+ Taler was accepted into the GNU project today. GNU will offer advice,
+ advocacy and cooperation --- and host our official public
+ mailinglist taler@gnu.org.
+
+ We finally have a first simple demo for Taler online. The Firefox-variant
+ still needs some love, but you can start to try out the demo using
+ the Chrome/Chromium browser at demo.taler.net.
+ Please provide feedback to our bug tracker.
+
+ We have reached our first big milestone, the 0.0.0 release!
+ The release includes implementations of a bank, exchange, merchant and wallet
+ and is available on the GNU FTP mirrors.
+
+
+ While the exchange implements the
+ complete protocol, the implementations of merchant and wallet are both
+ fundamentally incomplete and still lack key features, including important
+ error handling. GNU Taler still lacks an implementation of an auditor or
+ logic for integration with "real" banks.
+ Thus, this release should not yet be used for actual financial
+ transactions.
+
+
+ That said, you can already setup your own functional payment system
+ and run your own toy currency -- or just try out the demo using
+ the Chrome/Chromium browser at demo.taler.net.
+
+
+ Please provide feedback to our bug tracker.
+ There, you can also find our roadmap
+ which contains a list of known open issues and our plans for the near future.
+
+ We just finished the camera-ready version of our paper on how to use Taler
+ for Web payments. This paper does not discuss the cryptography
+ behind Taler, but focuses on the practical aspects of how the
+ wallet and the merchants interact over the Web. Hence, this
+ paper should be a good read for anyone who wants to integrate
+ Taler support with their Web site. We have posted the
+ paper here.
+
+ We now have a first version of the Taler wallet for Firefox.
+ For now, a development build of Firefox is required.
+ Installation instructions are on the Wallet page.
+
+ We are happy to announce the release GNU Taler v0.4.0 with support for customer
+ refunds, protocol versioning, incremental key material download, returning funds
+ from the wallet directly back into one's bank account,
+ and various other minor improvements. The Chrome and Chromium wallets
+ are available for download via the App store. The exchange, merchant
+ backend and bank components are on the GNU FTP mirrors. Note that the
+ Firefox wallet will take a few more days to become available in the
+ App store due to the Mozilla review process.
+
+ We are happy to announce the release of GNU Taler v0.5.0.
+ The main new feature is customer tipping, which allows
+ merchants to pay small rewards directly into a customer's
+ wallet. Technical improvements include numerous performance
+ improvements and bug fixes, as well as a new, simpler to use
+ API for merchants that also enables the implementation of
+ GNU Taler wallets on platforms that do not support
+ WebExtensions.
+
+
+ The Chrome and Chromium wallets are available for download
+ via the App store. The exchange, merchant backend and bank
+ components are on the GNU FTP mirrors.
+
+You must use a recent Git version of GNUnet to use Taler 0.7.0.
+
+
+
+{% endblock body_content %}
diff --git a/template/news/2020-04.html.j2 b/template/news/2020-04.html.j2
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3468f0bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/news/2020-04.html.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{% extends "common/news.j2" %}
+{% block body_content %}
+
2020-04: Exchange ready for external security audit
+
+ We received a grant from NLnet
+ foundation to pay for an
+ external security audit of the GNU Taler exchange cryptography,
+ code and documentation. We spent the last four months preparing
+ the code, closing almost all of the known issues, performing static analysis,
+ fixing compiler warnings, improving test code coverage,
+ fuzzing, benchmarking, and reading the code line-by-line.
+ Now, we are now ready to start the external audit. This April,
+ CodeBlau will review the
+ code in the Master branch tagged CodeBlau-NGI-2019
+ and we will of course make their report available in full
+ once it is complete. Thanks to NLnet and the European
+ Commission's Horizion 2020 NGI initiative
+ for funding this work.
+
+ We received a grant from NLnet
+ foundation to pay for an
+ external security audit of the GNU Taler exchange cryptography,
+ code and documentation. CodeBlau
+ now concluded their audit. You can find the final
+ report here.
+ We have compiled a preliminary response
+ detailing what changes we have already made and which changes we are still planning to make in
+ the future. We thank CodeBlau for their work, and NLnet and the European
+ Commission's Horizion 2020 NGI initiative
+ for funding this work.
+
2020-09: GNU Taler operational at Bern University of Applied Sciences
+
+ The GNU Taler payment system was launched at the
+ Bern University of Applied Sciences
+ in the presence of a representative
+ of the Swiss National Bank. Students, staff, faculty and visitors
+ can visit the cafeteria at Höheweg 80 to withdraw the electronic equivalent of Swiss Franks (CHF)
+ onto Taler Wallet App
+ running on their mobile phones and pay at a Taler-enabled
+ snack machine. The system is expected to expand to allow payments
+ at other places in the future. Various faculty members and
+ students are involved various aspects of the project. Students
+ interested in working on projects or theses related to the subject
+ should contact Prof. Grothoff.
+
2020-10: GNU Taler presentation by Javier Sepúlveda in Valencia
+
+ Javier Sepúlveda
+ will give a
+ talk
+ in Spanish about GNU Taler at Valencia
+ at an event organized by the GNU/Linux group
+ from Valencia, which is a public organization supported by the Valencia City Hall
+ to promote urban innovation and entrepreneurship.
+
2020-11: RFC 8905: "The 'payto' URI Scheme for Payments" published
+
+We are happy to announce the publication of RFC 8905 by the IETF.
+
+
+ RFC 8905 defines the 'payto' Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)
+ scheme for designating targets for payments.
+ A unified URI scheme for all payment target types allows applications
+ to offer user interactions with URIs that represent payment targets,
+ simplifying the introduction of new payment systems and
+ applications.
+
+You must install GNUnet v0.14.0 to compile GNU Taler 0.8.
+
+You must first install GNUnet v0.14.0 to compile GNU Taler 0.8.
+
+{% endblock body_content %}
diff --git a/template/news/2021-01.html.j2 b/template/news/2021-01.html.j2
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..517af76a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/news/2021-01.html.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{% extends "common/news.j2" %}
+{% block body_content %}
+
2021-2: "How to issue a Central Bank Digital Currency" published
+
+We are happy to announce the publication of our paper on "How to Issue a Central Bank Digital Currency" by the Swiss National Bank.
+
+
+With the emergence of Bitcoin and recently proposed stablecoins from BigTechs, such as Diem (formerly Libra), central banks face a choice of either leaving the field to private actors or offering their own digital alternative to physical cash. We do not address whether a central bank should issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Instead, we demonstrate how a central bank could do so, if desired or needed. We propose a token-based system without distributed ledger technology and show how earlier-deployed, software-only electronic cash can be improved upon to preserve transaction privacy, meet regulatory requirements in a compelling way, and offer a level of quantum-resistant protection against systemic privacy risk. Neither monetary policy nor financial stability would be materially affected because our CBDC would replicate physical cash rather than bank deposits.
+
+In December 2020 the European Parliament asked the European Commission
+about the suitability of GNU Taler to establish a digital Euro in a
+small inquiry.
+In the official answer,
+the commission mostly asserts that it is unable "to assess the functioning of the GNU Taler payment system",
+and points to a maximum transaction limit of 150 EUR, without really answering
+the questions raised by the inquiry.
+
+
+
+To assist the European Union with regards to the inquiry, we point
+out that the operation of GNU Taler is completely and transparently
+made public at https://taler.net/,
+so if the European Commission is, like anyone else, in position to assess the
+functioning of the GNU Taler payment system. We recently also described
+details of how the system would function for an E-Euro in a
+working paper
+with the Swiss National Bank. Based on our publicly available documentation,
+Prof. Birchler, a previous member of the directorate of the Swiss National Bank,
+publicly
+commented that our approach is the best published proposal for digital cash.
+
+
+
With respect to EU policy objectives, we would like to point out that the
+150 EUR limit postulated by the European Commission for private payments is
+very low, and in our view incompatible with the data protection objectives of
+the European Union. We want to stress that with GNU Taler, only the citizen
+making the payment can remain anonymous. Thus, Taler is not suitable for money
+laundering or illegal business activities as receivers of payments are easily
+identified. A recent broad
+consultation by the European Central Bank showed that the European
+population demands privacy compareable to physical cash when it comes to the
+Digital Euro. With cash, the transaction limit is at 10,000 EUR. Thus, were
+the 150 EUR limit apply truly to all forms of privacy-friendly electronic
+cash, this would be a key point where the European Union should provide for more
+citizen-friendly regulation, especially for technical solutions that include
+security features that adequately minimize the risk of citizens suffering
+financial losses.
+
+
+
+Finally, we would like to stress that the GNU Taler project is open to
+a cooperation with the European Central Bank, and is happy to answer
+questions from specialists of the European Parliament or the European
+Commission.
+
2021-3: "Why a Digital Euro should be Online-first and Bearer-based
+" published
+
+We are happy to announce the publication of our paper on "Why a Digital Euro should be Online-first and Bearer-based".
+
+
+The European Central Bank’s “Report on a Digital Euro” considers
+two distinct types of designs for a digital euro. It argues that all functional
+requirements laid out in the report can be fulfilled by operating the two systems
+in parallel:
+
+
A bearer-based digital euro based on trusted hardware that can be used
+offline, anonymously, and without third-party intervention.
+
An account-based digital euro that can be used online, is fully software-
+based and excludes the possibility of anonymity.
+
+The report does not discuss other choices of hybrid systems. However, the
+choice is more arbitrary than it might seem at first sight: bearer-based systems
+are not necessarily offline payment systems, and online payment systems do not
+need to exclude anonymity.
+
+
+We argue that operating a bearer-based payment system to complement an
+account-based CBDC in order to gain offline and privacy features is not a good
+trade-off. Adding permanent, regular offline capabilities via the bearer-based
+payment instrument constantly exposes the CBDC to the severe issues inherent
+in offline-capable payment systems. Instead, the offline mode of operation
+should be restricted to scenarios where it is actually required, which mitigates
+the risks.
+
+ {% trans %}
+ News posts about changes related to
+ GNU Taler such as releases and events
+ {% endtrans %}
+ –
+ {{ _("subscribe to our RSS feed") }}
+