Nick Szabo, a computer scientist, legal scholar, and cryptographer, developed the phrase and concept of “smart contracts”, popularised by Ethereum. This takes the early work of the cypherpunks in digital privacy and liberty and extends it not only to decentralised currency (Bitcoin), but also decentralised computation in Ethereum and similar smart-contract blockchains. The cypherpunk vision of every citizen being able to communicate privately and hold decentralised currency gives birth to every citizen now being able to engage in decentralised finance with that currency. This challenges the state-controlled banking system introduced by President Nixon in the 1970s Bank Secrecy Act.
