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Editor\u2019s note: <\/em>Cashu<\/em><\/a> is a protocol, not a company.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Founders: <\/strong>Calle<\/p>\n Date Founded:<\/strong> October 2022<\/p>\n Location of Headquarters:<\/strong> Remote<\/p>\n Amount of Bitcoin Held in Treasury:<\/strong> N\/A<\/p>\n Number of Employees:<\/strong> 20-30 open-source developers<\/p>\n Website:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/cashu.space\/<\/a><\/p>\n Public or Private?<\/strong> N\/A<\/p>\n Of Bitcoin\u2019s many notable properties, privacy isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n In fact, the transparency of the Bitcoin blockchain<\/a> contrasts starkly with the privacy that Chaumian ecash<\/a>, a form of digital cash created by legendary cryptographer Dr. David Chaum in 1982, offers.<\/p>\n So, what do these two technologies have to do with one another?<\/p>\n Well, 40 years after the invention of ecash and after a failed attempt<\/a> to integrate it into the traditional financial infrastructure in the 1990s, a developer who goes by the pseudonym \u201cCalle\u201d found a place for the technology within the Bitcoin ecosystem.<\/p>\n \u201cEcash was waiting for Bitcoin as a foundational layer,\u201d Calle told Bitcoin Magazine. \u201cBitcoin represents a permissionless system on which anyone can build financial innovation without having to consult the big banks. It\u2019s just a way better environment to experiment with this technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Calle has been innovating with this technology via Cashu<\/a>, a free and open-source ecash protocol he released into the world in October 2022. With Cashu, users get the best of both the Bitcoin and Chaumian ecash worlds.<\/p>\n And while readers of this publication are likely already familiar with how Bitcoin works<\/a>, ecash may be a new concept.<\/p>\n Ecash is a bearer asset that can be transferred peer-to-peer, much like bitcoin.<\/p>\n However, a key difference between ecash and bitcoin is that bitcoin exists on a ledger, whereas ecash lives on its holder\u2019s device.<\/p>\n \u201cEcash is for us Bitcoiners a very alien concept because it flips the concept of a ledger on its head,\u201d explained Calle.<\/p>\n \u201cIn an ecash system, the state of who owns what is determined by who has ecash in their pockets, not \u2018What does this database say about who has what?\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n On a more technical level, ecash tokens are essentially IOUs that are minted<\/a> using a technology called \u201cblind signatures<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n With Cashu, ordinary users can operate a mint via the Lightning Network using this guide<\/a>, written by Calle.<\/p>\n You might think that someone who hides their face behind a bright orange face wrap when making media appearances would be motivated by quite radical ideology, but this isn\u2019t the case with Calle.<\/p>\n Instead, he\u2019s surprisingly down-to-earth, practical and highly logical. His goal in building Cashu is simply to preserve the type of privacy we\u2019ve had in financial transactions for centuries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used financially-private instruments for hundreds of years without realizing that we use one of the best technologies in financial privacy \u2014 physical cash,\u201d said Calle.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, it’s not really like we’re trying to bend towards something that we haven\u2019t experienced. We\u2019re just preserving the things that we already enjoy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Calle wants to see Chaumian ecash succeed despite the challenges it faced when Dr. Chaum tried to implement it into the traditional financial system via his company DigiCash<\/a> in the \u201890s.<\/p>\n \u201cChaumian ecash had a very big mission,\u201d said Calle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should have revolutionized the entire financial world. But, unfortunately, PayPal and Visa took over,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m also being pragmatic in that I’m choosing to build this on Bitcoin because first. Bitcoin is the only world where you can start building something like this open source.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of Calle\u2019s objective in building Cashu on Bitcoin is to get more people using bitcoin for everyday transactions.<\/p>\n \u201cBitcoin needs to be carried by diverse groups of people, so we can get the normies to see the enormous potential that this technology gives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He also believes that in onboarding more people to Bitcoin, we should be more measured in our approach and let the technology itself do the talking.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be against the state to love Bitcoin. You don\u2019t even have to believe in separating money from state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIdeology spreads way more slowly than technology. Technology can explode overnight,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cJust explain to people that we have found the money of the internet. This happens once only in the history of the internet, and we have crossed that line. Let’s spread that message.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat Is Ecash?<\/h2>\n
Calle\u2019s Motivation In Creating Cashu<\/h2>\n
Ecash On Bitcoin<\/h2>\n