first answers

1 files changed, 17 insertions, 9 deletions

diff --git a/sa/sa.tex b/sa/sa.tex
index cd22e96..7f89888 100644
--- a/sa/sa.tex
+++ b/sa/sa.tex
@@ -189,8 +189,7 @@ would be authorised and licensed upon meeting a defined set of regulatory criter
 {\bf CBDC must be complementary to cash and is not intended to replace cash. However,
 it is expected that CBDC would influence the movement of cash or even displace
 cash to some extent over time.}
-  % FIXME(dold): do you have a citation for this?
-  Recent developments in California suggest that regulation needs to be
+  Recent developments in California\footnote{\url{https://on.mktw.net/2V3yxOw}} suggest that regulation needs to be
   in place to force businesses to accept cash, as some businesses may
   like to discriminate against consumers that use cash. Nevertheless, this
   is a regulatory issue and unrelated to a particular choice of CBDC.
@@ -251,9 +250,7 @@ Monetary Area (CMA).}
   Taler can enable distribution of funds (i.e. from social security) directly to
   wallets.  Thus, citizens having a Taler wallet could be given remittances without
   the need for a bank account.  However, merchants must have a register-based
-  bank account to receive payments.
-  % ^^ FIXME(dold): What about pay-to-kyc-reserve?  This would allow KYC-audited
-  % wallets to receive payments without having a real bank account.
+  bank account or perform KYC checks with the exchange operator to receive payments.
 \item
 {\bf Consumers and businesses must be provided with the channels to obtain or return
   CBDC in exchange for cash and commercial bank money.}
@@ -287,6 +284,8 @@ policy positions in future.}
   % off-putting.  We should explain that while Taler is an existing and
   % free protocol, the *deployment* of Taler in SA can be completely SARB-branded
   % and owned.
+  % "completely owned" might be wrong here, as the underlying code would not be
+  % owned by SARB.
   SARB is welcome to create any particular branding, especially for
   consumer-facing products. However, the
   Taler {\em protocol} will be a global commons (Free Software) and other
@@ -310,9 +309,10 @@ policy positions in future.}
 {\bf It must enable immediate person-to-person transfer of value without clearing and
   settlement in today’s terms.}
   % FIXME(dold): Are we interpreting this too strongly?
-  %   To me, "immediate person-to-person transfer" does not imply offline.
+%   To me, "immediate person-to-person transfer" does not imply offline.
   %   Just as we require electricity to be available, we could assume the same
   %   about connectivity.
+%  RE: True, but offline is mentioned later. So I figured it would make sense to look at both cases here.
   Taler enables offline person-to-person transfers without the involvement of third parties
   only if those individuals form an economic union, that is trust each other to
   behave honestly. Basically, such transfers are not transactions in that the sender
@@ -339,12 +339,16 @@ policy positions in future.}
 {\bf CBDC must be accepted and usable at all levels of transactions, in the same way
   cash is accepted and usable at all levels of transactions.}
   % FIXME(dold):  Isn't this underselling it a bit?  Using a backup+sync
-  % provider for larger sums, I can have the same security as for a bank account.
+% provider for larger sums, I can have the same security as for a bank account.
+% RE: no, you cannot, as if I hack you I can empty your wallet entirely easily,
+% while your bank account often imposes daily transaction limits that would
+% take extra work/authentication to lift.
   Taler is in principle suitable for microtransactions as well as very large
   transactions, however the system assumes that the consumer is under control
   of their computing resources. Given the state of security on mobile phones,
   it may thus not be generally advisable to carry very large balances on a
-  mobile phone.  However, it is in principle possible to produce hardware
+  mobile phone. We expect Taler to be primarily used for liquidity, and not
+  as a store of value. However, it is in principle possible to produce hardware
   security modules to pay larger amounts with adequate security.
 \item
 {\bf CBDC must provide real-time, final and irrefutable transfer of value.}
@@ -435,7 +439,11 @@ Taler is only using modern and widely trusted cryptography (RSA, SHA-512, EdDSA/
 activity and not as a mining operation such as those deployed for private virtual
 currencies.}
 Taler does not use mining or any other forms of proof-of-work
-or proof-of-stake operations.
+or proof-of-stake operations.  However, the Taler coins are
+created using online signatures when customers withdraw funds
+from their accounts.  The online signatures could be performed
+using hardware security modules to provide additional protections
+for the private keys used.
 \item
 {\bf CBDC must not be easily counterfeited.}
 Taler uses established cryptographic primitives and comes with a peer-reviewed