Lesson 2: The Revival, Ethereum’s Cypherpunk Turn

When Vitalik Buterin first imagined Ethereum, he didn’t just want faster transactions, he wanted a decentralized civilization.

A place where code could express values: openness, neutrality, privacy, and freedom.
For a while, it worked. Then Web3 got rich, and lost its soul.

As speculation replaced ideals, a quiet movement began to form, builders, writers, and activists asking:

“Can we make Ethereum cypherpunk again?”

Enter the Neo-Cypherpunks

The term Neo-Cypherpunk was first coined by Paul Dylan-Ennis (@post_polar_) - cultural researcher of Ethereum.

In his 2024 thread, he proposed a shift, from the old “code-only” mindset to a pluralist, humanist cypherpunk vision:

“Not just coders, but writers, artists, lawyers, designers, and activists, everyone defending autonomy together.”

This new wave calls for a fusion:
Cypherpunk, privacy, decentralization, and autonomy.
Carepunk, empathy, inclusion, and collective well-being.
Culturepunk, art, memes, and joyful storytelling. 

Together, they form the Neo-Cypherpunk ethos,
a movement that keeps the encryption, but adds consciousness.

 The Cypherpunk Transition

In 2024, Web3Privacy Now released The Ethereum Cypherpunk Transition Manifesto, outlining the path forward:

1. Reclaim privacy as a public good.
   
   
2. Fund ethical, transparent infrastructure.
   
   
3. Encourage open collaboration between tech and art.
   
   
4. Replace competition with mutual aid.
   
   
5. Build communities that defend freedom joyfully, not fearfully. 

It wasn’t about purity. It was about practice.

As the Neo-Cypherpunk Starter Kit explains, start small, switch one tool, learn how your systems work.

“It’s okay to use big tech consciously, as long as you know how it works against you.” 

Vitalik’s Call

Vitalik Butern, creator of Ethereum himself echoed this shift in his essay Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again:

“Ethereum must choose: be a decentralized protocol for human empowerment, or a glorified casino.” 

His challenge wasn’t just technical, it was moral.
To rebuild Web3 as a commons, not a marketplace.

Ethereum inspired many crypto savvy projects caring about privacy, like Zcash

Vitalik with Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn, Creator of Zcash

Neo Means New

Neo-Cypherpunk isn’t nostalgia for the 1990s.
It’s a remix:
privacy + play + care + community.

It’s a movement for the 2020s, one where anyone can join, because privacy and autonomy belong to everyone.

Next up Lesson 3: The Toolkit, Living Neo-Cypherpunk Today.
You’ll learn how to apply these ideas right now, with tools, habits, and small steps toward digital autonomy.