YouBank

Synopsis

The goal is to have everyone own their own bank(s), eliminating the need for the Federal Reserve and any national currency at all.

• Everyone can issue currency.
• People can trade in those currencies.
• There is a decentralized store of currency exchanges.
• People develop trust with each other.

Arguments For

• It's easy with technology.
• It avoids the problems of inflation and deflation.
• If you want a Universal Basic Income, you can just issue yourself currency as much and as often as you want! (Good luck getting others to accept it, though.)

Use Cases

Issuing Currency (Trading)

• Person A wants to buy something from Person B.
• Person A issues currency X and transfers it to Person B.
• The transaction is recorded locally and in trusted third parties.
• The transaction is signed for authenticity by both A and B.
• Some transactions may involve multiple currencies. IE, A may pay 5 X to B, and B 15 Y to A.

Settling Debt

• Person A has issued 5 X to B.
• B has issued 10 Y to A.
• A and B agreed that 2 Y = 1 X.
• A and B agree that their debts are settled.
• A now owes B nothing, and B owes A nothing.

Third Party Transactions

• Person B refuses to accept X, but they will take Y.
• Person A transfers Y to B and completes the transaction.

Generating Currency

Only the bearer of a secret key can generate currency. They can issue only one currency. There is a 1-1 relationship. Thus, the bearer of the key can transfer as much of that currency as they want.

Transferring Currency

Each bearer of a secret key keeps track of who owns how much of that currency.

When a transaction occurs, the bearer of other keys issues a note that the currency has been transferred. Each transaction needs to be signed by both keys, the sender and the receiver. The bearer issues a note that the transaction has been accepted, linking the transaction to some previous transaction. These notes can be used to recreate account balances.

Technology

• Bank account software.
• Key signing software.