The 4th Pillar
Peer-to-peer identity and reputation, beyond the state and beyond Bitcoin
My interpretation of cypherpunk utopia rests on four pillars:
1: Secure messaging. We have that since the early 90s with PGP, etc. Mature.
2: Anonymous messaging. We have that since the last 90s now with Tor. Mature but not widely deployed.
3: Digital bearer currency. We have that now with Bitcoin and its derivatives. Low maturity but rapid innovation.
4: Peer-to-peer identity and reputation. PGP and other systems provide web-of-trust models exist, but so far they don't scale.
Reputation and identity today are largely managed by centralized, largely unaccountable entities (states, corporation [think eBay and Equifax]) on the one hand, and by inefficient, low visibility peer networks on the other (old boys' clubs, word-of-mouth). "Identity", particularly, is centralized in states facing systematic dissolution.
The vision is for a decentralized, emergent consensus of reputation and identity. How to implement and live with it is our challenge.