A Political History of DAOs

The Cypherpunks were interested in harnessing cryptographic tools to build anonymous communication networks and markets without government censorship.

A PRE-HISTORY OF THE CYPHERPUNKS:

Public key cryptography, or the use of encryption to secure information against unwanted access by third parties, was discovered in 1973. Research on and access to encryption technologies were highly embargoed.

So, pursued the development of decentralized, cryptographically secure digital infrastructure.

They hoped these technologies would make it possible for people to inhabit “temporary autonomous zones” — the socio-political tactic of creating temporary spaces in the physical world or cyberspace that elude formal systems of control.

In 2008, a group of developers released a whitepaper on the Cryptographers Mailing List.

The Cypherpunks used their mailing list to document various attempts at building an electronic coin network. This included “e-gold,” in 1996; an anti-spam proof-of-work algorithm called Hashcash by Adam Back; an anonymous proof-of-stake electronic cash network in 1998; and Bit Gold, a proof-of-work string of cryptographic hashes by Nick Szabo in 20... See more

FROM CRYPTOGRAPHERS TO CYPHERPUNKS (1990S - 2008):

Digital encryption is a fundamentally political security technology, and a site of struggle for privacy, freedom, and democracy that scholar Linda Monsees has termed “Crypto Politics.”

In 1975, the government introduced the Data Encryption Standard, a national encryption standard for public and commercial use. Thus limiting citizens’ access to cryptography knowledge and tools. This is part of a decades-long battle over data privacy known as the “Crypto Wars.”