Why: Philosophical/Ideological/Benefits

What is the purpose of this organization?

The purpose of the Zero Transaction History Alliance is to try to encourage merchants to accept honest money like precious metals such as gold and silver, in addition to Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency, as these all leave exactly zero public transaction history behind. The ZTH Alliance also discourages the use of fiat currencies such as the US Dollar, in favor of earning it for goods and services, as well as directly spending it on goods and services, in one's local neighborhood.

What are the benefits of joining the ZTH Alliance?

Creating a portion of your life free from banks and governments gives you the alternate, positive choices for how you get what you need on a daily basis in your own neighborhood. Imagine getting paid for work you do in gold, paying in silver to fill the gasoline/petrol tank of your car, and being able to send money electronically and globally at the speed of email, without paying fees. No more waiting three days for the ACH system to "clear" your check.

By not automatically using fiat currencies such as the US Dollar, you avoid automatically and completely giving in and supporting several government-sponsored, destructive shenanigans, aimed at violating the public trust at your expense:

• Taxation
• Endless, wasteful, unnecessary government spending
• Inflation, which in and of itself is also a "hidden" tax
• Endless, pointless, destructive wars
• Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), turning money into expiring "coupons"
• Social credit score systems, so popularly used in repressive regiemes like China

Aren't currencies like gold, silver, and cryptocurrency just for investing? Why would I want to directly spend it, instead?

You could, of course, restrict your financial activities surrounding currencies like gold, silver, and cryptocurrency. It's a very common practice to hoard such currencies as a hedge against inflation, dreaming of only exiting with fat stacks of cash at some future time. Common phrases in the cryptocurrency HODLing ("Hold on for Dear Life") movement are things like "Wen crypto Lambo, bruh?" and "Number go up!" The reality is that when all you can do is dream about exiting what you invested in, you never cared about what you invested in, in the first place.

Money has two essential features: "Store of value", "Means of exchange". Hyperfocusing on the "store of value" property to the detriment of "Means of exchange" does both you and the rest of the world a huge disservice. It means that your only remaining choice for everyday purchases will be with government-issued fiat currency, with all of the destructive regulatory "radiation" that goes with it.

Instead of buying into such forms of degradation fully at 100% levels, why not consider easing off a bit to something like 95%. This leaves you the opportunity to have a small portion of your life free from government coercion. It means you have an alternative choice to purchase real goods and services locally in your own community with prices in something other than fiat currencies, such as the US Dollar. Imagine being able to fill the gasoline/petrol tank of your car, buy groceries, and pay bills in physical silver. Imagine being able to get your change back in Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency. Imagine being able to settle debts in a long-distance sense at the speed of email, free from government systems of banks and the ACH payment settlement system, which takes three days to complete.

Having said that, no one in their right mind would expect you to ditch your bank account. As they say, "Don't quit your day job". Everyone's going to keep their bank account, get paid in fiat currencies such as US Dollars, and use cash. Not completely giving into systems of convenience and control of conventional financial practices isn't going to make the world end, either. Give yourself a breather by making a "clean spot" in your financial life. Learn how to ditch the "buy/invest/sell" mentality instead for a much better world of "earn/spend/live". Doing so will let you breathe the fresh air of Liberty again.

The ZTH Alliance therefore advocates at least a partial departure from investing/hoarding/HODLing, in favor of direct spending of offline, precious physical metals like gold and silver, in addition to online Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency, as all of these share the single, critical property of leaving exactly zero public transaction information behind.

What's the point of doing this if the rest of the world isn't doing it?

While mass adoption of the practice of directly spending physical gold, silver, and Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency will be great when it happens, the immediate benefit to you in your own neighborhood doesn't depend on mass adoption. It depends on local adoption in your local neighborhood, instead. If this takes off in your own community, then all the better for you. If this takes off in some other place in the world like Timbuktu, that's great as well. If this never takes off elsewhere, who cares? Focus on finding like minds in your local community and waking them up to this wonderful opportunity for personal Liberty. Let the rest of the world take care of itself.

The beauty of using Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency is that it can not only be used in a near-infintely divisible sense for change back during a transaction, it can also be used to settle debts in a long-distance, global sense, at the speed of email. An example of the conventional method of settling interbank transactions in the US is the ACH system, which takes three days to complete.

Why can't I just use cash to be private/anonymous?

You could just use cash to be private/anonymous. However, the downside of cash is that it's government-issued "fiat" currency. By using it, you're propping up a system of control that is directly at your expense. The fact that cash is printed paper means that the government needs some way to ensure each bill is unique. This is done by printing a serial number on each bill. Who's to say that every ATM, bank, vending machine, or other machine isn't scanning that serial number? Combine that with facial recognition from camera footage and you have a covert system of financial tracking second to none. Sounds like science fiction? Guess again.

The ZTH Alliance therefore rejects fiat currencies, such as cash.

Why can't I just use Monero or some other "privacy" cryptocurrency?

When it comes to technology, "the devil's in the details". In cybersecurity, there's a widely known principle that says, "It is impossible to achieve security through obscurity". The technologies used in the cryptocurrency called "Monero" are inferior to those used in the Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency. Monero uses "decoys" or fake records to obscure the nature of which transaction is the real transaction.

Think of hiding a needle in a haystack. The "haystack" here is called the "anonset" or "anonymity set". Monero's "haystack" is 12 blades of grass to a single needle. The size of Pirate Chain's "haystack" is in the millions of blades of grass to a single needle and grows with each transaction. Couple this with the fact that Pirate Chain uses a privacy/anonymity technology called "Zero Knowledge Proofs", which leaves exactly zero public transaction history behind. When superior technology choices are available, the rational thing to do is leave older, bad decisions behind in favor of the newer, better ones. The ZTH Alliance therefore considers Monero's false promises of privacy as "snake oil" to be avoided like the plague.

This ZTH Alliance therefore mandates the use of Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency, rejecting all other cryptocurrencies, including Monero.

Why can't I just use Bitcoin or some other regular, non-privacy cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency created in the wake of the 2008 "too big to fail" financial crisis. While the original ethos of Bitcoin included the concept of privacy, the failure was in the design from the beginning. The risk of accidentally associating your real identity to a pseudo-anonymous Bitcoin wallet address is too high. Practically speaking, the level of tech-savvy required to safely pull off using Bitcoin privately and/or anonymously is much too high for the average person. Once that identifying information leaks, the Bitcoin wallet address will forever let the world know all of the details of your financial transactions including that wallet's balance, with no way to repair it. Functionally speaking, you'll have less privacy than even the confidentiality of a conventional bank account.

Publicly speak up about some divisive topic or contribute to some unfavored cause? What if your transparent, non-privacy coins had been previously used by a drug dealer or gangster? Get ready to have your transparent, non-privacy cryptocurrency to be declared "invalid" and put on a public "black list". Functionally speaking, your cryptocurrency becomes useless. It also means that no one can know if any given bit of cryptocurrency has the same value as any other bit of cryptocurrency. A critical property of any currency is called "Fungibility", or the certainty that all bits of a currency have the same value as any other bit of that same cryptocurrency. This kind of uncertainty is the death of the freedom and stability we all need in our financial lives.

The ZTH Alliance therefore rejects all cryptocurrencies than Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency, as only Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency has perfect fungibility

Why can't I just use so-called "stable coin" cryptocurrencies?

Ever since Bitcoin was created, its fiat currency trading value has been considered extremely volatile. To try to combat this volatility, so-called "stable coin" cryptocurrencies peg their value to things like fiat currencies, such as the US Dollar. While this might seem ideal, to achieve this trick requires the cryptocurrency to become centralized, with all of the regulatory contamination that goes with it.

The ZTH Alliance therefore rejects the use of all so-called "stable coin" cryptocurrencies.

Why can't I just use a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)?

Cryptocurrencies in general are considered "decentralized". They were created as a means of dealing with finance in a way that actively excludes banks and governments. These entities can't survive without the power that comes from controlling you. In response to decentralization, governments colluded with banks to create Central Bank Digital Currencies or "CBDCs". CBDCs are a perversion of the underlying blockchain technology that places all control centrally in the hands of banks and governments. It becomes the ultimate fiat currency, eliminating what you know of as fiat currency, including cash. CBDC beomes a kind of coupon that expires at the will of governments and banks. Instead of being free to spend your money the way you want to, you'll be forced to spend your money the way they want you to. Want to buy a steak? Guess what? You've run out of CBDC steak credits. Want to buy gasoline? Guess what? Your CBDC gas coupons have expired. In fact, it used to be that businesses were the only ones forced to buy carbon offset credits to compensate for their "carbon footprint". With CBDCs, that system of control will extend all of the way, right down to you, the individual. This is a form of oppression currently in use in China against its own people. Think that's bad enough? Get ready for some enterprising Silicon Valley nerds to try to bring China's "social credit system" to the West.

The ZTH Alliance therefore rejects all CBDCs.

Rejecting so many alternatives seems so negative. Why not just make friends at all costs?

There's a big difference between simply being friendly/civil and making friends at all costs. We at the ZTH Alliance don't seek discord. Neither do we seek accord at all costs, including the compromise of core values. While involving one's self in cryptocurrency can be used as a means of making "friends", if that was the goal, there are plenty of other, easier ways to achieve that. There are many destructive distractions in the cryptocurrency community, including hyperfocusing on one's favorite cryptocurrency, tribal politics, valuing investing over spending, dreaming of sitting at the "cool kids" table, and on and on.

The ZTH Alliance therefore encourages friendliness and civility, but never at the expense of core values.

Why not just directly spend precious metals such as physical gold and physical silver? Why use cryptocurrency at all?

Directly spending precious metals such as physical gold and physical silver has a long and storied history, since the beginning of civilization. Traditionally, physical gold and silver were used as an alternative to government-issued fiat currencies, where transactional privacy and anonymity was desired, as it leaves exactly zero public transaction history behind. Unfortunately, it is impossible to email physical gold or silver.

The cryptocurrency world is rife with scams and dangerous distractions. However as they say, "The devil's in the details". Only Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency also has that same property of leaving exactly zero public transaction history behind.

The ZTH Alliance therefore mandates the use of physical precious metals such as gold and silver in addition to Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency, rejecting fiat currencies such as the US Dollar.

Why not just directly spend Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency? Why use precious metals such as physical gold and physical silver at all?

The only cryptocurrency choice for actual privacy and anonymity is Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency, as it leaves exactly zero public transaction history behind. Those who exclusively use it know this fact very well, indeed. Unfortunately, all cryptocurrency faces adoption problems in that even buying a simple cup of coffee with it takes too long.

Physical gold and silver can be electronically and non-destructively assayed in seconds, far quicker than even the one minute of time required for a single transaction confirmation from the blockchain network. They also leave exactly zero public transaction history behind.

The ZTH Alliance therefore mandates the use of physical precious metals such as gold and silver in addition to Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency, rejecting fiat currencies such as the US Dollar.

Risk Management: Legality

In general, is this legal?

DISCLAIMER: The ZTH Alliance does not give out legal advice. We suggest that you follow all laws in your jurisdiction. If you want proper, professional answers to your legal questions, please consult a lawyer.

Having said that, since ancient times governments and banks have worked to actively destroy the public trust responsibility the public charged them with. Financial control of the public is really just a system of control. They will always want you to submit to that control.

It is up to you to use their "Legal Tender" or not. It is up to you to comply or not.

What is "Legal Tender"?

If you open your wallet or purse and take out a US bank note, you'll see the words written on it, "This note is Legal Tender for all debts, public and private." Most people don't know what the term "Legal Tender" means. The word "Legal" here means "the force of government" and "Tender" means to offer to another person, similar to "tendering one's resignation" when quitting a job.

When you buy something, the financial transaction either incurs a debt or does not. For example, if you go to a bar and run up a tab, you're incurring a debt, which you must settle with the bartender. This is considered a "postpaid" transaction. If you pay for your drinks up front, not running up a tab, you've incurred no debt, as the bartender won't let you drink your order without first paying. This is considered a "prepaid" transaction. The difference here is critical.

If a customer incurs a debt during a postpaid transaction, regardless of whether the merchant accepts US Dollars, and the customer merely offers "Legal Tender" fiat currency, a judge will always side with the customer, agreeing that the customer satisfied their debt. This practically amounts to the customer using the "force of the guns of government" to force the merchant to accept US Dollars. However, if no debt was incurred, the merchant can refuse to take US Dollars in favor of literally anything else they want to set the price in. The judge will always side with the merchant, charging the customer with theft if they walk off with the goods and/or services without paying.

By carefully avoiding your customers incurring debt to you and only doing "prepaid" transactions, you as a merchant are complely and legally free to set your prices in literally anything you wish, including in gold, silver, cryptocurrency, sticks, stones, or seashells.

ATTENTION: Even though both merhant and customer can agree to transact in whatever they want, the US government classifies anything other than cash as an "asset", subject to Capital Gains tax. This is clearly a form of discrimiation against anything that isn't government-controlled, fiat currency such as the US Dollar.

The ZTH Alliance therefore mandates prepaid transactions, avoiding postpaid transactions and the unacceptable incurred debt Legal Tender risks involved.

How: Technical/Procedural/Cost

How do I know that the precious metal coins are authentic?

We recommend using the same electronic precious metals verifier devices that coin shops use. These devices allow you to instantly verify the purity of items like jewelry, coins, or bars through and through, even through a plastic sleeve. Combined with a simple, calibrated weight scale, it is nearly impossible to miss a fake coin, even if it were merely plated with precious metal.

Such a device is comparable in cost to quality credit card swiping point of sale systems, except that it's offline, requiring no internet service to function, and requires exactly zero service fees. Purchasing these devices is a one-time cost.

An example of how to successfully test the weight and purity of a supposedly one troy ounce silver round of supposedly 0.999 purity:

1. Turn the precious metals verifier unit on
2. Press the "Cal" button to perform a mandatory, initial device sensor calibration
3. Press the "Metal" button and use the keypad arrow keys to navigate through the menu screens to select "Pure Silver"
4. Press the "Measure" button
5. Place the silver round on the white surface under the left, plastic bridge in the upper left of the device's surface
6. If both indicators on the screen show surface and internal purity in the green, then proceed
7. Press the "Measure" button to switch to "Dim" (physical dimension) mode
8. Use the keypad to tell the device the thing being tested is round and not rectangular
9. Place the silver round such that the right edge lines up with the dotted line as indicated by the glowing LED and see if the left edge is within the green bar as displayed on the screen
10. If the physical measurement is acceptable, then the item is pure, through and through
11. Place the silver round on the calibrated weight scale and verify that it does indeed weigh one troy ounce

NOTE: This procedure takes only a few seconds, which is even quicker than it takes to get a single, one-minute confirmation of a Pirate Chain cryptocurrency transaction.

The ZTH Alliance mandates the use of precious metals verifier devices along with calibrated weight scales.

Can't I just use some other way to test the coins?

While you're free to try to use other methods to test for purity, traditional tests such as using acid will only tell you about the purity of the outer surface of the coin. Traditionally to know if a coin was fake on the inside, you'd have to do a full melt assay, which of course destroys the coin's form.

Coin shops use non-destructive, electronic purity testing combined with using a calibrated weight scale. The goal here is to stop supporting the common, bad habit of trusting whatever is written or stamped on currency and simply verifying it for yourself. This is what keeps the currency honest.

The ZTH Alliance therefore mandates that both merchants and customers purchase weight scales and precious metals verifier devices.

Describe the workflow of a typical customer purchase using honest money

1. The merchant offers an item for sale, but the price is not denominated in US Dollars, but in a weight of a precious metal, such as silver. Example: Six gallons of gasoline/petrol for one Troy ounce of pure silver.
2. The customer slightly overpays for five gallons of gasoline/petrol with a single "round" of one Troy ounce of pure silver.
3. In seconds, the merchant successfully confirms the weight and purity of the silver using their weight scale and precious metals verifier device.
4. Satisfied with the weight and purity of the silver, the merchant allocates five gallons of gasoline/petrol to be dispensed at the customer's designated pump.
5. The customer opens their Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency wallet app on their phone, providing the QR code of their wallet to the merchant.
6. The merchant scans the customer's QR code and sends them the change for the transaction in near-infinitely divisible Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency.
7. During the one minute period that it takes the customer to receive the Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency and a single blockchain confirmation of the transaction, the customer fills their gasoline/petrol tank with the five gallons they paid for.
8. The customer checks their phone, sees the change in their wallet show up along with at least one blockchain confirmation, telling the customer that the change funds the merchant sent to the customer are pure and valid.

Onboarding: Merchants/Customers

How do I get started?

The first step in getting started is to meet with a representative of the ZTH Alliance in person, likely at your place of business. They will help you understand how all of this is supposed to work and either directly answer your questions or point you to online resources to get your questions answered. They will guide you through the following steps, some of which are mandatory to participate in the ZTH Alliance. 

Mandatory: Purchase a precious metals verifier device and calibrated, physical weight scale

Suitable, portable weight scales are very cheap and easily available. A precious metals verifier device costs something similar to a quality credit card swiping point of sale device, commonly available. These devices are offline, requiring no internet service, or transaction service fees, forever. This is a one-time purchase. These precious metals verifier devices can be purchased through an authorized agent of the ZTH Alliance.

Mandatory: Install the "Skull Island" Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency mobile wallet app

The zero-cost "Skull Island" Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency mobile app is the native mobile wallet app of the Pirate Chain project. It is available for both Android and iPhone here. This app lets you generate a cryptocurrency wallet wth wallet secret and associated wallet secret backup "seed phrase". The "seed phrase" is a sequence of 24 English words that you physically write down on a piece of paper. You then store the physically written down "seed phrase" in a physically safe place like a bank safe deposit box. The mobile app is considered to be equivalent of your wallet in your back pocket or your purse. You would keep less funds here than in either your desktop wallet or your "cold storage" wallet.

ATTENTION: It is extremely important that you never simply copy/paste your wallet secret backup "seed phrase" using your phone's or your PC's clipboard feature. Doing so sets you up for having your funds stolen by criminals. Never show your "seed phrase" to anyone, as this can be used to "recover" your cryptocurrency wallet and all of the funds in it. This recovery procedure must only be done by you, in order to protect your funds from theft.

Optional, but recommended: Install the "Treasure Chest" Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency full node desktop app

The zero-cost "Treasure Chest" Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency full node desktop app is the native desktop wallet app of the Pirate Chain project. It is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. This app lets you generate a cryptocurrency wallet wth wallet secret and associated wallet secret backup "seed phrase". The "seed phrase" is a sequence of 24 English words that you physically write down on a piece of paper. It also uses your PC to expand and strengthen the Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency blockchain network. Doing so requires that you keep the Pirate Chain running at least in a background state, minimized to your desktop "system tray" area. The desktop app is considered to be equivalent of a checking account in a conventional bank. You would keep more funds here than in your mobile wallet, less funds here than in your "cold storage" wallet.

Optional, but recommended: Purchase a Pirate Plus Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency "cold storage" hardware wallet device

The "Pirate Plus" Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency "cold storage" hareware wallet device is unique in that it the only "cold storage" device that has the resources needed to create a Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurency wallet offline. It is the safest way to store Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency and when properly used, makes your funds immune to being stolen by online criminals. Physically, the device has an LCD display screen, is powered by a micro USB connector, and has no direct input, relying on a desktop "helper app" that you install and run on your PC. This device lets you generate a cryptocurrency wallet wth wallet secret and associated wallet secret backup "seed phrase". The "seed phrase" is a sequence of 24 English words that you physically write down on a piece of paper. The device is considered to be equivalent of a savings account in a conventional bank. You would keep more funds here than in both your mobile wallet and in your desktop wallet. The "Pirate Plus" Pirate Chain privacy cryptocurrency "cold storage" hardware wallet device can be purchased through an authorized agent of the ZTH Alliance.

Optional, but recommended: Purchase a wallet backup "seed phrase" secret storage device made of steel

When you securely store your "seed phrase" that you physically wrote down on a piece of paper, storing it in a safe place like a bank safe deposit box, you safeguard your exclusive means of restoring your cryptocurrency funds in case of loss of cryptocurrency wallet. However, if that secure storage place is subject to the destruction of fire or flood, that extremely important paper is at risk of being damaged beyond repair. To safeguard against this, you can purchase a steel device the size of an audio cassette that has tiny, metal letters you slide into, scrabble-style that spell out all of the "seed phrase" words you had previously only written down paper. Once transferred, you then burn the "seed phrase" paper. You then store the steel "seed phrase" storage unit in your bank safe deposit box instead. Your cryptocurrency funds are now safe from both fire and flood. Such devices are available from an authorized agent of the ZTH Alliance.

Optional, but recommended: Get a private "safe deposit" box at a secure, private storage facility

Historically, banks were the default choice for storing valuables in "safe deposit" boxes in the bank's vault. However as banks are heavily regulated, the mere fact that you have a safe deposit box is reported to the government. This puts your items at risk of being seized any time the government decides to.

To safeguard against this, you can instead get an equivalent private safe deposit box at a private company with a similar valut. Storing your valuables there does not subject you to the regulatory compliance banks have to conform to. Your valuables, including your "seed phrase" backup paper/steel words device are now safe from casual looting by government regulators. An authorized agent of the ZTH Alliance can help you get established with such a private storage service in your area, if available.