How to Make a Mint: The Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash (1997)
digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu
digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu
Personally, (he says after checking that his hat is properly positioned to block the rays) I think it's a story worth considering. The NSA has people on staff with the skill to implement a cryptocurrency, and is one of the few organizations capable of creating Satoshi Nakamoto from thin air without making any major blunders so far. More info on the theory here: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/nsa-bitcoin-1996/
I didn't read the paper, but here's the last paragraph:
"In conclusion, the potential risks in electronic commerce are magnified when anonymity is present. Anonymity creates the potential for large sums of counterfeit money to go undetected by preventing identification of forged coins. Anonymity also provides an avenue for laundering money and evading taxes that is difficult to combat without resorting to escrow mechanisms. Anonymity can be provided at varying levels, but increasing the level of anonymity also increases the potential damages. It is necessary to weigh the need for anonymity with these concerns. It may well be concluded that these problems are best avoided by using a secure electronic payment system that provides privacy, but not anonymity."
I'm not sure what to take from that. In any paper, you know that most people will only read the intro and the conclusion.
the blockchain solves the problem of forged coins.
[0] Bitcoin could just as easily been a pet project of a crypto researcher employed at the NSA.