Stallman calls for “truly anonymous” alternative to Bitcoin

Barry Collins Read more December 2, 2013

Free software advocate Richard Stallman has called for an anonymous alternative to Bitcoin to “make democracy safe”.

The outspoken activist praised Bitcoin for delivering a payment system that was largely independent of financial institutions in an interview with Russia Today, although he warned that most Bitcoin transactions could be traced.

The credit card identifies you, so when you get Bitcoins in return, the government can see who you are

“People don’t necessarily give their names when they do Bitcoin transactions, but the government can probably figure out who is doing the transaction,” he warned.

“How are you going to get Bitcoins after all – unless you set up a Bitcoin money computer?” he asked. “If you are an ordinary person, the way you could do it is by paying with a credit card to a company that will exchange government currency for Bitcoins. The credit card identifies you, so when you get Bitcoins in return, the government can see who you are.”

Instead, Stallman would like to see a “truly anonymous” system created. “It’s the payer that has to be anonymous; it doesn’t have to be anonymous for which website received the payment,” he said.

“We must have an anonymous way to pay websites so that they can’t have the excuse that the only way to get any money is by advertising that tracks people. We know that if companies track people, then the NSA or GCHQ is going to look at that data, it’s going to be tracking people through these companies.”

“The point is, we need anonymity to make democracy safe,” he added.