Before crypto became flashy and full of billion-dollar logos, it was a movement rooted in privacy, freedom, and code. That’s where the cypherpunks came in. These were developers and cryptographers from the 80s and 90s who believed that privacy wasn’t negotiable: it was a basic right. Their famous 1993 manifesto, written by Eric Hughes, declared that "cypherpunks write code" to defend privacy with cryptographic tools rather than relying on laws or institutions. declared declared Bitcoin, released in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, was the first successful cypherpunk currency. It offered a form of decentralized money, not tied to banks, so people would have the power to transact without permission. But over time, Bitcoin and many of its successors have become more corporate, influenced by regulation, and even fully centralized, like popular stablecoins. Not all is lost, though. Some projects still stick to that original vision—open, uncensorable, and free (as in freedom). Here are some of them. influenced by regulation influenced by regulation fully centralized fully centralized Monero (XMR): Privacy That Can’t Be Turned Off Monero launched in 2014 as a fork of Bytecoin, with the pseudonymous author Nicolas van Saberhagen originally proposing its privacy-focused protocol, CryptoNote. It was built from the ground up for one thing: untraceable money. The Monero ecosystem is maintained by a collective of volunteer developers and contributors, not a single foundation or corporation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZi9xx6aiuY&embedable=true https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZi9xx6aiuY&embedable=true Monero hides every part of your transaction, including who sent it, who received it, and how much was sent. It does this using technologies like ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions. But unlike privacy layers you can optionally turn on, Monero’s privacy is always on. That makes it extremely difficult for anyone, including governments or surveillance firms, to trace. Monero hides every part of your transaction, including who sent it, who received it, and how much was sent Monero Monero Monero uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus protocol with RandomX, a mining algorithm specifically designed to resist Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASICs) hardware miners —machines that could lead to a certain degree of centralization, as it’s happened with Bitcoin. This helps keep it more accessible and decentralized, with a wider distribution of miners around the world. Monero users don’t have to rely on any institution to stay private. It’s remained resilient even as regulators have pressured popular exchanges to delist it globally. As Forbes noted, Monero’s staying power and refusal to compromise may make it a better torchbearer for the original cypherpunk vision than Bitcoin itself.\ As Forbes noted As Forbes noted Ethereum Classic (ETC): Holding the Line on Immutability Ethereum Classic was born in 2016 during one of crypto’s most famous disagreements. When Ethereum’s The DAO smart contract (by Slock.it) was hacked due to a code exploit, the community voted to roll back the blockchain and recover the lost funds —around $50 million. But a group of developers and users refused. They argued that code is law, and blockchains should be immutable, even if the outcome is unpopular. They kept the original chain running, and that’s how Ethereum Classic (ETC) came to be. famous disagreements famous disagreements ETC operates as a smart contract platform, just like Ethereum, but it’s taken a much stricter stance on decentralization, autonomy, and censorship resistance. It uses Proof-of-Work, not Proof-of-Stake (PoS) like modern Ethereum, and continues to be mined by a globally distributed network –although through mining pools, with the majority concentrated on F2Pool and 2Miners. That PoW system helps keep ETC independent from centralized “validators,” at least. ETC operates as a smart contract platform, just like Ethereum, but it’s taken a much stricter stance on decentralization, autonomy, and censorship resistance. concentrated concentrated Its community values resilience and ideological consistency. They’ve stated that ETC is a cypherpunk ideal, “product of decades of work by people who saw the potential of public key cryptography to create an Internet free from centralization, capture, and manipulation by special interests.” It’s not just about tech: it's a philosophical stand for trustless systems that don’t bend to external authority. They’ve stated They’ve stated Zcash: Another Solution for Privacy “I told her [his wife], ‘I’ve decided to do this. It’s scary. I might end up in jail. I might get murdered or extorted. I might go broke. I might be sort of crushed by it somehow. But it’s way too important not to do’”. Those were the words of Zooko Wilcox, a long-time cypherpunk, when he chose to lead the creation of Zcash —and it was a very “cypherpunk” sentiment. Released in October 2016 after years of research by Matthew Green, Ian Miers, Christina Garman, and others, Zcash set out to solve a key problem in Bitcoin: the lack of true privacy. he chose he chose Zcash Zcash Built from Bitcoin’s code but enhanced with zk-SNARKs (cryptographic proofs to obscure data), it lets users send either transparent transactions (like Bitcoin) or fully ‘shielded’ ones, hiding sender, receiver, and amount on the ledger. The launch involved a special “ceremony:” a complex, multi-location process where participants generated and destroyed parts of a master key to ensure no one could counterfeit coins in the future. It was part spy movie, part math project, and even included key figures like Edward Snowden. Built from Bitcoin’s code but enhanced with zk-SNARKs (cryptographic proofs to obscure data), it lets users send either transparent transactions (like Bitcoin) or fully ‘shielded’ ones, hiding sender, receiver, and amount on the ledger. like Edward Snowden like Edward Snowden Zcash runs on Proof-of-Work, splitting block rewards between miners and a development fund. While mining power concentration has been a concern, the protocol itself is aiming for decentralization. They still need to fix the problem of centralized mining, though. has been a concern has been a concern the problem the problem In any case, Zcash remains one of the few widely used cryptocurrencies with privacy at the protocol level. It’s still standing after diverse market ups and downs and regulatory pressure in some countries, and it’s still developed by the Electric Coin Company and the Zcash Foundation. This is one of the most notable projects carrying the cypherpunk torch for financial privacy.\ regulatory pressure regulatory pressure Nostr: The Protocol for Free Speech Online Nostr isn’t a blockchain or a cryptocurrency, but it’s a close friend to both. This is a censorship-resistant messaging protocol designed for decentralized social media. First proposed in 2020 by the pseudonymous developer fiatjaf, Nostr exploded in popularity after Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey backed it financially. fiatjaf Here’s how it works: Instead of having a single point of control (like Twitter or Facebook), Nostr uses relays (servers anyone can run) to distribute signed messages from users. Your identity is tied to a cryptographic key, not a username owned by a company. If one relay blocks you, your messages still live on others. Instead of having a single point of control (like Twitter or Facebook), Nostr uses relays (servers anyone can run) to distribute signed messages from users. Nostr Nostr Its first and most popular app so far is Damus, launched on iOS in early 2023. As of May 2023, Nostr was reported to have around 18 million users. While it’s not a cryptocurrency in itself, the platform integrates seamlessly with Bitcoin's Lightning Network for tipping and identity, making it a perfect match for the cypherpunk toolkit. was reported was reported This protocol aims to break the monopoly that big tech has on speech. In an age of takedowns, shadowbans, and moderation-by-algorithm, it offers an option where censorship just doesn't stick.\ DarkFi: Anonymous Finance as Resistance DarkFi isn’t shy about what it stands for. Created by a team of privacy advocates, including Amir Taaki, a key early contributor to Bitcoin and fervent cypherpunk, it’s a platform for building anonymous decentralized applications. Think DeFi, but fully private by default. Amir Taaki Amir Taaki It offers a full ecosystem that includes its own layer 1 (L1) blockchain, private chat service (DarkIRC), a task coordination platform, and potential for anonymous Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). Released into public testnet in May 2025, the project aims to create a world where users can organize, communicate, and transact without surveillance. It offers a full ecosystem that includes its own layer 1 (L1) blockchain, private chat service (DarkIRC), a task coordination platform, and potential for anonymous Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). Its main chain runs on Proof-of-Work using the RandomX algorithm, the same one used by Monero. RandomX favors everyday CPUs, making it more resistant to mining centralization than ASIC-heavy and GPU-heavy networks. On the privacy side, DarkFi goes all in. It uses zero-knowledge proofs built with a language called ZKAS and zk-SNARKs (succinct, private cryptographic proofs). Besides, everything happens directly on its L1, with no sequencers or external settlement. DarkFi DarkFi As their developers mention: "Go Dark. Let's liberate people from the claws of big tech and create the democratic paradigm of technology." Cypherpunks would feel right at home here, because DarkFi doesn’t just protect privacy: it treats it as a political act. mention mention Gnosis: Tools for Collective Power Gnosis started in 2015 with a focus on prediction markets, but it has grown into a full ecosystem dedicated to decentralized infrastructure. It includes Gnosis Chain (a sidechain compatible with Ethereum), Gnosis Safe (a multi-signature wallet), and CowSwap (a DEX using batch auctions to minimize fees and front-running). Its consensus protocol is still Proof-of-Stake (tied to Ethereum) with a validator set that includes independent node operators from around the world. We’ve seen that, currently, Ethereum isn’t the most censorship-resistant chain out there due to this consensus mechanism. However, Gnosis is at least incentivizing the increase of validators in many different countries, which could make their chain more decentralized and censorship-resistant. isn’t the most censorship-resistant isn’t the most censorship-resistant Gnosis is at least incentivizing the increase of validators in many different countries, which could make their chain more decentralized and censorship-resistant. incentivizing incentivizing This platform is focused on building robust, decentralized systems that put power in the hands of communities and DAOs. That means making it easier for groups to hold funds, vote, and operate without depending on a CEO or a central party. This platform This platform Sebastian Bürgel, Gnosis VP, has said that staying true to cypherpunk values helps crypto users resist censorship and corporate control. In an interview with CT, he warned that the chase for profits risks turning crypto into another centralized tech sector. Instead, projects should focus on privacy, resilience, and giving individuals real control over their money and identity. has said has said Obyte: No Middlemen Obyte, launched in 2016 by Anton Churyumov, is a decentralized platform that lets users send money, create smart contracts, and build dApps without miners, “validators,” or any other middlemen. That’s because it doesn’t use a blockchain. Instead, it runs on a DAG, or Directed Acyclic Graph: a data structure where transactions link to each other directly. There are no blocks, no miners, and no need for staking. Each transaction references previous ones, which adds it to the interconnected ledger. Only Order Providers (OPs) are selected by the community to post waypoint transactions that are then used to order all the transactions, but they don’t have any other power. This design helps prevent centralization because no entity controls the platform or access to it. It also makes Obyte predictable, with no front-running —transaction hijacking for profit, as it occurs in networks like Ethereum. There are no blocks, no miners, and no need for staking. Each transaction references previous ones, which adds it to the interconnected ledger. Order Providers Order Providers The Obyte ecosystem includes customized tokens (private tokens included), on-chain governance, conditional smart contracts, self-sovereign identity (SSI), chatbots, DeFi apps, and even prediction markets. It even has its own cypherpunk city as an initiative that rewards people for forming connections. Obyte ecosystem Obyte ecosystem cypherpunk city cypherpunk city Obyte fits cypherpunk values like a glove. It avoids gatekeepers, embraces censorship resistance, offers privacy options, and prioritizes decentralization not as a buzzword but as a design principle. No mining monopolies, no staking cartels: just people transacting freely. While much of crypto has shifted toward speculation and compliance, we can say that these projects keep the cypherpunk spirit alive. They’re rooted in freedom, not__FOMO__. Whether it’s Monero shielding your transactions, DarkFi defending your identity, or Obyte removing the middlemen entirely, these protocols aren’t manipulated by central parties. This is the original promise of crypto, still in motion. FOMO Featured Vector Image by vectorjuice / Freepik Featured Vector Image by vectorjuice / Freepik Freepik Freepik
