Bitcoin is one of many cryptographic technologies designed to transform economic transactions between individuals, corporations, and governments through decentralization. In the present day, however, Bitcoin is increasingly seen as just a speculative asset, akin to a stock or ETF. Most cryptocurrency buyers are focused on making money on the crypto bubble or trading meme coins in hopes of profiting off the pyramid schemes and are not interested in the decentralization technology or the philosophy behind Bitcoin. It is time to counter the shallow profit-driven culture surrounding Bitcoin with a return to the techno-libertarian tradition.
The origins of Bitcoin are rooted in a movement aimed at reducing the state’s role in economic transactions. The groundwork for the revolutionary tool can be traced back to a series of manifestos. The GNU Manifesto was written by Richard Stallman, an activist advocating for free and open-source software over proprietary alternatives. It was a direct rebellion against the concept of copyright and capitalism in favor of mutualism. The Techno-Revolution manifesto was authored by a hacktivist called “Doctor Crash” via Phrack magazine in 1986. It set an agenda of rebellion against the big businesses and the government in favor of small businesses. “Doctor Crash” suggested that hacking is a major facet of the fight against the government and big business computer monopolies in the service of solving world problems and should benefit all humankind.
Lastly Crypto Anarchist Manifesto was influenced by the 1980s cypherpunk movement that educated, agitated, and organized in favour of internet privacy against government surveillance and the monopoly of corporations. Timothy C. May, a founder of the cypherpunk movement, published the “Crypto Anarchist Manifesto” in 1988, warning about the role of the state in centralizing the internet and the expansion of censorship and surveillance technologies. The release of anti-censorship, pro-anonymity, and encryption software such as Tor, I2P, Freenet, and VPN were highly influenced by the movements led by cypherpunks and crypto-anarchists.
Even though it’s true that the market for illegal products and services could benefit from such technologies, Timothy C. May pointed out that they will fundamentally alter how corporations and governments interfere in economic transactions. He claimed that crypto technology can ensure a voluntary form of exchange since the stakeholders are untraceable, anonymous, and equal. Timothy C. May prophesied that such a voluntary form of exchange would form an anarcho-capitalist market system, namely crypto–anarchy. Even though the GNU Manifesto, the Techno-Revolution Manifesto, and the Crypto Anarchist Manifesto differ in approaches, they all have common enemies. It is the monopoly of the big businesses and the surveillance capability of the governments.
In 2008, Bitcoin and its White Paper emerged from the shadows of cyberspace, crafted by the mysterious figure Satoshi Nakamoto. Among the early believers was Amir Taaki, a British-Iranian anarchist, who saw Bitcoin as a tool for liberation—a way to bypass corporations and governments, freeing individuals through decentralized exchange. Initially drawn to the open-source movement, Taaki believed Bitcoin could ignite a revolution. But as he later confessed in an interview with Vice, profit-driven investors quickly shifted Bitcoin’s course, turning it into a speculative asset rather than a tool of freedom. Rhea Myers, a fellow hacktivist and artist, echoed this view, calling Bitcoin a genuinely anti-statist technology, though increasingly hijacked by the forces it was meant to defy. She insisted that regardless of the divergence in vision between left-wing anarchism and right-wing anarchism, Bitcoin plays a vital role in limiting the role of the state in people’s social relations.
With the abolition of the role of the state in economics, people would be free to practice the voluntary exchange of goods and services in a myriad of ways spanning from a form of anarcho-capitalism put forth by Timothy C. May to social anarchism as envisioned by Amir Taaki. One could even imagine a form of anarchism without adjectives in the tradition of Rhea Myers. Techno-libertarianism prevents the state or big business from interfering in the social exchange of value at the moment of transaction, ensuring freedom, anonymity, decentralization, voluntaryism, and equality. Those from the socialist-anarchist tradition dislike Bitcoin for the obvious reason of standing in the way of redistributive justice and lack of resistance to the idea of property and money itself.
Yet the modern crypto world has descended into a sad parody of its former self, with Bitcoin now viewed more as a stock or ETF—just another vehicle for speculation—rather than the revolutionary tool it once promised to be. The mainstream narrative still clings to the notion that cryptocurrency offers privacy and anonymity. In reality, using a registered exchange exposes users to identification by companies and governments alike. Modern Bitcoin users do not seek priceless anonymity. The philosophy behind cryptocurrencies is lost. The most morbid sign of this development is the recent introduction of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
Bitcoin and the vast realm of blockchain technologies are not merely speculative stock-like coins to trade. At their core, they embody revolutionary concepts—tools that could amplify individual liberty in the face of corporate giants and the state. Bitcoin, in its essence, is digital cash, free from the banks’ predatory fees with each transaction. It offers a transparent medium, a ledger that exposes the flow of value in ways never before seen. The genie is out of the bottle, the genie of crypto anarchy.
Arise, you have nothing to lose but your bank fees!
