+ The Riksbank would primarily hold the escrow account. It could also either
+ (1) run the operations of the exchange and guarantee the exchange of e-Krona
+ in Swedish Krona directly, or (2) else audit privately operated exchanges
+ similar to its regulatory oversight of conventional banks and payment
processors.
+\item[No bank account necessary]
+ Taler can enable distribution of funds (i.e. from social security) directly
to
+ wallets. Thus, citizens having a Taler wallet could be given remittances
without
+ the need for a bank account. However, merchants must have a register-based
+ bank account to receive payments.
+\item[Interest payments]
+ Taler could theoretically support interest on e-Krona by varying the exchange
+ rate between e-Krona and Krona. Taler can also theoretically support {\em
negative}
+ interest on coins held long-term in wallets.
+\item[Connection to existing payment systems]
+ With proper system integration, wire transfers, debit and credit cards or
even
+ NFC-enabled ATMs could all be used to fund the e-Krona wallet.
+\end{description}
+
+Taler effectively provides electronic cash and thus solves the problem
+of gaining access to risk-free assets. As the Riksbank supervises the
+e-Krona escrow funds (either directly or by auditing the private
+operator), the government can assure citizens that they can always
+exchange e-Kronas back to cash. Thus, in Taler's design, the government
+acts as a trust anchor.
+
+Taler removes inefficiencies the current system creates through fraud
+risks inherent in register-based systems. In Taler, citizens only
+ever authenticate to their bank (or social services). By avoiding
+disclosing personally identifying information or even performing
+credit card-style authentication via third parties, Taler improves
+usability and eliminates most vectors of authentication token
+compromise.
+
+
+\section*{What challenges and opportunities do you envisage?}
+
+Taler provides the advantages of cash while supporting taxation and
+limiting criminal abuse, as recipients of payments are identifiable.
+Furthermore, Taler transactions are faster, easier and more secure
+than cash or credit card transactions.
+
+The main challenge is the integration of the Taler merchant backend
+into the diverse POS systems that exist today. While integrating
+Taler is can be done with a few hundred lines of code, NFC-enabled POS
+systems would require at least a firmware update. Convincing vendors
+to upgrade their systems will thus require a major up-front
+investment.
+
+Taler also requires further development to ensure that wallets are
+available on all relevant platforms. However, consumer systems are
+much less diverse and hence this effort is significantly smaller.
+
+Deploying Taler at scale should have no major impact on monetary
+policy because the issued e-Krona would be 1:1 backed by Swedish Krona
+in the escrow account at the Riksbank. However, if there is a
+significant shift from the use of credit-cards to e-Krona, there might
+be a reduction in M2 from fractional reserve banking as e-Krona is
+debit-based while credit-cards are credit-based. Thus, instead of
+commercial bank money being created from debts, consumers may
+effectively hold e-Krona claims against the escrow account at the
+central bank. The resulting reduction in M2, and the loss of revenue
+at banks from credit-card interest payments, may require adjustments
+in monetary policies.
+
+
+\section*{What is missing in our concept?}
+
+
+A key requirement for governments considering electronic payment
+systems is the preservation of the Commons. Cash is a Commons as all
+market participants have equal liberties in handling cash. If cash is
+replaced by proprietary solutions such as Visa's credit card system or
+ApplePay, these companies have exclusive control over critical
+infrastructure, which often leads to high fees. Worse, such payment
+service providers may discriminate against individuals or certain
+businesses and can refuse service to individuals or businesses without
+judicial oversight.
+
+In contrast, Taler is implemented as Free Software distributed under
+the GNU General Public License, and without patent encumbrances. This
+ensures that any government retains sovereignty after deploying Taler,
+as it can liberally inspect, use and modify the software. In
+particular, no foreign government or company can impose their own
+restrictions or regulatory regime. Governments can foster competition
+between multiple Taler exchange operators, or run a Taler exchange as
+a government monopoly equivalent to a government mint for coins.
+
+
+
+\section*{Contact}
+\begin{center}
+
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{../presentations/comprehensive/taler-big-accent.pdf}
-{\red Describe general functioning of Taler (ONLY AS MUCH AS FITS ON THIS PAGE
-
-audit, hash of transaction, etc)}
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-\section*{*What would a technical solution for a register-based e-krona look
like?*}
-
-We imagine a hybrid solution, as described in the question below. {\red [Can
we use blockchain for the register-based component? They seem to put a lot of
emphasize on system resilience. (Christian to update according to
possibilities???)]}
-
-\section*{*What would a technical solution for a value-based e-krona look
like?*}
-
-We imagine a hybrid solution, as described in the question below.
-
-\section*{*What is your vision for an e-krona, are there other possible
solutions than register-based and value-based that you consider to be more
appropriate?*}
-
-We imagine a possible e-Krona solution based on the Taler system to be a
hybrid solution, with a register-based component and a value based component,
in order to fulfil the maximum requirements outlined in ‘The Riksbank’s e-Krona
project’ report.
-
-The e-krona Taler wallet can exist on smartphones, in web-browsers, on
smartcard and on secure USB sticks. It is filled via wire-transfer to the Taler
exchange (Riksbank can define who is entitled to exchange Swedish krona into
e-krona), which will create Taler coins (i.e. e-krona) cryptographically and
deposit those anonymously with a blind signature into the corresponding wallet.
At the same time, the exchange creates an escrow account for the wallet at the
Riksbank and deposits the k [...]
-
-The Taler System addresses the following requirements outlined in the report:
-
-\noindent
-\begin{tabular}{p{4cm} p{8cm}}
-a) Specified in Swedish krona
- & Designed for all existing currencies \\
-
-b) Payment size
- & Designed to handle micropayments as well as larger payments between
consumers, companies and authorities \\
-
-c) Direct claim on Riksbank
- & Via escrow account opened by the exchange automatically with the Riksbank
to hold the
- escrow amounts. In addition, the Riksbank could entitle the holder of
e-krona to change them anytime into Swedish kronor. With this the holder has a
direct claim on the Riksbank and it might not be necessary to change existing
legislation. \\
-
-d) Accessible in real-time
- & Payments clear in one network RTT \\
-
-e) Payments in real-time
- & One click instant payments with 24/7 operations \\
-
-f) Offline payments
- & Payer or merchant must be online % with the other offline but using NFC.
- Exchange must be online. \\
-
-g) Anonymous payments
- & System designed for payers to be anonymous, unless regulation requires
disclosure. Merchant is never anonymous. \\
-
-h) e-Krona account
- & Register based account requires for merchants. Exchange has e-Krona escrow
account. \\
-
-i) Riksbank functions
- & Holds the escrow account. Can either run operator of the exchange and
guarantee the
-exchange of e-krona in Swedish kronor directly, or else audit private
exchanges similar to conventional banks. UNREADABLE CORRECTIONS \\
-
-j) No bank account necessary
- & Taler/e-krona can distribute fixed incomes without requiring customers
posses bank accounts \\
-
-k) Interest payments % was: Possibility of making
- & AMBIGUOUS QUESTION WITH UNREADABLE CORRECTIONS \\
-
-l) Connection to existing payment systems
- & Wire transfers, Debit and credit cards can be used to immediately fund the
e-krona wallet. \\
-\end{tabular}
-
-Taler solves the problem of gaining access to cash and to risk-free assets.
As the Riksbank holds the e-Krona escrow funds, any Riksbank or government
related facility could offer the exchange of e-kronas back to cash for people
presenting themselves with their e-krona Taler wallet.
-
-At the same time, Taler removes inefficiencies the current system creates
through fraud risks, due to credit cards, personally identifying information,
and authentication token compromise. It thus simplifies both e-commerce and
brick-and-mortar transactions, which no longer require authentication
techniques with excessive spending power, such as credit cards or PINs.
-
-
-Taler offers the same privacy as cash for the payer, except that withdrawal
limits
-carry a legal force not present in ATM withdrawal limits.
-% Nonsensical and seemingly false : (could be limited by amount per
transaction).
-% IS THIS RELEVANT? This limit could be removed if the payer/wallet owner
contributes his identification to the account by a voluntary decision.
-
-\section*{*What challenges and opportunities do you envisage with each e-krona
solution?}
-
-UNREADABLE CORRECTIONS
-% WRONG & REMOVED : We envisage no major challenges with a e-Krona Taler
solution outlined above,
-% as the system is already up and running in an Alpha version with browser
wallets.
-TERRIBLE PHRASING and UNREADABLE CORRECTIONS: Further development are needed
to create the wallets on other platforms and provide more interfaces to
merchant systems.
-
-TERRIBLE PHRASING : The main complexity we see would be the roll-out of the
compatible functionality into the POS systems of merchants in the physical
world.
-% REMOVED : But this is no different from the challenges that established
systems
-% like SWISH, ... already solved and hence easy to estimate. If this project is
-% Riksbank/government sponsored, that should not be a large.
-UNREADABLE CORRECTIONS
-
-AMBIGUOUS INTENT AND TERRIBLE PHRASING : This outlined solution should have no
major impact on monetary policy because the issues of e-krona are 1:1 backed by
Swedish kronor in the escrow account at the Riksbank. But two things will
happen temporarily – unless cash is used: Firstly, with the issuance of e-krona
commercial bank money gets transformed into central bank money until the
e-krona are spent and transformed back into Swedish krona. And secondly,
non-cash commercial bank money ge [...]
-
-\section*{*What is missing in our concept?*}
-
-We believe that Riksbank's concept described above fits well with Taler
-to provide a viable, safe, easy-to-use, and low-cost e-krona system to
-complement or eventually supplant cash. Taler provides the advantages
-of cash while supporting taxation and avoiding criminal usage, as
-recipients are always identifiable.
-
-Importantly, Taler is implemented as Free Software distributed under the
-GNU General Public License and without patent encumbrances.
-This ensures a Riksbank retains sovereignty after deploying Taler.
-No foreign government or company can impose their own restrictions or
-regulatory regime.
-
-
-
-\paragraph{Contact:}
+ \vfill
+
+ {\Large \url{https://taler.net/}}
-\begin{center}
+ \vfill
+
\begin{tabular}{l l l}
-C. Grothoff & address@hidden & +4 78 692 68 94 \\
+C. Grothoff & address@hidden & +41 78 692 6894 \\
L. Schumacher & address@hidden & +41 79 865 9365 \\
-M. Widmer & address@hidden & +4179 900 40000 \\
+M. Widmer & address@hidden & +41 79 900 40000 \\
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
+\vfill
+
+\includegraphics[width=0.2\textwidth]{../presentations/investors/partner-logos/ashoka.png}
+\hfill
+
\includegraphics[width=0.1\textwidth]{../presentations/investors/partner-logos/inria.png}
+\hfill
+\includegraphics[width=0.1\textwidth]{../presentations/investors/partner-logos/tum.png}
+\hfill
+
\includegraphics[width=0.1\textwidth]{../presentations/investors/partner-logos/gnu.jpeg}
+
\end{document}
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