Difference between revisions of "About"

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m (Related Systems: added clarification)
(Video Walkthrough: Removed desktop video walkthru as well, since it contains footage showing the Monetas OT iPhone client. (Will post a new replacement video soon.))
 
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* Open-Transactions is an [[Use Cases|easy-to-use]], financial crypto, [[Sample Cash|digital cash]] and transaction [[List of Classes|library]].
 
* Open-Transactions is an [[Use Cases|easy-to-use]], financial crypto, [[Sample Cash|digital cash]] and transaction [[List of Classes|library]].
* Open-Transactions includes a [[API|client API]], a working [[Otserver|server]], a [[TestGUI|GUI test wallet]] (in Java) and a [[opentxs|command-line]] wallet utility.
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* Open-Transactions is open-source.
* Open-Transactions features: a large variety of financial instruments, markets, basket currencies, unforgeable account balances, '''untraceable digital cash,''' destruction of account history, [http://iang.org/papers/ricardian_contract.html Ricardian contracts], Smart Contracts (scriptable clauses), and more.
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* Open-Transactions includes a [[API|client API]], a working [[Otserver|server]], a cross-platform [https://github.com/Open-Transactions/Moneychanger GUI] and a [[opentxs|command-line]] wallet utility.
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* Open-Transactions features: a large variety of financial instruments, markets, basket currencies, unforgeable account balances, digital cash, destruction of account history, [http://iang.org/papers/ricardian_contract.html Ricardian contracts], Smart Contracts (scriptable clauses), and more.
  
  
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* Any issuer can sign and distribute new [[Sample Currency Contract|currency contracts]] in order to create new digital asset types.
 
* Any issuer can sign and distribute new [[Sample Currency Contract|currency contracts]] in order to create new digital asset types.
 
* Users may create many ''pseudonyms'' (public keys), each of which may own ''asset accounts'' of various types, on OT servers.
 
* Users may create many ''pseudonyms'' (public keys), each of which may own ''asset accounts'' of various types, on OT servers.
* Users can operate '''"cash-only"''' ''(without accounts)'' for maximum anonymity, using '''[[Sample Cash|untraceable digital cash]]'''.
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* Users can operate '''"cash-only"''' for maximum anonymity, using '''[[Sample Cash|untraceable digital cash]]'''.
  
  
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* Without the special mechanism that makes this possible, ''all parties would otherwise be forced to store all receipts forever''.
 
* Without the special mechanism that makes this possible, ''all parties would otherwise be forced to store all receipts forever''.
 
* Nyms and Asset Types have consistent IDs across all OT servers, since the ID is formed by hashing the relevant contract or public key.
 
* Nyms and Asset Types have consistent IDs across all OT servers, since the ID is formed by hashing the relevant contract or public key.
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<big>'''Is Open-Transactions [[CENTRALIZED|centralized]]?'''</big>
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* No—quite the opposite. Open-Transactions is highly '''decentralized'''.
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* Typical centralized servers have power over their users, but in OT, '''no server has power over the clients it serves''', because:
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# An OT server does not control user transactions—it merely notarizes them.
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# Anyone can operate an OT server, and users can go to any OT server to notarize transactions. Thus OT servers compete with each other to attract users to use their notary services.
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# Anyone can download an OT client, and use it to execute transactions on any OT server, or any group of OT servers.
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# OT uses triple-signed receipts, so transaction parties have independent cryptographic proof of transactions and balances.
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# OT servers do not store user assets. Rather, cryptocurrencies are stored in voting pools so the server can't steal them.
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In every way, '''the user is in control, not the server'''—even when you're using servers you do not trust. These characteristics generate a '''federated''' network architecture—similar to the internet, and it has the same virtues as the internet—openness, decentralization, resilience, censorship-resistance, and user control.
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The community behind OT is strongly committed to developing systems that give users full control over their own assets and information.
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
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<div style="float:right; max-width: 300px; margin: -20px 10px 0 20px;">
 
<div style="float:right; max-width: 300px; margin: -20px 10px 0 20px;">
  
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== White Paper ==
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[http://www.opentransactions.org/open-transactions.pdf OT White Paper]
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== Diagrams ==
 
== Diagrams ==
  
[http://billstclair.com/ot/ot-diagram.jpg Architecture Overview]
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[[Voting_Pool_Deposit_Process|Voting Pools]]
  
[http://billstclair.com/ot/OT-Anon-CashOnly.jpg Fully-Anonymous (cash only)]
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[http://i.imgur.com/HTyAJjg.png Architecture Overview (new)]
  
[http://billstclair.com/ot/OT-Pseudonym-Instruments.jpg Pseudo-Anonymous (using accounts)]
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[http://billstclair.com/ot/ot-diagram.jpg Architecture Overview (old)]
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[http://billstclair.com/ot/OT-Pseudonym-Instruments.jpg Financial Instruments]
 
 
 
 
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== Radio Interviews ==
 
== Radio Interviews ==
  
[http://agoristradio.com/?p=234 Part 1, courtesy of AgoristRadio]
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[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teNzIFu5L70 "Trust No One" Miami Speech]
  
[http://agoristradio.com/?p=246 Part 2, courtesy of AgoristRadio]
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[http://agoristradio.com/?p=234 AgoristRadio Interview, Part 1]
  
== Video Walkthrough ==
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[http://agoristradio.com/?p=246 AgoristRadio Interview, Part 2]
  
[http://vimeo.com/28141679 Video 1 posted by J. Orlin Grabbe]
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[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtJcUM5-TeA Interview with "Let's Talk Bitcoin"]
  
[http://vimeo.com/28142096 Video 2 posted by J. Orlin Grabbe]
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[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSgpStCTw2g Interview with FutureMoneyTrends.com]
  
[http://open-transactions.github.io/tv/ Official video archive (more videos)]
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== Video Walkthrough ==
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[http://localhost:3000/img/iphone-app.png iPhone App screenshot]
  
 
-----
 
-----
  
Bitcoin donation address: 1NtTPVVjDsUfDWybS4BwvHpG2pdS9RnYyQ
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[[Components and GNU Licensing]]
  
IRC: #opentransactions at irc.freenode.net
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[[Vulnerabilities|Potential vulnerabilities]] of Open-Transactions
  
Mailing list: [email protected]
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== Related Systems ==
  
[[Components and GNU Licensing|Components]]
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[http://bitcoin.org/ Bitcoin] - A censorship-resistant global ledger
  
-----
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[[Stash]] - Enterprise platform based on OT.
  
Is Open-Transactions '''[[CENTRALIZED|centralized]]?'''
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[[Monetas]] - Transaction platform inspired by OT.
  
The vision is not of a central server that you must trust. Rather, the vision is of federated servers you don't have to trust.
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[https://loom.cc/help Loom] - Asset issuance and transactions
  
== Related Systems ==
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[http://www.csee.umbc.edu/~woodcock/cmsc482/proj1/magmoney.html Magic Money] - PGP-based Chaumian blinding (unlinkable cash)
  
[http://bitcoin.org/ Bitcoin] - A censorship-resistant global ledger
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[http://opencoin.org/ OpenCoin.org] - REST-based blinded tokens
  
[https://loom.cc/help Loom] - Asset issuance and transactions
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[http://www.opentransact.org/ OpenTransact] - REST-based transaction protocol
  
[http://www.csee.umbc.edu/~woodcock/cmsc482/proj1/magmoney.html Magic Money] - PGP-based Chaumian blinding (untraceable cash)
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[https://payswarm.com/ PaySwarm] - REST-based transaction protocol
  
 
[https://www.facebook.com/publickeytransaction PKTP] - Public-Key Transaction Processor
 
[https://www.facebook.com/publickeytransaction PKTP] - Public-Key Transaction Processor
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[http://wiki.dgcmagazine.com/index.php?title=Ricardo Ricardo] - Transaction system by Ian Grigg
 
[http://wiki.dgcmagazine.com/index.php?title=Ricardo Ricardo] - Transaction system by Ian Grigg
  
[https://ripple.com/ Ripple] - Consensus-based global ledger
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[https://ripple.com/ Ripple] - Consensus-based debt ledger
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[https://www.stellar.org/ Stellar] - Ripple-based
  
 
[http://truledger.com/ Truledger] - Destruction of account history
 
[http://truledger.com/ Truledger] - Destruction of account history
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The server itself is a [[Transactions|transaction processor]] in the cypherpunk tradition. In more detail:
 
The server itself is a [[Transactions|transaction processor]] in the cypherpunk tradition. In more detail:
  
* Many '''financial instruments''' are supported: Users can write '''cheques''', purchase '''cashier's cheques''' (&quot;vouchers&quot;), and withdraw in '''[[Sample Cash|untraceable digital cash]]'''. The software uses Chaumian-style, blinded tokens courtesy of the [http://anoncvs.aldigital.co.uk/lucre/ Lucre] library by Ben Laurie.
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* Many '''financial instruments''' are supported: Users can write '''cheques''', purchase '''cashier's cheques''' (&quot;vouchers&quot;), and withdraw in '''[[Sample Cash|unlinkable digital cash]]'''. The software uses Chaumian-style, blinded tokens courtesy of the [http://anoncvs.aldigital.co.uk/lucre/ Lucre] library by Ben Laurie.
 
* It's like '''PGP FOR MONEY'''. The idea is to have many cash algorithms, not just Lucre. I’d like to add Chaum’s version, Brands’ version, etc. So that, just like PGP, the software should support as many of the top algorithms as possible, and make it easy to swap them out when necessary.
 
* It's like '''PGP FOR MONEY'''. The idea is to have many cash algorithms, not just Lucre. I’d like to add Chaum’s version, Brands’ version, etc. So that, just like PGP, the software should support as many of the top algorithms as possible, and make it easy to swap them out when necessary.
 
* User accounts are '''pseudonymous'''. '''A user account is a public key'''. (This is like [http://pktp.co.cc/ PKTP] by Andrew McMeikan.) You can open as many user accounts as you want. ''Full anonymity'' is possible only for "cash-only" transactions (where users only perform token exchanges, and do not open accounts), whereas ''pseudonymity'' means that transactions can be linked to the key that signed them. (While the real life identity of the owner is hidden, continuity of reputation becomes possible.) ''See full-color diagrams linked above''.
 
* User accounts are '''pseudonymous'''. '''A user account is a public key'''. (This is like [http://pktp.co.cc/ PKTP] by Andrew McMeikan.) You can open as many user accounts as you want. ''Full anonymity'' is possible only for "cash-only" transactions (where users only perform token exchanges, and do not open accounts), whereas ''pseudonymity'' means that transactions can be linked to the key that signed them. (While the real life identity of the owner is hidden, continuity of reputation becomes possible.) ''See full-color diagrams linked above''.
* '''Any user can issue new digital currencies''' and digital asset types, by uploading the new [currency contract] to the server. (This functionality is comparable to [http://www.systemics.com/docs/sox/overview.html Ricardo] by [http://financialcryptography.com/ Ian Grigg].)
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* '''Any user can issue new digital currencies''' and digital asset types, by uploading the new [[Sample Currency Contract|currency contract]] to the server. (This functionality is comparable to [http://www.systemics.com/docs/sox/overview.html Ricardo] by [http://financialcryptography.com/ Ian Grigg].)
* '''Users can open asset accounts of any type.''' You can have as many as you want, associated with each user account. (See [http://loom.cc/ Loom] by Patrick Chkeroff.)
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* '''Users can open asset accounts of any type.''' You can have as many as you want, associated with each user account. (See [http://loom.cc/ Loom] by Patrick Chkoreff.)
 
* [[Triple-Signed Receipts|Triple Signed Receipts / No Account History]]. On OT, entities are able to conduct transactions, verify instruments, ''and'' provably agree on current holdings via ''signed receipts'', all without the need to store any transaction history.'' An ''asset account'' on OT is not according to the traditional sense of the word (an account normally being thought of as, "a list of transactions, with a balance, used in double-entry bookkeeping.") While the word "account" makes things easy to understand, an ''asset account'' on OT exists only in the mind of the account holder himself. He simply asks the server to agree with him that it exists, and to provide him with a signed receipt to that effect. In the user interface, OT is able to mimic the ''account metaphor'', making usage intuitive, even though ''no actual account exists, or need be stored on either side, other than the signed receipt itself!'' (See Bill St. Clair's excellent [http://truledger.com/ Truledger] for an [http://truledger.com/doc/plain-english.html example of this concept].)
 
* [[Triple-Signed Receipts|Triple Signed Receipts / No Account History]]. On OT, entities are able to conduct transactions, verify instruments, ''and'' provably agree on current holdings via ''signed receipts'', all without the need to store any transaction history.'' An ''asset account'' on OT is not according to the traditional sense of the word (an account normally being thought of as, "a list of transactions, with a balance, used in double-entry bookkeeping.") While the word "account" makes things easy to understand, an ''asset account'' on OT exists only in the mind of the account holder himself. He simply asks the server to agree with him that it exists, and to provide him with a signed receipt to that effect. In the user interface, OT is able to mimic the ''account metaphor'', making usage intuitive, even though ''no actual account exists, or need be stored on either side, other than the signed receipt itself!'' (See Bill St. Clair's excellent [http://truledger.com/ Truledger] for an [http://truledger.com/doc/plain-english.html example of this concept].)
 
* Open Transactions also features '''markets'''. Any two asset types can be traded against each other. The [[markets]] are full-featured and include '''limit orders, stop orders, fill-or-kill, day orders''' (date ranges), and '''stop limits'''.
 
* Open Transactions also features '''markets'''. Any two asset types can be traded against each other. The [[markets]] are full-featured and include '''limit orders, stop orders, fill-or-kill, day orders''' (date ranges), and '''stop limits'''.

Latest revision as of 05:55, 5 December 2015