For enhanced privacy, you can now access Loom through TOR (The Onion Router) at this address:

https://6hvlygtawsfibj54.onion

The SSL certificate for that domain is signed by the Rayservers Certificate Authority.

Also, as an extra precaution against DNS hijacking, the nameservers for loom.cc are now at rayservers.ch instead of rayservers.com.

Note: Loom servers are NOT located at the public IP address. Data is mirrored locally and geographically.

Thu 2011-02-24 : Loom Version 110 Source Code Now Available

Look around our site, and you will see why we are excited about this momentous event!

We have turned back the clock to the days of privacy in your financial affairs, combined with modern internet technology!

We are using the finest platform available, the Loom interface! Loom offers you the safety, privacy, and flexibility to manage, spend, and save your money your way. And all with the confidence that Big Brother is not only not looking over your shoulder, but can’t!

That’s because the Loom system is totally encrypted, and with the unique way that it stores your data, not even the system’s admin can view your data!

Of course, this means no passphrase recovery is possible, so you need to store your information in a safe place. It’s the same thing as if you left a pile of cash in the road – the wind will come or a thief will come and it is gone. So be safe and keep your passphrase in multiple locations if possible.

We are initially starting with 4 asset types for your convenience: USD, EUR, Gold Grams and Silver Grams.

We as the admin for this system do not do your registration or customer support. That is done by the Exchanger of your choice.

Simply click on the button above to view our current list of trusted exchangers, and register with them as a customer, telling them you want to establish a Global Banking Account. They will then send you an invitation to open your new wallet on the Loom system. Please direct all customer service and support issues to your exchanger.

Remember, with our system, we don’t know who you are and we don’t want to know!

Other things we don’t know: we don’t know where the server is located, who really runs the system, or your personal information.

We are run under the auspices of Global Financial Security, a fully registered New Zealand Financial Services Company. They will, at some point, offer safe investment opportunities [in other words, real world investments, NOT ponzi schemes] offering a solid, safe, rate of return. You will be registered through the Loom interface only and your dividends will be returned to the account you spend from.

If you run an online business, it’s easy to become a merchant. Simply contact us for details. The Loom interface has an easy to use SCI and mass pay feature for your use with your customers, distributors, and affiliates.

Plus, under our “merchant sponsorship program,” you can sponsor your customers to get an account in our system without the normal $50.00 minimum opening balance! Please email us details of your business and we will see if you qualify to participate in this special program. Full details will be rushed to you via return email, or LIVE when we are on live chat.

And, as icing on the cake, we can give you a special deal on our Offshore Visa Debit Cards for you to offer your people!

We look forward to you becoming a loyal Global Banking Account customer today! Simply apply through one of our Official Exchangers today!

—

OffshoreCashier.com is the transaction processing site for Global Banking Accounts held by members of Global Financial Security.

Global Financial Security is a fully authorized New Zealand Financial Services Company, and as such is empowered to conduct all banking services to citizens of all countries EXCEPT NEW ZEALAND. If you are a New Zealand citizen or resident, we are sorry, but by law we can’t help you.

To get your Online Offshore Savings Account, you must first register with one of our Official Exchangers.  You should also visit Global Financial Security’s website to find out more details on the account.

Through our Global Banking Accounts you have access to a highly private, exclusive club that also gives you many of the tools you need for success.

Our Global Banking Accounts are better and more useful than your average offshore or onshore bank account.

Normal bank accounts, for instance, don’t provide an easy way to send and receive money around the world. You can authorize the payment of bills in many countries of the world without incurring the hassles and expenses you would usually encounter with your normal bank account.

Your accounts can be denominated in US dollars, Euros,  Gold Grams, and Silver Grams, offering you full flexibility in how you want to save your wealth.

Further, you can in exchange or out exchange many of the popular Internet E-currencies between those currencies and your banking account by using our own exchanger, offshorearnings.com, or any of the other exchangers we have accepted into our community.

And, you can discuss business and self improvement topics on our forums at SuccessQuest.info – and we have many private, member’s only forums for members to interact with each other.

So, why don’t you JOIN TODAY and begin to receive the benefits of membership in an exclusive online club made up of progressive, forward looking people who not only want to improve themselves, but are among the very few who ever go beyond wanting to acting!

Imagine your computer as a wallet full of Bitcoins

DANNY O’BRIEN

WIRED: A strange and notional currency is creating a provocative and disruptive new economy

OCCASIONALLY THERE comes along a technology idea so strange that not only can I not tell whether it’s doomed or bound to succeed, I can’t even tell what either of those futures might look like.

One example was Linux. When I first saw it, I had real trouble imagining what would happen if it took off. But, at the same time, I couldn’t visualise how it could fail. How would it compete with Microsoft? How would anything compete with a perfectly usable, yet entirely free operating system?

I’m currently peering at an idea that is mystifying me in exactly that manner. It’s called Bitcoin.

Here’s the elevator pitch, as they call it: imagine a banking system, but distributed over thousands or hundreds of thousands of computers. The computers together hold a database of transactions, similar to the database clearing banks or credit card companies hold: X transferred something to Y, Y transferred the same thing to Z.

No one computer manages this database; they all run the same software, which collectively distributes the knowledge and procedures that make up this set of accounting books.

As well as this database, the computers also generate unique numbers, at a slow but adjustable rate. These unique numbers make up the only “things” that can be recorded in that transaction database. So when X is recorded as transferring a thing, it can only really transfer one of these numbers.

There aren’t many of these numbers around to begin with, because they’re so hard to create. You create them by doing the work of checking and recording the latest transactions in the database. If you do that, you get one or maybe more of the unique numbers as a byproduct.

Got that? Well, don’t worry if you didn’t, because here’s the real meat of the Bitcoins idea. Think of the unique number as coins, and of the shared database as a record of who has what coin. You can use the Bitcoin system to “pay” someone in these coins – I just record the transaction of my numbers to your computer in the global database. If the database shows that I had those Bitcoins originally, and the system successfully records the transfer, then I’ve effectively given my Bitcoins to you.

Well, great. But who would take a Bitcoin instead of real hard money? Well, it turns out that Bitcoins have some advantages to other payment systems. There’s no cost for transferring them. There’s no central government bank to inflate them away or devalue them (the Bitcoin system is designed to create 21 million Bitcoins and then stop). They’re practically anonymous, like cash, but potentially easy to use via the internet, like credit cards. You can endlessly subdivide them, so you can pay 0.00000001 of a Bitcoin as easy as 100 of them.

But surely a Bitcoin can’t really be worth anything? This is where this strange idea begins to become more concrete. The Bitcoin software exists. People are already trading Bitcoins. A few months ago, one Bitcoin was only worth a few US cents. At the time of writing, they’re about 25 cents, and edging toward 30. The total number of Bitcoins created have a value of over one million dollars.

It’s perhaps no surprise people are speculating with Bitcoins. Humans will happily trade almost anything, no matter how bizarre, from stamps and comics to computer game artefacts.

There’s poker games denominated in Bitcoins. There are companies that will take credit cards and turn them into Bitcoins for you, or convert your Bitcoins into gold. When I show people this Bitcoin economy, they ask: “Is this legal?” They ask: “Is it a con?” I imagine there are lawyers and economists struggling to answer both questions. I suspect you will be able to add lawmakers to that list shortly. And they’re just the first of many more questions this technology opens up.

Will the price of Bitcoins go up or collapse to zero? Are there attacks that smart coders or mathematicians could mount on the Bitcoin system that would let them rule the game? I bought $70 worth of Bitcoins to write this article. Was it ethical of me to write about it, given that “investment” in a bunch of numbers?

I keep looking at Bitcoin, and puzzling at the consequences. I can’t tell whether it will succeed or not. Honestly, having seen similar crypto-cash ideas in the past, I don’t rate its chances very highly. But I can’t even imagine what a failed Bitcoin system will end up as. Just a few amateurs exchanging Bitcoins among each other? A Bitcoin currency devaluation? A global government crackdown on all the computers running the Bitcoin software?

If Bitcoinage fails, will some other digital cash take its place? Will such anonymous cybercash be a boon to the digital economy, or just be made illegal because of the risks of criminals using it? Criminals use real cash too, but we haven’t banned that. Perhaps we simply couldn’t ban cash even if we wanted to.

Will we be unable to ban all crypto-cash like Bitcoin? Whatever Bitcoin’s future, I suspect we’re going to find out from it much about technology adoption, international regulation, and our own ability to adopt or control disruptive new ideas.

Related articles

• BitCoin: Can this work? (thelongrunblog.wordpress.com)
• Bitcoin P2P Cryptocurrency ()
• A Short Introduction to Bitcoin – A Peer to Peer Cryptocurrency (bluishcoder.co.nz)

Now everyone may easily participate in the Loom phenomenon quietly sweeping the globe. Words alone cannot express our thanks but “thanks Patrick”. Here is the link to that amazing code. http://github.com/chkoreff/Loom

Now in addition to paying to normal permanent contact points, you can also pay to “[Cash: New]“, which you will see in the contact drop-down menu. When you do this, it creates a new temporary contact and moves the asset there. You then copy and paste the token and send it to the payee.

When the payee receives the token, he logs in and pastes it into the “Receive Cash” field. The received assets appear and he can claim them normally with a single click.

This new “cash” feature is handy when you want to pay someone but don’t expect to interact with him very often in the future. This way, you and the payee can avoid the step of adding a shared permanent contact point to your folders — which you would probably never use again. It’s also useful for quick invitations — just pay 100 usage tokens to “cash” and send the token to the invitee.

Of course, when two people *do* pay each other frequently, the shared permanent Contact point is still the most convenient method by far, since the two parties don’t need to copy, paste, and securely send a brand new “cash ID” every time they pay each other.

Both modes of usage are highly convenient in their own right, depending on the circumstances.

(thanks Patrick)

There will be more on Loom.cc in this months’ DGCmagazine.

Before we discuss what Loom is, it might be a good idea to explain what Loom isn’t.

Loom isn’t

• digital money
• an exchanger
• an exchange provider
• a way to trade physical assets
• a system for tracking the ownership of assets

Digital Money — Though Loom has been optimized to facilitate the creation of digital assets, it is the user who creates them. Loom is totally agnostic as to the nature of assets created by the user.

Exchanger — Loom is not a market maker and takes no position in exchanged assets or other items.

Exchange — Loom does not provide simultaneous exchange services. It only provides one-way transfers. The other half of an exchange must be performed in a separate transaction either within or without Loom.

[Editor's note: Actually, the author of Loom has been planning a two-way internal asset exchange mechanism known as a "Vending Machine" for some time. It should be rolled out within a few months, probably by Sep 2009.]

Trading System for Physical Assets — The map is not the territory. To the degree that Loom facilitates the transfer of assets, the only assets that can be transferred are digital ones. The trading of digital assets may or may not result in the exchange of real-world assets.

Asset Tracking — To the extent that Loom is involved with assets, it only facilitates their transfer. It keeps track of nothing except digital locations.

Loom Is

Loom is an infrastructure for privately hiding and revealing secrets.

Sorry, but that’s it, that’s the whole enchilada. Doesn’t sound very impressive, does it?

The Elegance of Loom

Okay, you can reveal a secret to someone without using Loom. You can send an encrypted message or just whisper in their ear. With Loom, however, the secret gains a sort of persistence, transferability and flexibility not otherwise possible. Of course, it is optimized for monetization of digital assets and to facilitate their use in digital commerce. It can also be used, however, for whatever other interactions users invent. A secondary benefit is that Loom does not create a useful audit trail for snoopy third-parties.

Now remember all the things we said Loom isn’t? Well guess what. Loom can also assist in performing such functions.

Digital Money — While Loom isn’t a form of digital money, it facilitates the creation of digital money by providing an easy way to monetize digital assets.

Exchanger — Loom is not a market maker for digital assets. However, it does provide a way for exchangers to do business with their customers. Just as important, exchangers can use Loom to “lay off” transactions among themselves quickly, easily and privately, thus increasing market liquidity and efficiency.

Exchange — While not an exchange, per se, Loom is a simple and discreet way to perform part or all of exchanges of digital assets.

Trading System for Physical Assets — Loom can assist in the direct trade of digital assets only. However, this does not mean it cannot play a role in the trade of physical assets. Digital assets such as the various forms of e-money, usually represent something tangible in the real world. So too, can it be with digital assets transferred in the Loom system. As in any use of digital assets, it ultimately becomes an issue of trust.

Asset Tracking — This is something that Loom really cannot do. In fact, it is something it should not do. One of the major appeals of Loom, is that it provides its users with privacy in their transaction and a large degree of anonymity.

Security

Loom’s security is based on three elements, the mathematics of really large numbers, open source software and server operator honesty.

Math — Loom hides a client’s secret in plain sight in one of 2¹²⁸ (about 3.4×10³⁸) digital locations. If you can guess where someone has stored his secret, it’s yours. So how easy is guessing?

Let’s assume we want to hid a secret in a physical space. One cubic millimeter is pretty small but at least visible. So lets turn the entire bulk of the earth into one cubic millimeter information containers. Now imagine the problem trying to guess where a secret is hidden. Is it in a millimeter cube of iron at the center of the earth? Is it in a piece of ice at the top of Mount Everest? How about in that mug of beer in front of you at the restaurant? Finding that one particular cube is—for all intents and purposes—impossible. But there are far fewer than 2¹²⁸ cubic millimeters in the earth. To have that many cubic millimeters would require about a third of a billion earths. Get the picture?

Open Source — No software is perfect. Proprietary software is created and sold on the basis of “security through obscurity.” If no one can see the source code, then their will be no security breaches. Unfortunately, the history of proprietary software has long put the lie to that belief. Crackers have, do and will crack proprietary software. If you are running Windows, you are continually being sent security updates. These are almost never prospective. Each security update comes after the fact. A malicious cracker has found and exploited a flaw. Some user paid the price with their money or their privacy.

Open source software is predicated on the demonstrable fact that there are more white-hat hackers than black-hat hackers. As a public service and for bragging rights, the white hats—on their own time and dime—pore over the source code of open source software, testing and probing in search of possible security flaws. When they find something, they shout if from the rooftops and it gets fixed immediately.

Loom is not Enough

Loom is very useful within in its primary function. However, there are ancillary services that could improve its usefulness—especially for e-commerce. This is not a problem, but an opportunity. The existence and use of Loom create real opportunities for entrepreneurs to serve niche markets. Independent businesses that provide escrow, insurance and guarantor services immediately come to mind. However, the opportunities are probably endless. If you can figure out a way to better serve the Loom community, users will beat a path to your doorstep.

References

Volume of the earth is listed as 1.0832073 * 10¹² cubic kilometres at Wikipedia.

I have added storage fees to Trubanc.

One of the drawbacks of Loom is that there’s no way to make money from Loom itself, except for small amounts of one-time income from new users for asset tokens. In order to make Trubanc a money-making proposition for the asset issuers, I have added storage fees. I expect that most Trubanc assets will be backed by precious metals in storage. It makes sense for the issuer, who must pay for the space and security of that storage, to be paid a small periodic fee. He can now set a yearly percentage rate charged for all users of his asset.

I’m going to describe the new feature with an example. I’m assuming two users, John and Mary. John creates a gold-backed asset, named “John GoldGrams”, with a storage fee of 1%. The market will determine how much storage fee is viable. The Free Lakota Bank charges 1/20,000 per month, or 0.06% per year. C-gold charges 1% per year. E-gold too. Trubanc allows the asset issuer to decide what to charge, and to change it at any time.

Rather than keeping track of an average monthly balance, and assessing the storage charges monthly, Trubanc includes storage charges in every transaction, paid by the holder of the asset. So when you make a spend, you pay the fee on your original balance for the amount of time it’s been there. And when you accept a spend from someone else, you pay the fee on the accepted amount, for the time that it’s been in your inbox. Trubanc keeps fractional amounts on fees, so that these small amounts can add up for the asset issuer.

Read all about it and see all the screenshots here.

Arto has been hard at work integrating digital currency payments into the popular Drupal CMS system.  Check out his work at, http://drupal.org/project/digitalcurrency

He currently has some shopping cart integration done for Pecunix, Liberty Reserve and Perfect Money but has also been working on implementing programmatic access (that is, providing APIs for Drupal developers) to the aforementioned issuers as well as to Loom.cc (see the attached random screenshot)  Yes, that’s correct, Loom, check it out.

Drupal Digital Currency Settings

Arto’s goal is to provide a foundation from which Drupal-based sites and systems (automatic exchangers, private markets, community currencies, etc) relying on these payment systems can be rather easily built by developers familiar with Drupal (that’s a very big talent pool). The shopping cart integration also means that the aforementioned payment methods will soon be available to any of the existing thousands of Drupal/Ubercart merchants who wish to accept them. That is a big neighborhood. There’s much code still to be written, but enough already existed that Arto wanted to share that with us and alert us to what’s coming down the pipeline.

Many thanks Arto for your hard work and we look forward to any updates and innovations you can offer. Cheers. Here are a couple more shots of Arto’s work.

Loom API

Drupal Digital Currency Checkout