13 Cypherpunks: the origin of decentralization
In our previous chapter we presented how the free software and open source communities influenced the emergence of self-sovereign identity (SSI). In this chapter we will explain how SSI also stands on the shoulders of cryptography giants. These cryptography pioneers of the 70s inspired a movement known as the “cypherpunks,'' which subsequently inspired the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency movement based on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). Understanding the cypherpunks—and their unique motivations—sheds light on the larger trend to decentralization, Web 3.0, and SSI.
13.1 The origins of modern cryptography
In his landmark 2001 book Crypto,[1] Steven Levy explains how cryptography in the United States of America evolved—over 50 years—from the "monopoly" controlled by the National Security Agency (NSA) to the progressive dismemberment of that monopoly led by the academic community—a community in which many of the Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain pioneers were involved.