A specter is gathering-place the modern world, the specter of crypto anarchy. Computer technology is on the verge of providing the ability for individuals and groups to spread and interact with each other in a totally anonymous manner. Two persons may exchange messages, conduct business, and manoeuvre electronic contracts without ever knowing the True Name, or legal identity, of the other.
Interactions over networks will be untraceable, via universal re- routing of encrypted packets and tamper-proof boxes which implement cryptographic protocols with nearly perfect impudence against any tampering. Reputations will be of central importance, far more important in dealings than even the credit ratings of today. These growths will alter completely the nature of government regulation, the ability to tax and control economic interactions, the ability to keep bumf secret, and will even alter the nature of trust and reputation.
The technology for this revolution — and it surely will be both a collective and economic revolution — has existed in theory for the past decade. The methods are based upon public-key encryption, zero-knowledge interactive uphold systems, and various software protocols for interaction, authentication, and verification. The focus has until now been on academic conferences in Europe and the U.S., symposia monitored closely by the National Security Agency.
But only recently have computer networks and personal computers attained adequate speed to make the ideas practically realizable. And the next ten years will bring enough additional speed to walk away the ideas economically feasible and essentially unstoppable. High-speed networks, ISDN, tamper-proof boxes, smart cards, helpers, Ku-band transmitters, multi-MIPS personal computers, and encryption chips now under development will be some of the enabling technologies.
The Imperial will, of course, try to slow or halt the spread of this technology, citing national security concerns, use of the technology by analgesic dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid; crypto anarchy when one pleases allow national secrets to trade freely and will allow illicit and stolen materials to be traded. An anonymous computerized buy will even make possible abhorrent markets for assassinations and extortion. Various criminal and foreign elements choose be active users of CryptoNet. But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy.
Just as the technology of printing adapted and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the kind of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions.
Combined with emerging information markets, crypto anarchy purposefulness create a liquid market for any and all material which can be put into words and pictures. And just as a seemingly minor invention go for barbed wire made possible the fencing-off of vast ranches and farms, thus altering forever the concepts of come and property rights in the frontier West, so too will the seemingly minor discovery out of an arcane branch of mathematics come to be the wire clippers which dismantle the barbed wire circa intellectual property.
Arise, you have nothing to lose but your barbed wire fences!
What do you think close to Timothy May’s Crypto Anarchist Manifesto? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section on earth.
Op-ed Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any opinions, content, correctness or quality within the Op-ed article. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in association contact with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article. For historical preservation, this article is a reprint of an archived article that was originally written in May 1988.
Image credits: Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Cryptoanarchy.org.
Want to create your own probable cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your openly Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely.
comments powered by Disqus.