Such has been true with all other consumer electronics for years. The only way manufacturers can stay in business is to force the consumer to replace it when it breaks. The best way to accomplish this is to declare all of the technology included in the product to be proprietary and a trade secret. Then not allow repair literature or replacement parts to be freely distributed. Second, hyper inflate any repair parts to cost more than an entire new unit although they really cost pennies to create. And third, offer new models which only tweak minor functions but change superficial properties to engage the consumer in the illusion that newer is cooler and better. And you people just keep confirming that their evil plan works by buying the crap. Demand quality. Demand sustainable technology.

Yet it could still be used as leverage against you, if you wanted to remain anonymous. A person should be able to have an expectation of anonymity to make transactions without an all seeing eye knowing where every cent went? Or for what purpose?

Lets say that I wanted to make a donation to the 'Bradley Manning Defense Fund' and I also wanted to run for public office as a Republican. The fact that I made that donation would have a negative effect on my chances of being elected, where it ever to get out. I send a cash donation in a white envelope and no one would be the wiser. But traceable credits? We all know that nothing is secret, someone makes a FOI request for my transaction records and...

I think that example is valid. The only reason do do away with cash is to do away with the underground economy.

The proof of concept proves that you are okay if you have disabled JavaScript by default.

As if this is a new idea. MPAA and all of the other alphabet soup of orgs dedicated to IP rights have been trying to preserve their 200+ year old business models for 60+ years. From the Mickey Mouse/Sonny Bono copyright acts to DMCA and they have found that the only way they are able to make any headway is to pay Washington to enact special laws that limit liberties and penalize free will. Any new internet copyright protection legislation must include recourse for the defendant with recovery of expenses and while protecting fair use and absolutely must include due process. To allow the industry who brought us the DMCA and Broadcast flagging to self police the internet is like giving a crack addict the keys to the police evidence locker. Stop SOPA. Stop ProtectIP!

...make the act a felony punishable by fine and imprisonment where before it was a civil matter that required the rights holders to sue. This is an end run by the studios in an attempt to apply a different criminal standard to infringement that they have failed to quash with civil action.