Tim May, the man who spearheaded 'crypto anarchy', has passed away

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Tim May, one of the earliest proponents of non-governmental digital assets, passed away last week at home at the age of 67.

May was seen as a leader among techno-libertarians, anticipating how advances in computers would one-day allow "individuals and groups to communicate and interact with each other" anonymously and independently of government, with digital currencies holding an instrumental role. He co-founded the Cypherpunks mailing list in 1981, which counted Wikileaks' Julien Assange among its readers. Assange later released a book endorsing May's political philosophy of 'crpyto anarchy', broadly meaning "Keep your hands off my stuff....Out of my files, out of my office, off what I eat, drink, and smoke."

The Reason blog provided a full biography of May, whose public influence waned after Cypherphunks dissolution in 2001 following the terror attacks, before resurging in 2008 amid the launch of Bitcoin.

AUTHOR

Isabel is The Block's London and European reporter. She previously reported for Reuters in Madrid and London, following on from her time as a freelance journalist for the Guardian and the New York Times. She has a Bachelors in War Studies from King’s College London and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Conflict of Interest: Edward Woodford, the CEO of SeedCX, is Isabel's brother. She does not report on any issues related to Seed or advise other authors in any regard.

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