Enjoy some old-school cypherpunk for this Sci-Friday – the Cypherpunk Archives are an interesting snapshot of life on the Internet from 1992-1998. More than that, the Cypherpunk Archives fill in a lot of institutional knowledge on ‘why the Internet is the way that it is.’
But wait – you say – what’s cypherpunk, anyway? Per Wikipedia, cypherpunk is abou the advocacy of strong cryptography. Who cares, right? A lot of people, as it turns out:
‘The cypherpunk movement originated in the late 1980s … where informal groups of activists, technologists, and cryptographers discussed strategies to enhance individual privacy and resist state or corporate surveillance. Fiction blended with fact for cypherpunk. ‘GURPS Cyberpunk received notoriety when the Austin headquarters of Steve Jackson Games was raided by the U.S. Secret Service in 1990. In the late 1980s, these ideas coalesced into something like a movement.‘
Click on the image or this link to explore for yourself:
What are the Cypherpunks Mailing List archives about?
In Maaria Bajwa’s own words: “The Cypherpunks Mailing List is legendary, often credited as a foundational space during the ‘Crypto Wars’ of the 1990s. Many pioneers of blockchain technology, like Hal Finney, Adam Back, Julian Assange, and Phil Zimmerman, were active participants. This movement laid the ideological groundwork for Bitcoin and beyond.
“My interest in this mailing list was reignited after attending Porter Adams’ talk at Devcon 2024, titled “I Read Every Single 1990s Cypherpunk Email. Here’s What I Know.” You can check out his slides here. His talk inspired me to dive into the archives myself and create a way for others to explore this unique piece of history.”
The Cypherpunk Archives stuck out to me as part of the hacker history I celebrate in Mesh. That’s Sci-Friday for this week – I hope it brings a smile to your face. Please feel welcomed to dive down the rabbit hole of every other Sci-Friday I’ve published in the past couple years. Have a great Weekend. <3
