How 1990s Libertarians Laid the Groundwork for Cryptocurrency

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Some wild stuff in this one.

How 1990s Libertarians Laid the Groundwork for Cryptocurrency​

The Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek wanted to denationalize money. David Chaum, an innovator in the field of cryptography and electronic cash, wanted to shield it from surveillance. Their goals were not the same, but they each inspired the same man.

Max O'Connor grew up in the British city of Bristol in the 1960s and '70s. Telling his life story to Wired in 1994, he explained how he had always dreamed of a future where humanity expanded its potential in science-fictional ways, a world where people would possess X-ray vision, carry disintegrator guns, or walk straight through walls.

By his teenage years, O'Connor had acquired an interest in the occult. He thought the key to realizing superhuman potential could perhaps be found in the same domain as astral projection, dowsing rods, and reincarnation. But he began to realize there was no compelling evidence that any of these mystical practices actually worked. Human progress, he soon decided, was best served not by the supernatural but by science and logic.

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I had to skim down the section title Digital Cash to find the (to me) interesting stuff. I had heard of Hal Finney before, but never bothered to investigate his story. The article hints at (but doesn't explicitly claim) Satoshi's work being a product of the ideas set forth by Hayek, Finney, Moore et al. Whether that is right or wrong, it is some context for what was happening in the time frame. Cool stuff.
 
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