Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age.
Unless, of course, there is a grant application involved.
Privacy is not secrecy. It is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world.
Preferably after completing KYC.
We must ensure that each party to a transaction knows only what is necessary for that transaction.
Unless that transaction is a grant. Then they need your name, passport, bank account, legal entity, tax status, deliverables, and quarterly impact report.
Privacy requires anonymous transaction systems.
Until now, cash has been the primary such system.
Today, we have improved upon it with KYC Bitcoin grants, institutional foundations, and compliant privacy infrastructure.
We cannot expect governments or corporations to grant us privacy out of beneficence.
But if they grant us money, we can apparently make an exception.
Cypherpunks write code.
Grantillionaires write grant proposals.
They preach first principles, defend decentralization, and condemn fiat incentives — preferably while accepting fiat-funded grants and quietly exploring whatever shitcoin happens to be paying the bills.
We deplore regulations on cryptography.
We deplore KYC.
We deplore financial surveillance.
But most importantly, we deplore missing the next funding round.
Our code is free for all to use, worldwide.
Our principles, however, are subject to funding availability.
For privacy to be widespread, people must come together and deploy these systems for the common good.
And for funding to be widespread, people must come together and agree not to ask too many questions about where the money came from.
We the Grantpunks seek your questions and concerns.
Just not about the grant.
Onward.
