Does the anonymity associated with the use of digital currencies continue to serve them-or undermine their legitimacy?
An unknown dealer in encrypted digital currencies (cryptocurrency) has made $ 55 million to $ 283 million in just one month.
The only clue about the identity of this man or woman - apart from a virtual wallet with a tens of digits ID - is a post on Instagram on June 11, in which an anonymous figure boasted a cumulative profit of 413% earlier this year from the digital currency Ethereum that works with Blockchain technology.
"I get a lot of private messages asking how many Ether I have," the Post says. "One of the cool things about Ethereum is that all the wallets in the world are transparent and open and anyone can see them, and that's the savings in my wallet."
Hidden identities are a popular tool in the twilight world of virtual money. Now that the total value of encrypted digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and ether, has reached more than $ 100 billion on June 6, and has approached the value of a McDonald's corporation, concerned regulators say it may be time to link virtual wallet accounts to real people.
The secrecy has been going on since a few years ago, when Ross Olbricht, who used the nickname "The Dread Pirate Roberts" used Bitcoin to launder money and drug trafficking, using the marketplace "SilkRoad"
There is no intention of hinting that the top secret identity acted unlawfully, but ambiguity could exacerbate the volatility in the price of the currencies. The price of the Ether, for example, has risen by $ 8 a unit since the beginning of the year, touched $400 in June, before stabilizing at $ 224 yesterday. Lack of transparency may also affect the flow of funds of money in the network, according to a draft of legislation issued by the European Parliament in March
"In this context, anonymity will become more of a barrier than an asset for digital currencies," the draft says.
Anonymity has always been a big part of the attraction of this market. When 23-year-old Vitalik Butrin invented etherium what he had in mind was a revolution in the traditional way of doing business. He published the software in 2015, not long after leaving the Canadian University of Waterloo.
"One of the more important features of digital currency is that there are no identities associated with it," says Spencer Bogart, head of research at venture capital firm Lockchain Capital. "And this financial privacy is important."
Etheruem is the second most popular digital currency after Bitcoin, and it is paid for applications or programs running on the Blockchain Web site - a secure list of transactions that can be shared. This allows the use of "smart contracts" - a software code that automatically activates these agreements. Blockchain has the potential to reshape the business and financial world by enabling immediate repayment of transactions such as wire transfer.