From crypto wars to financial revolution

While many today view cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin primarily as a financial asset suitable for speculation, it is crucial to clarify that cryptocurrency transcends being merely a technological innovation or a financial asset. It embodies a socio-political movement rooted in the ideology of cryptography and safeguards against state overreach. The start of this movement can be traced back several decades before Bitcoin’s emergence, stemming from what is now recognised as the “Crypto Wars.” Before the onset of the information age in the 1970s, encryption was predominantly utilised by military and intelligence agencies around the world. Within the USA, cryptographic algorithms and software were explicitly categorised in the United States Munitions List. This classification originated in the Cold War when America sought to prevent the USSR and countries in Eastern Europe from acquiring Western technologies. However, by the 1960s, demand for encryption in international financial transactions, along with the requirement to safeguard sensitive yet unclassified information, prompted the US government to develop general-purpose encryption technology suitable for broader usage.