Encointer community currencies are distributed unconditionally, at regular intervals, to all active participants. But if anyone can join and nobody needs an official ID, how is misuse prevented? For example, how can users be sure that an individual participant cannot claim the currency twice under two different identities?
Encointer’s unique, practical identity system is based on the fact that a person can only be in one place at one time. Here’s how it works:
1. Every participant agrees to make themselves available in person for key-signing meetups, which are held simultaneously at regular intervals in all locations.
2. Each time a key-signing event occurs, random selections of participants meet at random locations in the community to prove that they are unique individuals.
3. This requirement to prove personhood on site makes Encointer more secure, ensuring that so long as the majority of a community is honest, misuse is not possible.