Digital gold currency
Encyclopedia
Digital gold currency is a form of electronic money
based on ounces of gold
. It is a kind of representative money
, like a US paper gold certificate
at the time (from 1873 to 1933) that these were exchangeable for gold on demand. The typical unit of account
for such currency is the gold gram
or the troy ounce
, although other units such as the gold dinar
are sometimes used. DGCs are backed by gold through unallocated or allocated gold storage.
Digital gold currencies are issued by a number of companies, each of which provides a system that enables users to pay each other in units that hold the same value as gold bullion. These competing providers issue independent currency
.
system which is independent of exchange rate
variations and political manipulation. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium each have recognized international currency codes under ISO 4217
.
, DGCs hold 100% of clients' funds in reserve as gold, silver, and/or platinum, which can be exchanged via digital certificates. Proponents of DGC systems say that deposits are protected against inflation
, devaluation
and other economic risks inherent in fiat currencies. These risks include the monetary policy
of countries or territories, which are said by proponents to be harmful to the value of paper currency.
Currency exchangers accept payment in national currencies by a variety of methods, including Bank Wire
, Direct Deposit, Cheque, Money Order. Some exchangers also sell and fund pre-paid debit cards to make it easier for their clientele to convert DGC into an easily spendable form of national currency.
DGCs are known as private currency
as they are not issued by government
s.
industry, digital gold currency issuers generally do not have services to dispute or reverse charges. So, reversing transactions, even in case of a legitimate error, unauthorized use, or failure of a vendor to supply goods is difficult, if not impossible. This means that using digital gold currency is more akin to a cash
transaction, while PayPal
transfers, for example, could be considered more similar to credit card transactions.
The advantage of this arrangement is that the operating costs of the digital currency system are greatly reduced by not having to resolve payment disputes. Additionally, it allows digital gold currency transactions to clear instantly, making the funds available immediately to the recipient. By contrast, credit cards, checks, ACH and other reversible payment methods generally have a "clearing time" of 72 hours or more.
, data security
and exchange risk.
".
All other DGC providers operate under self-regulation. DGC providers are not banks and therefore not subject to many bank regulation
s that pertain to fractional reserve lending as they do not engage in lending. However, DGCs do provide a method for transferring currency from one person to another, and therefore may fall under regulations pertaining to money transmitting in various jurisdictions.
The Global Digital Currency Association
(GDCA), which was founded in 2002, is a non-profit association of online currency operators, exchangers, merchants and users. The GDCA is an example of the DGC industry's attempt at self-regulation. On their website they claim their goal is to "further the interests of the industry as a whole and help with fighting fraud and other illegal activities, arbitrate disputes and act as escrow agent when and where required." Of the current DGC providers, Pecunix
, Liberty Reserve and eight others have become members of the association. It costs one gram of gold to file a complaint if you are not a member, and the list of filable complaints is not exhaustive. Their domain name is registered anonymously through domains by proxy, see whois.
forced e-gold
to liquidate some 10 to 20 million dollars worth of e-gold, and is attempting to bring a case against e-gold. e-gold has committed to counter what its founders have declared to be groundless allegations.
1mdc
was backed by e-gold, so events that affected e-gold also affected 1mdc. Once e-gold Ltd. was instructed by the US government to freeze and liquidate all 1mdc accounts, 1mdc became insolvent by default along with all other e-gold accounts seized in the April 27 action.
is in United States Federal custody where he faces felony charges of conducting unlicensed money transactions and the murder of his business partner.
As of January 2010 e-Bullion is closed for business and the website unavailable.
As of June 2011 e-Bullion owner James Fayed was found guilty of murder in the State of California, and sentenced to death.
While the Digital Gold Issuers employ data security experts to protect their systems, the average account holder's computer is poorly protected against malware (trojans, worms, and viruses) that can be used to intercept information that could be used to access the user's DGC account. Therefore the most common attacks on digital currency systems are directed against account holder's computer through the use of malicious spam, phishing
and other methods.
Issuers have taken quite different approaches to this problem. E-gold basically places the entire responsibility on the shoulders of the user, and uses a user-name and password authentication system that is weak and highly vulnerable to interception by malware. (Though it is the most common authentication method used by online banks.) The "not our problem" approach to user security has negatively contributed to e-gold's public image, as not a few e-gold accounts have been hacked and swept clean by attackers..
e-Bullion offers account holders a "Cryptocard" security token that changes the passphrase with each logon, but charges the account holder USD $99.50 for the token. E-bullion does not require customers to use the Cryptocard, so account holders who choose not to get one may suffer from the same security issues as e-gold customers.
Pecunix
devised a unique rotating key system that provides many of the benefits of a security token without requiring the user to buy one. Pecunix also supports the use of PGP signature
s to access an account, which is probably the strongest of all authentication methods.
as it directly represents gold metal on deposit or in custody. This depends on the issuer. Most issuers have the gold on deposit - i.e., the issuer will redeem the digital currency obligation with physical metal. Just as the exchange rates of national currencies fluctuate against each other, the exchange rates of DGCs fluctuate against national currencies, which is reflected by the price of gold in a particular currency. This creates exchange risk for any account holder, in the same way one would experience exchange risk by holding a bank account in a foreign currency.
Some DGC holders make use of the digital currency for daily monetary transactions, even though most of their normal income and expenses are denominated in the national currency of their home country. Fluctuations in the value of gold against their national currency can create some confusion and difficulty for new users as they see the "value" of their DGC account fluctuate in terms of their native currency.
In contrast to exchange risk, caused by gold's fluctuation against national currency, the purchasing power
of gold (and therefore DGCs) is measured by its fluctuation against other commodities, goods and services. Since gold has historically been the refuge of choice in times of inflation or economic hardship, the purchasing power of gold becomes stronger during times of negative sentiment in the markets. Due to this speculative interference, there are times when purchasing power has also declined. For example, in 2007–2008, gold volatility closely tracked the run-up in oil prices.
reported that ShadowCrew
, an online gang, used the e-gold
system in a massive identity theft
and fraud scheme. Traditional banks are also used frequently for such fraud. Allegations that e-gold is a safe medium for crime and fraud are strongly denied by its Chairman and founder, Dr. Douglas Jackson
. Further, it can be argued that such problems lay with the source of the information or monies, rather than the location of storage of such ill-gotten gains. In other words, it would be difficult to claim the bank as villain when the criminal activity occurred by other parties away from the storage location.
Many DGC providers do not disclose the amount of bullion stored (see table), or do not allow independent external bullion audits, raising concerns that such companies do not maintain a 100% reserve ratio, or that their currency is entirely virtual and not backed by physical gold at all.
Electronic money
Electronic money is money or scrip that is only exchanged electronically. Typically, this involves the use of computer networks, the internet and digital stored value systems...
based on ounces of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. It is a kind of representative money
Representative money
The term representative money has been used variously to mean:*a claim on a commodity, for example gold certificates or silver certificates. In this sense it may be called 'commodity-backed money'....
, like a US paper gold certificate
Gold certificate
A gold certificate in general is a certificate of ownership that gold owners hold instead of storing the actual gold. It has both a historic meaning as a US paper currency and a current meaning as a way to invest in gold....
at the time (from 1873 to 1933) that these were exchangeable for gold on demand. The typical unit of account
Unit of account
A unit of account is a standard monetary unit of measurement of value/cost of goods, services, or assets. It is one of three well-known functions of money. It lends meaning to profits, losses, liability, or assets....
for such currency is the gold gram
Gold gram
A gold gram is the amount of value represented by exactly one gram of gold. It is a unit of account frequently used for digital gold currencies. It is sometimes denoted by the symbol "gg", "AUG", or "GAU"....
or the troy ounce
Troy ounce
The troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight of precious metals. One troy ounce is nowadays defined as exactly 0.0311034768 kg = 31.1034768 g. There are approximately 32.1507466 troy oz in 1 kg...
, although other units such as the gold dinar
Gold Dinar
The gold dinar is a gold coin first issued in 77 AH by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The name is derived from denarius, a Roman currency...
are sometimes used. DGCs are backed by gold through unallocated or allocated gold storage.
Digital gold currencies are issued by a number of companies, each of which provides a system that enables users to pay each other in units that hold the same value as gold bullion. These competing providers issue independent currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
.
Universal currency
Proponents claim that DGC offers a truly global and borderless world currencyWorld currency
In the foreign exchange market and international finance, a world currency, supranational currency, or global currency refers to a currency in which the vast majority of international transactions take place and which serves as the world's primary reserve currency...
system which is independent of exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
variations and political manipulation. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium each have recognized international currency codes under ISO 4217
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
.
Asset protection
Unlike fractional-reserve bankingFractional-reserve banking
Fractional-reserve banking is a form of banking where banks maintain reserves that are only a fraction of the customer's deposits. Funds deposited into a bank are mostly lent out, and a bank keeps only a fraction of the quantity of deposits as reserves...
, DGCs hold 100% of clients' funds in reserve as gold, silver, and/or platinum, which can be exchanged via digital certificates. Proponents of DGC systems say that deposits are protected against inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, devaluation
Devaluation
Devaluation is a reduction in the value of a currency with respect to those goods, services or other monetary units with which that currency can be exchanged....
and other economic risks inherent in fiat currencies. These risks include the monetary policy
Monetary policy
Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest for the purpose of promoting economic growth and stability. The official goals usually include relatively stable prices and low unemployment...
of countries or territories, which are said by proponents to be harmful to the value of paper currency.
Bullion investing
All of the other digital gold currency systems can be used to buy, hold, and sell precious metals, but do not promote themselves as an "investment", as this implies an anticipated return.Exchanging national currency
Some providers do not sell DGC directly to clients. For those DGCs, e-currency must be bought and sold via a digital currency exchanger.Currency exchangers accept payment in national currencies by a variety of methods, including Bank Wire
Wire transfer
Wire transfer or credit transfer is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or institution to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash at a cash office...
, Direct Deposit, Cheque, Money Order. Some exchangers also sell and fund pre-paid debit cards to make it easier for their clientele to convert DGC into an easily spendable form of national currency.
DGCs are known as private currency
Private currency
A private currency is a currency issued by a private organization. It is often contrasted with fiat currency issued by governments or central banks. In many countries, the issue of private paper currencies is severely restricted by law....
as they are not issued by government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
s.
Non-reversible transactions
Unlike the credit cardCredit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
industry, digital gold currency issuers generally do not have services to dispute or reverse charges. So, reversing transactions, even in case of a legitimate error, unauthorized use, or failure of a vendor to supply goods is difficult, if not impossible. This means that using digital gold currency is more akin to a cash
Cash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
transaction, while PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
transfers, for example, could be considered more similar to credit card transactions.
The advantage of this arrangement is that the operating costs of the digital currency system are greatly reduced by not having to resolve payment disputes. Additionally, it allows digital gold currency transactions to clear instantly, making the funds available immediately to the recipient. By contrast, credit cards, checks, ACH and other reversible payment methods generally have a "clearing time" of 72 hours or more.
Risks
As with all financial media, there are several types of risk inherent to the use of DGCs: management risk, political riskPolitical risk
Political risk is a type of risk faced by investors, corporations, and governments. It is a risk that can be understood and managed with reasoned foresight and investment....
, data security
Data security
Data security is the means of ensuring that data is kept safe from corruption and that access to it is suitably controlled. Thus data security helps to ensure privacy. It also helps in protecting personal data. Data security is part of the larger practice of Information security.- Disk Encryption...
and exchange risk.
Management and political risks
DGCs, like all financial institutions and public securities, have a layer of risk in the form of the management of the issuing institution. Controls aimed to limit management risk are called "governanceGovernance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
".
All other DGC providers operate under self-regulation. DGC providers are not banks and therefore not subject to many bank regulation
Bank regulation
Bank regulations are a form of government regulation which subject banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines. This regulatory structure creates transparency between banking institutions and the individuals and corporations with whom they conduct business, among other things...
s that pertain to fractional reserve lending as they do not engage in lending. However, DGCs do provide a method for transferring currency from one person to another, and therefore may fall under regulations pertaining to money transmitting in various jurisdictions.
The Global Digital Currency Association
Global Digital Currency Association
The Global Digital Currency Association is a trade association of electronic money operators, digital currency exchangers, merchants and users....
(GDCA), which was founded in 2002, is a non-profit association of online currency operators, exchangers, merchants and users. The GDCA is an example of the DGC industry's attempt at self-regulation. On their website they claim their goal is to "further the interests of the industry as a whole and help with fighting fraud and other illegal activities, arbitrate disputes and act as escrow agent when and where required." Of the current DGC providers, Pecunix
Pecunix
Pecunix is a digital gold currency founded in 2002 by Simon Davis. Similar to competing systems such as e-gold, Pecunix allows for the instant transfer of gold between user accounts....
, Liberty Reserve and eight others have become members of the association. It costs one gram of gold to file a complaint if you are not a member, and the list of filable complaints is not exhaustive. Their domain name is registered anonymously through domains by proxy, see whois.
OS-Gold, Standard Reserve and INTGold
Several companies claiming to be Digital Gold Currencies sprang up and failed between 1999 and 2004, such as OS-Gold, Standard Reserve and INTGold. All these companies failed because the principals diverted deposits for other purposes instead of holding them in the form of gold. In each of these cases, account holders lost several million dollars worth of gold when the "institution" failed.e-gold and 1mdc
Following April 27, 2007, the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
forced e-gold
E-gold
e-gold is a digital gold currency operated by Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. under e-gold Ltd., and allowed the instant transfer of gold ownership between users until 2009 when transfers were suspended due to legal issues. e-gold Ltd...
to liquidate some 10 to 20 million dollars worth of e-gold, and is attempting to bring a case against e-gold. e-gold has committed to counter what its founders have declared to be groundless allegations.
1mdc
1mdc
1mdc was a digital gold currency , originally founded in 2001. Similar to other DGCs, 1mdc allowed for the instant electronic transfer of gold between user accounts...
was backed by e-gold, so events that affected e-gold also affected 1mdc. Once e-gold Ltd. was instructed by the US government to freeze and liquidate all 1mdc accounts, 1mdc became insolvent by default along with all other e-gold accounts seized in the April 27 action.
e-Bullion
As of August 2008 Jim Fayed of e-BullionE-Bullion
e-Bullion was a digital gold currency founded by Jim Fayed, a resident of Moorpark, California, USA. The company was incorporated in December, 2000, and launched on July 4, 2001...
is in United States Federal custody where he faces felony charges of conducting unlicensed money transactions and the murder of his business partner.
As of January 2010 e-Bullion is closed for business and the website unavailable.
As of June 2011 e-Bullion owner James Fayed was found guilty of murder in the State of California, and sentenced to death.
Data security
Digital Gold Systems are completely dependent on electronic storage and transmission of account ownership information. Therefore the security of a given digital currency account is dependent upon the security of the Issuer as well as the security of the Account Holder's computer.While the Digital Gold Issuers employ data security experts to protect their systems, the average account holder's computer is poorly protected against malware (trojans, worms, and viruses) that can be used to intercept information that could be used to access the user's DGC account. Therefore the most common attacks on digital currency systems are directed against account holder's computer through the use of malicious spam, phishing
Phishing
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
and other methods.
Issuers have taken quite different approaches to this problem. E-gold basically places the entire responsibility on the shoulders of the user, and uses a user-name and password authentication system that is weak and highly vulnerable to interception by malware. (Though it is the most common authentication method used by online banks.) The "not our problem" approach to user security has negatively contributed to e-gold's public image, as not a few e-gold accounts have been hacked and swept clean by attackers..
e-Bullion offers account holders a "Cryptocard" security token that changes the passphrase with each logon, but charges the account holder USD $99.50 for the token. E-bullion does not require customers to use the Cryptocard, so account holders who choose not to get one may suffer from the same security issues as e-gold customers.
Pecunix
Pecunix
Pecunix is a digital gold currency founded in 2002 by Simon Davis. Similar to competing systems such as e-gold, Pecunix allows for the instant transfer of gold between user accounts....
devised a unique rotating key system that provides many of the benefits of a security token without requiring the user to buy one. Pecunix also supports the use of PGP signature
Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy is a data encryption and decryption computer program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is often used for signing, encrypting and decrypting texts, E-mails, files, directories and whole disk partitions to increase the security...
s to access an account, which is probably the strongest of all authentication methods.
Exchange risk
Digital gold currency is a form of representative moneyRepresentative money
The term representative money has been used variously to mean:*a claim on a commodity, for example gold certificates or silver certificates. In this sense it may be called 'commodity-backed money'....
as it directly represents gold metal on deposit or in custody. This depends on the issuer. Most issuers have the gold on deposit - i.e., the issuer will redeem the digital currency obligation with physical metal. Just as the exchange rates of national currencies fluctuate against each other, the exchange rates of DGCs fluctuate against national currencies, which is reflected by the price of gold in a particular currency. This creates exchange risk for any account holder, in the same way one would experience exchange risk by holding a bank account in a foreign currency.
Some DGC holders make use of the digital currency for daily monetary transactions, even though most of their normal income and expenses are denominated in the national currency of their home country. Fluctuations in the value of gold against their national currency can create some confusion and difficulty for new users as they see the "value" of their DGC account fluctuate in terms of their native currency.
In contrast to exchange risk, caused by gold's fluctuation against national currency, the purchasing power
Purchasing power
Purchasing power is the number of goods/services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if you had taken one dollar to a store in the 1950s, you would have been able to buy a greater number of items than you would today, indicating that you would have had a greater purchasing...
of gold (and therefore DGCs) is measured by its fluctuation against other commodities, goods and services. Since gold has historically been the refuge of choice in times of inflation or economic hardship, the purchasing power of gold becomes stronger during times of negative sentiment in the markets. Due to this speculative interference, there are times when purchasing power has also declined. For example, in 2007–2008, gold volatility closely tracked the run-up in oil prices.
Providers
Comparison of operating DGCs :| Digital gold currency | Date founded |
Financially regulated Financial regulation Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the integrity of the financial system... |
GDCA Global Digital Currency Association The Global Digital Currency Association is a trade association of electronic money operators, digital currency exchangers, merchants and users.... member |
Bullion stored |
Bullion audit trail |
Number of user accounts |
DCE transfers accepted | Wire transfer Wire transfer Wire transfer or credit transfer is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or institution to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash at a cash office... s accepted |
Annual storage fee | Processing fee (when receiving from another user) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| e-dinar | 2000 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 1% | 1% (with max. 0.015 gold dinar) | |||||
| Pecunix Pecunix Pecunix is a digital gold currency founded in 2002 by Simon Davis. Similar to competing systems such as e-gold, Pecunix allows for the instant transfer of gold between user accounts.... |
2002 | 2,777 oz gold | Undisclosed | 0% | 0.15 - 0.50% (with min. 0.0001 - max. 3.0 gold grams) | |||||
| iGolder | 2005 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | x% | 1% | |||||
| Liberty Reserve | 2004 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | x% | 1% | |||||
| gbullion | 2007 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | x% | 1% | |||||
| GoldMoney | 2001 | 18tn Au | 19.114 | 0.18% | 0% | |||||
| e-gold E-gold e-gold is a digital gold currency operated by Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. under e-gold Ltd., and allowed the instant transfer of gold ownership between users until 2009 when transfers were suspended due to legal issues. e-gold Ltd... |
1999 | Undisclosed | blocked by USG | 1% | 1% | |||||
Criticisms
DGC providers and exchangers have been accused of being a medium for fraudulent high-yield investment program (HYIP) schemes. In January 2006, BusinessWeekBusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
reported that ShadowCrew
ShadowCrew
ShadowCrew was a cybercrime message board that operated under the domain name ShadowCrew.com between August 2002 - October 2004 and assisted criminals with allegedley stealing an estimated $4.3-$10.0+ million US dollars from fraudulent credit card transactions alone.According to the US Secret...
, an online gang, used the e-gold
E-gold
e-gold is a digital gold currency operated by Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. under e-gold Ltd., and allowed the instant transfer of gold ownership between users until 2009 when transfers were suspended due to legal issues. e-gold Ltd...
system in a massive identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
and fraud scheme. Traditional banks are also used frequently for such fraud. Allegations that e-gold is a safe medium for crime and fraud are strongly denied by its Chairman and founder, Dr. Douglas Jackson
Douglas Jackson (businessman)
Douglas Jackson is the chairman and co-founder of e-gold.Jackson, educated as a medical doctor, previously served as a major in the United States Army Medical Corps at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas , and has previously practiced as an oncologist.- External links :*...
. Further, it can be argued that such problems lay with the source of the information or monies, rather than the location of storage of such ill-gotten gains. In other words, it would be difficult to claim the bank as villain when the criminal activity occurred by other parties away from the storage location.
Many DGC providers do not disclose the amount of bullion stored (see table), or do not allow independent external bullion audits, raising concerns that such companies do not maintain a 100% reserve ratio, or that their currency is entirely virtual and not backed by physical gold at all.
Cultural references
- The novel CryptonomiconCryptonomiconCryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The novel follows the exploits of two groups of people in two different time periods, presented in alternating chapters...
by Neal StephensonNeal StephensonNeal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
uses the idea of a gold-based digital currency in combination with strong cryptographyCryptographyCryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
. - The novel Alongside Night by J. Neil SchulmanJ. Neil SchulmanJoseph Neil Schulman is a novelist who wrote Alongside Night and The Rainbow Cadenza which both received the Prometheus Award, a libertarian science fiction award....
features several types of competing DGCs. - The novel Molon Labe!Molon Labe!Molôn Labé! is Kenneth W. Royce's first fiction book . The novel deals with the migration of freedom-minded individuals to the state of Wyoming, where they take political power through the use of the ballot box....
by Kenneth W. RoyceKenneth W. RoyceKenneth W. Royce is an American author who primarily writes under the pen-name of Boston T. Party.He has written non-fiction books that offer a libertarian stance on privacy, police encounters, tax resistance and gun politics...
features a gold based digital accounting system very similar to DGCs. - The novel Minerva by Robert P. MurphyRobert P. MurphyRobert P. "Bob" Murphy is an Austrian School economist and anarcho-capitalist.-Education and personal life:Murphy completed his Bachelor of Arts in economics at Hillsdale College in 1998. He then moved back to his home state of New York to continue his studies at New York University. Murphy earned...
features DGCs prominently. - The novel The Cryptographer by Tobias HillTobias HillTobias Hill is an award-winning British poet, essayist, writer of short stories and novelist.-Life:Tobias Hill was born in Kentish Town, in North London, to parents of German Jewish and English extraction: his maternal grandfather was the brother of Gottfried Bermann, confidant of Thomas Mann and,...
is centered around Soft Gold, a DGC.