Think of Acoin as a USB flash drive for money. It stores cash electronically and displays the amount stored. Acoin anonymizes electronical payments, by existing as an offline node in our online interconnected world.
Our spending habits create an outline of who we are. You might think targeted advertising is all there is to this story, but your data gets traded with whoever is willing to pay. Acoin is designed for a future where governments have gotten rid of cash. Not if, but when this happens: how much freedom will we have left?
This project came about after living in Singapore, and feeling observed all the time. Even when there is nothing illegal about your actions, the awareness of being watched leads to a forced obedience and conformity. This suppresses behavior: creativity and critical thinking are muted and democracy is thrown out the window.
Acoin works together with your phone. From your e-banking app, you can transfer money to the device. This money is now offline. When making a payment, there are three possibilities:
1. By holding Acoins together you can send the value on your Acoin, or a pre-set amount, to another Acoin. Confirmation of sending money occurs through the fingerprint reader.
2. You can erase your fingerprint, and swap Acoins. In this scenario, one Acoin contains money, and the other does not. The only transaction is the data stored on the device, as the exchange of hardware is mutual, and therefore zero.
3. When making large payments, you can give Acoin away, together with the data it contains.
Because of this unpredictability, no one can tell where your money came from, and through whose hands it passed. The money on Acoin becomes untraceable, and paying with it anonymous. For storing money, Acoin relies on cryptocurrency keys.
For storing money, Acoin relies on cryptocurrency keys. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are a decentralized form of currency, free from all government controlled banking systems. The integrity of the system is maintained by the community of users. Every connected phone or computer becomes a node in a network that verifies the validity of transactions. This ensures the safety and stability of the currency.
Cryptocurrencies are relatively new forms of currency. Acoin relies on them for their anonymity and ability to store money electronically on storage that is physically on the device instead of in a cloud. So when you lose your Acoin, your money is gone. Just like cash. This also means that as the money is offline it can be passed around freely.
