Chapter 316 Future Currency

0073 is obviously a fanatical crypto anarchist. Many people sitting there are like him. They are like believers of a religion and firmly believe that their theories are correct.

Seeing their words and deeds, Lin Hong couldn't help but remember what the teacher once said when he was in a religious class in a Latin school: "In a sense, science is also a religion."

At this time, the large screen on the front-end podium of the conference hall has lit up, and someone is already starting to debug the projector.

A middle-aged man with yellow hair walked to the podium at this time. He did not wear a mask.

0073's speech also came to an end for the time being. After he saw the man, he exclaimed in a low voice, "It's Eric!"

"Do you know him?"

"You don't even know him?" 0073 looked at Lin Hong strangely, "He is the founder of cryptopunk, Eric, a cryptographer who has resigned from Intel."

Lin Hong saw the name Eric on the website before, but he didn't see the photos of the other party, and now he knows his real face.

Eric connected a notebook to the computer on the podium, and the projector immediately showed the topic of today's meeting - bit messenger and pgp encryption, electronic currency, anonymous mail relay server, and Diffy Heilman key exchange paper.

"ae! ( That's great!) After 0073 saw these topics, he couldn't help shouting in surprise. These topics were of great concern to him. He didn't expect that he could not only see Eric this time, but also hear such a meaningful technical speech. He couldn't help but be glad that he was lucky this time. It would be a pity if he missed it.

Lin Hong was a little surprised when he saw the bit messenger appearing in the topic of the meeting, but he was relieved.

First of all, the speech session. The cryptopunk organization has made arrangements before and invited some core crypto anarchists to give a speech on the stage to announce the latest research results and theories.

Lin Hong saw that the people who gave speeches on the stage did not wear masks. They all saw people with their true faces. The purpose of doing so may be that on the one hand, they have long been famous in the industry, and on the other hand, they may want to establish authority in this field. They are not afraid of any trouble because of this. They He is a firm supporter of crypto anarchism.

The first speaker was Eric.

He wears a gray shirt and blue jeans, with long blonde hair. He looks like a typical technician and doesn't pay attention to his appearance.

He first reviewed some papers on encryption technology, and then began to briefly introduce the development of encryption technology since the birth of computers.

These encryption technologies are the fastest developing, the most widely used is public key encryption technology, and the application software is represented by bit messenger and pgp encryption software.

Eric analyzed the implementation technology theory of the bit messenger in detail. He quoted the basic principle description text released by Lin Hong in the forum that year, and praised the author of the software, saying that it solved the most basic credit verification problem.

"... The information sent by a and b who chat with each other online can not only be truly confidential, but also the messages they send will not be intercepted and modified. Authentication with the public key and private key ensures that the message sent by a is indeed what he wants to send, and the information received by b cannot be sent or forged by c. This kind of point-to-point information transmission is a very great feature, which solves the most basic trust problem.

The principle of Eric Bitter's messenger is highly respected.

"We have a plan to develop an electronic smart card similar to a credit card based on the bit messenger principle."

As soon as Eric's voice fell, the crowd present suddenly became in an uproar.

Many people mean what this means.

"My God, is the electronic money coming?" 0073 exclaimed.

Lin Hong said, "What's the difference between this kind of smart card and credit card?"

Many people have the same idea as Lin Hong.

Eric obviously expected it a long time ago, and he continued: "The most important feature of this card is that there is an encryption chip in it, which can achieve an untraceable digital signature. Traditional credit cards, such as MasterCard, visa, no matter where we spend, buy a dress in a shopping mall, or drink a cup of coffee in a cafe, our consumption records are kept in the bank. These consumption records are like a tracker, exposing our **..."

"Some hateful businessmen may buy this information and then send us advertising materials in a targeted manner, or criminals with ulterior motives may also peep at the clues of crime. However, using this smart card can avoid this phenomenon. Only the merchant and you know where you have spent it, and the third party does not know at all.

After listening to it, Lin Hong also understood the principle of this kind of card.

The function of the encryption chip is to verify the contact with the bank, because it is necessary to ensure that the money in the card is real and has not been spent.

In this way, it is like using cash directly, which is both hidden and verifiable.

Although it sounds good, Lin Hong feels that this technology has no exciting characteristics. Because these cards are equivalent to a prepaid recharge card, or do you need to go to a special place to recharge, or do you need to deal with the bank?

In the event of a war or other major disaster, the government or the bank will go to credit, and these cards are still scrapped and, like banknotes, they are completely incapacitated.

Of course, in general, this is an improvement in the means of payment, which can achieve an anonymous transaction to a certain extent.

Next, Eric began to talk about pgp encryption software.

This software is a free encryption software designed by the password rebels themselves. The author is Philip Zimmerman, who is a member of the password punk.

pgp, the acronym of prettygoodprivacy, is an encryption technology that combines public key encryption with traditional key encryption. It uses a pair of mathematically related keys, in which the public key is used to encrypt information and the private key is used to decrypt information.

Like the bit messenger, pcp software is also developed based on the rsa public key encryption algorithm.

The difference is that the bit messenger encrypts messages for instant messaging software, while pg encrypts messages. It is used to keep the user's email confidential to prevent unauthorized persons from reading it. It can also add a digital signature to the email so that the recipient can be sure that the email is sent by a real user.

The source code of this software is also open source and free, which can be used by everyone. It is also very popular on the Internet, and such emails can often be seen spreading on the Internet.

Lin Hong is also very familiar with this software, because in the past, when they received or performed tasks, they often used this software to encrypt it in order to contact the employer or headquarters by email.

At that time, he didn't know that the pcp software was the masterpiece of the cryptopunk organization.

The emergence of this software has indeed brought a lot of convenience to people.

Of course, some people with this need are the needs of commercial companies to protect trade secrets, while more people are used for communication in crime or gray industry.

Whether it is a bit messenger or pgp, such software is disliked and strongly opposed by national government agencies. They will try to slow down or stop the spread of these software and technologies.

After Eric, another password rebel Andy came to the podium. He was a bald old man in his fifties with round-framed glasses. He focused on explaining to everyone what obstacles the progress of encryption technology would encounter.

"Technology does not have any political factors, but at this stage of the development of encryption technology, it is inevitable that there will be a connection with politics." Andy said, "The government may want to ban the development of these technologies because they have good reasons. They will say that these technologies will threaten national security. In addition, drug dealers and tax evaders will also use these technologies to achieve their goals."

"These situations do exist, because these software will make it very easy to leak state secrets and illegally obtained materials. Intelligence traffickers can sell and transmit information very easily. There may even be shameless assassinations and extortion transactions in the anonymous online market... However, these phenomena cannot hinder the development of crypto anarchism. Just as printing weakened the power of medieval parties and changed the structure of social power, cryptography will also fundamentally change the nature of enterprises and the nature of government interference in economic transactions!"

......

"In our efforts, this day will come sooner or later!"

Andy finally ended his speech in an impassioned tone, ushering in the long-lasting applause of the participants.

Next, the staff began to put a few sofas on the podium. A representative figure in the crypto punk sat down, and the other two were invited guests, a mathematician, and the other was a professor of finance at New York University.

They started a small seminar on the topic of electronic money.

In fact, telephone banking and online banking have appeared during this period, and the emergence of bank debit cards and credit cards can also be called a form of electronic money.

However, these password rebels obviously don't like these so-called electronic money. In their opinion, these things are not real electronic money at all.

The smart card mentioned above is one of their attempts. They use their influence to actively promote the application of these technologies in life.

In their discussion and outlook on future electronic money, smart cards are just an alternative to credit cards, and they don't think it's electronic money.

The future electronic currency should be a real currency, which does not even require the participation of banks. It is completely a ** system, and can be paid anytime and anywhere without the help of any hardware.

Lin Hong sat quietly in his seat, listening to their brainstorming on the podium, and there were also some trivial inspirations in his mind. An idea gradually took shape in his mind from vague to clear.