Crypto War III: Decentralized Hunger Game
I have introduced the previous two crypto wars, the first war preserved the encryption communication technology and the second war made cryptocurrency become available. However, there is the possibility of marching into the third war between systematic conflict between centralized control and decentralized democratic rule.
The threat from cryptographic technology
Cryptographic technology was to prevent the government from going over its power to target individual citizens. However, the government claimed that national security is the top priority. Cryptographic technology may create national security issues. But cypherpunks argue that the government can have the choice to prevent national security issues without banning cryptographic technology. Then, the global surveillance program was born. Until 2014, Edward Snowden leaked the program to the public. The government had to shut down the program in 2014.
Back to square one
Since the government had no surveillance program, it got back to argue the potential threatening from cryptography. Since the birth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, cryptographic technology may also be capable to create a new order without intervention from the government, regulations are piling up against or scrutinize crypto projects.
