Share this article
Cypherpunk Legend Timothy May Has Passed Away
Timothy C. May, cypherpunk legend and author of the “Crypto Anarchist Manifesto,” has passed away at the age 67.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:41 a.m. Published Dec 17, 2018, 1:00 p.m.
Timothy C. May, cypherpunk legend and author of the “Crypto Anarchist Manifesto,” has passed away at the age 67.
His passing was announced Saturday by Lucky Green, also a self-described cypherpunk, on Facebook, saying that his "dear friend" May had passed away earlier this week at his home in Corralitos, California.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
“Death appears to be from natural causes pending autopsy. I.e. Tim did not die in a hail of bullets as so many who didn’t know Tim all that well and largely from his public writings had predicted,” Green wrote.
May is known for co-founding the “Cypherpunks" mailing list – "perhaps the single most effective pro-cryptography grassroots organization in history, together with Eric Hughes and John Gilmore in 1992,” as Green put it.
After retiring from tech giant Intel in 1986, May became influenced by early work on cryptocurrency by cryptographer David Chaum, and went on to write the “Crypto Anarchist Manifesto” in 1988, stating that “Computer technology is on the verge of providing the ability for individuals and groups to communicate and interact with each other in a totally anonymous manner.”
Displaying great prescience on how cryptography would ultimately come to the forefront of technology and society, he went on:
“Interactions over networks will be untraceable, via extensive re- routing of encrypted packets and tamper-proof boxes which implement cryptographic protocols with nearly perfect assurance against any tampering”
Most recently, in October, May penned a piece for CoinDesk, sharing his thoughts on the bitcoin white paper and the developing cryptocurrency space, saying "Satoshi [bitcoin's pseudonymous inventor] did a brilliant thing, but the story is far from over."
He further warned:
"I can’t speak for what Satoshi intended, but I sure don’t think it involved bitcoin exchanges that have draconian rules about KYC, AML, passports, freezes on accounts and laws about reporting 'suspicious activity' to the local secret police. There’s a real possibility that all the noise about 'governance,' 'regulation' and 'blockchain' will effectively create a surveillance state, a dossier society."
Correction: This article briefly displayed an incorrect image of Timothy May. CoinDesk apologizes for the error.
Timothy C. May image via CoinDesk archive
Más para ti
Lo que debes saber:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
Más para ti
Bitcoin Volatile Near $94K as Fed's Powell Straddles Labor Market and Inflation Issues
"Powell is threading the needle between their two mandates," said one analyst.
Lo que debes saber:
- Crypto prices were modestly higher, but also volatile following the Fed's rate cut earlier Wednesday.
- In his post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell took note of a labor market that might be weaker than previously thought, while also sounding cautious about gains made in fighting inflation.
Top Stories
