The Downfall of the Term "Crypto"

The term "crypto" has been largely and widely tainted by a lack of privacy and anonymity. "Crypto" denotes "Cryptography", which hides secrets behind hard math problems as a financial instrument. However in a "public key cryptography" sense, "crypto" only seems to borrow from the "digital signatures" transparent aspect, rather than the "encryption" privacy aspect. This runs counter to the original ethos of Bitcoin, which was to create a cash replacement. Without real privacy and anonymity, "crypto" can only be used as an investment and not as a cash replacement. Unfortunately, this made the world of "crypto" vulnerable to the "get rich quick" vultures of traditional finance, resulting in stupid tropes like "number go up", "wen crypto Lambo, bruh?", "Mooning", and "HODL". Pro tip: If you're dreaming of exiting a crypto investment to get your "fat stacks" of fiat currency, you never cared about the crypto to begin with.

Counterculture

The 1960s saw the formation of the "hippie" counterculture movement in the US. The 1970s saw the formation of the "punk" counterculture movement across the world.  A single term that encompasses the punk counterculture movement for both online and offline currencies is "Countercurrencies" (or "Counter culture currencies"). An equivalent term for this is also "Punkcurrencies".

The "Cipherpunk" (sometimes spelled "Cypherpunk", a mashup between "Cipher" from Cryptography and "Cyberpunk" from 1980s Science Fiction novels) movement spearheaded many counter culture privacy and anonymity technologies that form the underpinning of our current online world, without which our world wouldn't exist in the form that it does.

The rebellious "punk" ethos of "Cipherpunk", applied to the world of finance, amounts to these four stages:

1. Skepticism: Question the default financial order, whether it's fiat, banks, or corporate-controlled ledgers.
2. Resistance: Challenge centralized or coercive authority.
3. Privacy / Anonymity: Obscure your transactions from oversight.
4. Autonomy: Control your own money, free from intermediaries.

A Difference in Kind, not Degree

I propose that instead of using the term "crypto" for Pirate Chain, we use the term "cipher" instead. "Cipher" denotes "Cipherpunk", which denotes critical and mandatory privacy and anonymity. This means that only Pirate Chain can be used as a proper cash replacement.

This also means that all blockchain technology applied to being used as a financial instrument other than Pirate Chain is useless, destructive, and to be avoided at all costs. This includes Bitcoin, Zcash, Monero, and every other clone of Bitcoin that adds zero value. This also includes everything that calls itself or is called "crypto".

Online vs. Offline

While "cipher" is online currency with actual privacy and anonymity, there are offline currencies that came before it that are still just as private and anonymous: Physical gold, physical silver. These other currencies are just as "punk" in their ethos as Pirate Chain is. The difference is that online currencies are numbers representing secrets hiding behind hard math problems, leveraged into being financial instruments. Offline currencies such as precious metals instead rely on physical reality. If you want to know if precious metal is pure, you test it. If you want to know how much you have, you weigh it. You never need to trust the stamping or printing on it.

Got Punk?

Terminology and definitions being proposed:

• Cipher: Online privacy and anonymity currency suitable for use as a cash replacement, specifically Pirate Chain (short for "Ciphercurrency")
• Cipherpunk: A technology movement using Cryptography in conjunction with a rebellious "punk" ethos
• Crypto: All blockchain technology used to create financial instruments that have no real privacy and anonymity and are therefore not suitable for use as a cash replacement. This excludes Pirate Chain.
• Countercurrencies / Punkcurrencies: A general term for all online and offline currencies that have actual privacy and anonymity, which are suitable for use as a cash replacement. This references the rebellious punk counterculture.

Using these terms, we can now easily say that all crypto is shit, without harming the brand of Pirate Chain. For example, "CBDCs are coming and crypto will not save you. However, cipher (and countercurrencies) will."

Bitcoin got no punk. Zcash got no punk. Monero got no punk.

Pirate Chain, physical gold, and physical silver are NOTHING BUT PUNK.