Paper 2022/130 Original: eprint.iacr.org/2022/130 ↗

A LeVeL Paying Field: Cryptographic Solutions towards Social Accountability and Financial Inclusion

Abstract

Thousands of digital money protocols compete for attention; the vast majority of them are a minor variation of the Satoshi Nakamoto 2008 proposal. It is time to extract the underlying principles of the Bitcoin revolution and re-assemble them in a way that preserves its benefits and gets rid of its faults. BitMint*LeVeL is a move in this direction. It upholds the fundamental migration of money from hidden bank accounts to cryptographically protected publicly exposed digital coins; it enables a cyber version of peer-to-peer cash transactions. Bitcoin and its variants rely on a fixed public/private key algorithm. Being 'fixed' turns it into a resting target for advanced cryptanalysis. The LeVeL protocol assigns each coin holder to pick their own public/private key algorithm. An attacker would have to compromise all the algorithms used by all previous coin owners -- a substantial security upgrade relative to Bitcoin. LeVeL applies to self-referential money like Bitcoin or fiat currency, and to other-referential money, serving as a claim check for assets, like gold or fiat currency. Bitcoin decentralization is groundbreaking but it gives too much aid and comfort to wrongdoers. BitMint*LeVeL re-imagines decentralization via the notion of the InterMint: Money is minted by many smoothly interchangeable mints competing for traders. Lastly, BitMint*LeVeL is built on top of the original BitMint protocol which was implemented in the legacy banking system, and thus it offers a smooth migration into cyberspace. 1.2 Billion people around us have no bank account, but do have cell phones. The LeVeL offers social accountability and financial inclusion.