Origins
The cypherpunk movement emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, uniting cryptographers, programmers, and privacy activists who believed cryptography could protect individual freedom from government and corporate surveillance.
A Cypherpunk's Manifesto (1993)
"Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age... We cannot expect governments, corporations, or other large, faceless organizations to grant us privacy... We must defend our own privacy if we expect to have any... Cypherpunks write code." â Eric Hughes
Key Figures
Eric Hughes
Author of Cypherpunk's Manifesto
FounderTimothy C. May
Crypto Anarchist Manifesto author
FounderJohn Gilmore
EFF co-founder, cypherpunk founder
FounderPhil Zimmermann
Creator of PGP
DeveloperCore Principles
- Privacy as a fundamental right
- Code is more effective than laws
- Decentralization over central authority
- Anonymous transactions enable freedom
- Open source for trust verification
- Individual sovereignty over personal data
Lasting Impact
PGPEmail encryption still in use today
TorAnonymous communication network
BitcoinDigital cash without central authority
Signal ProtocolE2E encryption standard
WikiLeaksWhistleblowing platform
Essential Reading
Key Texts: A Cypherpunk's Manifesto (1993), The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto (1988), This Machine Kills Secrets by Andy Greenberg, Crypto by Steven Levy.