David Chaum is a legend in the world of crypto and one of the pioneers of digital payments. Back in the 1980s, he developed the concept of Ecash, which laid the foundation for modern cryptocurrencies. His ideas for anonymous transactions and decentralized systems foreshadowed the emergence of Bitcoin.

Чаум также создал Digicash — первую попытку реализовать безопасную цифровую валюту, обеспечивающую конфиденциальность пользователей. Его работы в области криптографии и шифрования стали основой для технологий, которые сегодня защищают не только деньги, но и данные пользователей в интернете.

From eCash to Blockchain: Revolutionary Ideas by David Chaum

David Chaum (born 1955) is an American computer scientist, cryptographer, and inventor. He is known as an innovator in cryptography and privacy technologies, including digital money.

Main achievements and developments:

1. 1982 dissertation: In his dissertation "Computer Systems Established, Maintained, and Trusted by Mutually Suspicious Groups" Chaum proposed the first known protocol similar to blockchain, except proof of work. This work laid out all the elements of blockchain, such as consensus between nodes, aggregation of consensus history into blocks, and immutable time stamping of data.
2. Electronic cash (ecash): In 1995, his company DigiCash created the first digital currency, eCash, which aimed to preserve user anonymity.
3. Cryptographic protocols: Chaum invented many cryptographic protocols, such as blind signing, mesh networks, and the cryptographer's lunch protocol.
4. Anonymous communication: In 1981, Chaum published the article “Untraceable Email, Return Addresses, and Digital Aliases,” which laid the foundation for research in the field of anonymous communications.
5. Voting systems: Чаум внёс значительный вклад в создание безопасных систем голосования, включая первое предложение системы, поддающейся сквозной проверке. Он также предложил систему SureVote, которая позволяла избирателям голосовать с использованием ненадёжной системы голосования, и представил процесс, называемый «кодовым голосованием».
6. Key sharing and anonymous credential systems: In 1979, Chaum proposed a mechanism for dividing a key into partial keys, and in 1985, an original anonymous credential system where data is presented under different pseudonyms.

Recognition and awards:

• In 1995 he received the European Prize in Information Technology.
• In 2004 he became an IACR fellow.
• In 2010 he received the RSA Award for Excellence in Mathematics.
• In 2019 he received the honorary title of Dijkstra Fellow from CWI.
• In 2021 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lugano.

David Chaum resides in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. He is often called the "father of online anonymity" and the "godfather of cryptocurrency" for his significant contributions to the development of cryptography and anonymous technologies.