ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the general characteristics of digital money with a focus on DigiCash. Digital money aims to imitate cash in the sense that it is anonymous and untraceable at the cost of some computational complexities. DigiCash uses a digital currency called eCash to replace coins and notes, to retain anonymity and untraceability, and to allow secure communication over open networks. Anonymity and untraceability in DigiCash are based on the use of blind signatures. The company eCash Technologies purchased all DigiCash patents and was itself acquired by other Internet companies. Contrary to bank notes, DigiCash coins have an expiration date as a protection against fraud including spending the same coin more than once. DigiCash was radically different from other instruments and raised many legal and financial issues that the financial industry, as well as regulators, were not ready to address.
