TD₿: A Cypherpunk's Manifesto by Eric Hughes
TL;DR We must defend our own privacy if we expect to have any.
Hey Bitcoiners,
The fight for privacy in the internet age began long before Bitcoin with the fight over cryptography in the 1980s & 1990s.
Back then the government was infringing on the public’s right to privacy and were not too happy when Phil Zimmermann wrote a free computer program that rendered files and email essentially spy-proof.
This obviously angered the state who could no longer enjoy the surveillance powers they had grown accustom to because of this pesky program. Soon after, they tried to make cryptography illegal for public use.
This led to a legal and cultural battle over the public right for cryptography known as “the Cypher Wars” as well as the creation of a group who called themselves the Cypherpunks.
Eric Hughes was one of the founders of the Cypherpunks and laid out their goals and mission in “A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto” (03/09/1993).
In today’s age of increasing state surveillance and an internet that is increasingly controlled by tech behemoths, it has never been a better time to read Eric’s manifesto.
Bitcoiners are just Cypherpunks evolved.
Tick tock next block,
Cory Klippsten
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Quote of the Day
“There's nothing wrong with asserting your privacy. Privacy is as apple-pie as the Constitution.” - Phil Zimmermann, Computer Scientist and Cryptographer
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