eCash – The First Cryptocurrency

In 1983, American cryptologist David Chaum proposed a form of electronic cash. He designed a token currency that could be transferred securely and privately between individuals. The similarities with modern cryptocurrencies are striking.

Chaum developed the so-called “blinding formula” used to encrypt information passed between individuals. “Blinded cash” can therefore be securely transferred between individuals, with signatures of authenticity and mutability without traceability.

Chaum founded DigiCash, but a few years later he put his concept into action by creating the first encrypted electronic money called eCash. Although DigiCash went bankrupt in 1998, the company’s ideas and some of its formulas and cryptographic tools played an important role in the subsequent development of digital currencies.