The first private and permissionless digital cash system
Contrary to popular perception, crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin are not digital cash systems. They are ledger-based accounting systems.
HashCash is a real digital cash system. It relies on digital bearer tokens, not a ledger.
Just like physical cash, HashCash coins can be transferred directly from person to person and used to make payments instantly and in complete privacy.
The privacy afforded by cash is critical to protect individual rights. Blockchain systems are vastly inferior to cash as they compromise privacy. Bitcoin in particular is also slow and inefficient, with high transaction fees.
HashCash, in contrast, is a close electronic analog of physical cash, with similar properties - it is efficient, flexible, low-cost, and private. What's more, it's quite easy for anyone to understand exactly how it works.
Benefits
Private
HashCash coins are anonymous bearer tokens that provide privacy comparable to paper cash.
Fast
Verifying HashCash coins takes a few seconds and requires only a tiny amount of data transfer.
Economical
Low fees. Free-market fee competition between independent vaults. Zero-fee transactions possible.
Safe
No possibility of payment reversal, eliminating the uncertainty of chargebacks and fraudulent orders.
Simple
Easy to buy, sell or pay using the user-friendly cross-platform wallet.
Open
A simple digital cash protocol, implemented in Perl, available as open software.
Efficient
HashCash operations are efficient and scalable and don't require large amounts of resources.
Decentralized
Enables a decentralized private cash ecosystem based on a free market of competing vaults.