Crypto-anarchists

Crypto-anarchists

Crypto-anarchism or crypto-anarchy, as described by Vernor Vinge, is a cyber-spatial realization of anarcho-capitalism, employing cryptography to enable individuals to make consensual economic arrangements and to transcend national boundaries. Crypto-anarchists employ cryptographic software to evade prosecution and harassment while sending and receiving information over computer networks, in an effort to protect their privacy and political freedom.

Using such software, the association between the identity of a certain user or organization and the pseudonym they use is difficult to find, unless the user reveals the association. It is difficult to say which country's laws will be ignored, as even the location of a certain participant is unknown. In a sense, the encrypted anonymous networks (the "cipherspace") can be regarded as an independent lawless territory or as an autonomous zone. However, participants may in theory voluntarily create new laws using smart contracts or, if the user is pseudonymous, depend on online reputation.