WebWallet - Context

Technology

World Wide Web
- URLs for naming and addressing in an information space.
- HTTP request-response protocol in a client-server model.
- REST architectural style and hypertext-driven constraint.
Web Payments
- 402: 402 Payment Required (reserved for future use).
- W3C: Web Payments at the World Wide Web Consortium
- Ads: blocking, replacement and alternative revenue models.
Bitcoin Blockchain
- Double-spending prevention without a central authority.
- Proof-of-work for providing security and immutability.
- Consensus by building on top of the longest valid chain.

Debt-based Currency
- Fiat currency is mostly created by commercial banks making loans.
- Currency equals debt and would cease to exist if all debts were repaid.
- Fractional reserve lending expands and contracts the currency supply.
Interest-bearing Credit
- Opportunity cost charged on a principal that did not exist before the loan.
- Perpetual inflation needed to cover the interest not created with the principal.
- The growth imperative as the only way to avoid defaulting or going bankrupt.
Mutual Credit Systems
- Negative balances represent debts that cancel out against positive balances.
- On-demand issuance is enabled and constrained by negative balance limits.
- Self-regulating supply that expands and contracts without accruing interest.