0/ You’ve probably heard people yapping about Cypherpunk, but what exactly is it and what is Ethereum’s specific brand of Cypherpunk? A guest thread by post_polar_

Ethereum is the world computer. The universal platform for cryptocurrencies, blockchain apps, stablecoins, and decentralized technologies.

1/ When I’m teaching, I condense Ethereum Cypherpunk into four key values: decentralization, permissionlessness, censorship resistance and credible neutrality.

2/ Decentralisation means power should be distributed as widely as possible among all Ethereum’s stakeholders.

3/ Permissionlessness means you shouldn’t need anyone’s permission to use Ethereum (and is also fun to say).

4/ Censorship resistance means all transactions should be treated equally on Ethereum, no judgement.

5/ And credible neutrality means Ethereum’s design - and ideally what is built on Ethereum - shouldn’t favour anyone in particular—it should be fair. Credible neutrality is a unique contribution of Ethereum culture, introduced by @vitalik.eth:

5/ And credible neutrality means Ethereum’s design - and ideally what is built on Ethereum - shouldn’t favour anyone in particular—it should be fair. Credible neutrality is a unique contribution of Ethereum culture, introduced by @vitalik.eth: https://nakamoto.com/credible-neutrality/

7/ In pcaversaccio’s seminal ‘The Ethereum Cypherpunk Manifesto’ we find privacy, security, and censorship resistance listed as the core principles and these exist to support ‘immutability, decentralised governance, open access, global collaboration, and continuous evolution’:

7/ In pcaversaccio’s seminal ‘The Ethereum Cypherpunk Manifesto’ we find privacy, security, and censorship resistance listed as the core principles and these exist to support ‘immutability, decentralised governance, open access, global collaboration, and continuous evolution’: https://hackmd.io/@pcaversaccio/the-ethereum-cypherpunk-manifesto

8/ In Vitalik’s ‘Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again’, he gives us an expansive list, adding values like auditability and a cooperative mindset:

8/ In Vitalik’s ‘Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again’, he gives us an expansive list, adding values like auditability and a cooperative mindset: https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2023/12/28/cypherpunk.html

9/ These different interpretations of Cypherpunk are a normal outcome in decentralised communities. Because there is no top-down cultural arbiter, not even Vitalik, people tend to place the emphasis in different places, although you will note recurring themes.

10/ Cypherpunk has a rich history and you can read many academic articles about it. For example, kelsiemvn has written an intellectual history of Crypto movements where Cypherpunk appears heavily: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/24701475.2023.2183643

11/ ​@annbrody7 is an Ethereum ethnographer who analysed the role of Cypherpunk (and other themes) in the first social science academic article that focused exclusively on Ethereum:

11/ ​@annbrody7 is an Ethereum ethnographer who analysed the role of Cypherpunk (and other themes) in the first social science academic article that focused exclusively on Ethereum: https://cjc.utppublishing.com/doi/10.22230/cjc.2021v46n3a3701

12/ Another excellent Crypto academic worth checking out is jayapapaya who portrays the Cypherpunk mindset as that of the Hacker-Engineer, dedicated to the dream of a decentralised Web:

12/ Another excellent Crypto academic worth checking out is jayapapaya who portrays the Cypherpunk mindset as that of the Hacker-Engineer, dedicated to the dream of a decentralised Web: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13563467.2020.1806223

13/ These are paywalled articles but as a tip if you email academics they will send you their articles!

14/ The Cypherpunk ethos also features prominently in two excellent books on the founding of Ethereum: Laura Shin's ‘The Cryptopians’ and Cami Russo's ‘The Infinite Machine.’

15/ These days, it is not uncommon to hear people lament how there are no more Cypherpunks or the OG Cypherpunks are burnt out. The below tweet captures the spirit and was copy pasta’d by Vitalik, causing a small drama:

15/ These days, it is not uncommon to hear people lament how there are no more Cypherpunks or the OG Cypherpunks are burnt out. The below tweet captures the spirit and was copy pasta’d by Vitalik, causing a small drama: https://x.com/zengjiajun_eth/status/1894895278551183543

16/ There are still some Ethereum Cypherpunk OGs however! @lefteris.eth is definitely a Cypherpunk OG. He’s known for giving some real talk about how short we fall of our values at conferences:

16/ There are still some Ethereum Cypherpunk OGs however! @lefteris.eth is definitely a Cypherpunk OG. He’s known for giving some real talk about how short we fall of our values at conferences: https://x.com/LefterisJP/status/1865713104169902163

17/ And here’s drnickA giving a rousing speech in defense of Cypherpunk. Putting the -punk back into Cypherpunk:

17/ And here’s drnickA giving a rousing speech in defense of Cypherpunk. Putting the -punk back into Cypherpunk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGUrqPJDrGM

18/ And here’s lex_node advocating that Ethereum’s stress on Cypherpunk values is its killer feature:

18/ And here’s lex_node advocating that Ethereum’s stress on Cypherpunk values is its killer feature: https://x.com/lex_node/status/1889307627844448665

19/ But it’s not all OGs. The Web3 Privacy Now collective is an example of a neo-Cypherpunk community in that they support the traditional but also recognise a need to reboot Cypherpunk for a new generation:

19/ But it’s not all OGs. The Web3 Privacy Now collective is an example of a neo-Cypherpunk community in that they support the traditional but also recognise a need to reboot Cypherpunk for a new generation: https://docs.web3privacy.info/

20/ Oh and be sure to check out the Women in Web3 Privacy:

20/ Oh and be sure to check out the Women in Web3 Privacy: https://www.womeninweb3privacy.com/

21/ There is also a subculture of Cypherpunk-aligned dApps. My favourite is @fileverse who gave us a legendary slogan: ‘we can remain Cypherpunks longer than they can remain Degen’:

21/ There is also a subculture of Cypherpunk-aligned dApps. My favourite is @fileverse who gave us a legendary slogan: ‘we can remain Cypherpunks longer than they can remain Degen’: https://x.com/fileverse/status/1836492905789427873

22/ We got to mention Rotki too: https://x.com/LefterisJP/status/1905648690007560522

23/ And Radicle: https://x.com/radicle/status/1833471383138873801

24/ Some people argue that Cypherpunk and Degen might not be as contradictory as it might appear. Milady culture appears to blend the two quite well:

24/ Some people argue that Cypherpunk and Degen might not be as contradictory as it might appear. Milady culture appears to blend the two quite well:  https://x.com/CharlotteFang77/status/1881733278383939591

25/ _enoch reminds us that Cypherpunk demands of us a little bit of conviction. The ability to resist reducing Ethereum down to its worst excesses, that Cypherpunk is the bulwark against collapsing this experiment into nihilism:

25/ _enoch reminds us that Cypherpunk demands of us a little bit of conviction. The ability to resist reducing Ethereum down to its worst excesses, that Cypherpunk is the bulwark against collapsing this experiment into nihilism: https://x.com/_Enoch/status/1901727298442997867

26/ I’ll leave the last word to @sassal.eth who tells us concisely what Ethereum is:

26/ I’ll leave the last word to @sassal.eth who tells us concisely what Ethereum is: https://x.com/sassal0x/status/1896147970191741298

6/ BUT you will be shocked to hear different people define Ethereum’s core Cypherpunk values in different ways.