WHAT'S A CYPHERPUNK?

A Cypherpunk is a movement that advocates for the use of Cryptography, private-enhancing technologies and decentralised systems to promote personal freedom, privacy and digital rights. It started in the late, 1980s and early, 1990s. It's driven by a group of Activists, Programmers and Cryptographers, who believe that encryption and digital anonymity could counter Governments surveillance and Corporate control over data. The Cypherpunk Manifesto, was written by, Mr Eric Huges in, 1993. It captures the Movement's core philosophy: "Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age". Cypherpunks actively develop and promote tools like, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) for encrypted communication. Bitcoin development was influenced by Cypherpunk ideas. Cypherpunk is a blend of Cipher, a method of encryption. Cypherpunk is a genre of dystopian Sci-Fi. It was coined in the early, 1990s by a team of Cryptographers and Activists who believed that, strong encryption was vital for protecting personal data. The key figures of the Movement are: Mr Timothy C. May, he wrote the Crypto Anarchist Manifesto and argued that, Cryptography would erode Governments power. Mr Hal Finney, a Cryptographer and early Bitcoin adopter. He helped Mr Satoshi Nakamoto refine Bitcoin. Mr John Gilmore, helped to create the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) Advocacy for digital rights. Mr Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, was active member of Cypherpunk and an Advocate for transparency through encryption. Mr Phil Zimmermann, created PGP in 1991 for secure Email encryption, TOR ( The Onion Router) a tool for anonymous browsing. Governments around the world are pushing for more digital surveillance but, Cypherpunks are at the forefront of defending online privacy.