5 Cypherpunk Open-Source Software Projects to Use for Free

Cypherpunks are people who use coding and cryptography to protect privacy and free expression online. They believe that strong encryption and open tools can keep power in the hands of individuals instead of governments or big corporations. Satoshi Nakamoto and several other cryptocurrency founders are part of them, but they didn’t create cryptocurrencies only.

There’s a wide array of privacy-enhancing technologies that were either created by cypherpunks or inspired by their ideals. Many of these projects are released as open source, so anyone can use, inspect, or improve them. We’ll explore here some of these tools that you can start using for free. And if one of them becomes part of your daily routine, you can support its growth through Kivach, a platform that lets you send cryptocurrency donations directly to developers who keep these projects alive.

Crypto++

There were several attempts at creating a decentralized currency before Bitcoin, and the B-Money proposal by Wei Dai in 1998 was one of them. This renowned cypherpunk was, indeed, credited for it in the Bitcoin whitepaper, but that’s not everything he did. The library Crypto++ (or CryptoPP), released in 1995, is one of his most notable works as well. This software helps developers add encryption, hashing, and secure communication features to their programs.

The library offers a wide selection of algorithms, from well-known ones like AES (used for encrypting data securely) to more specialized ones such as Whirlpool (a hashing method, which is like creating a digital fingerprint of data). Developers use it to secure messages, generate random numbers safely, manage digital signatures, or even explore new cryptographic proposals under study.

Today, this software continues to evolve with contributions from volunteers and researchers worldwide. It works on a wide range of platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android, and even older systems. If you want to support this project, you can contribute with code, documentation, time, or some coins via Kivach.

GNU Radio

Sometimes, a tool comes along that lets you play with technology in ways once reserved only for companies or big centralized parties. GNU Radio, first released in 2001 thanks to funding from cypherpunk John Gilmore and developed by Eric Blossom (another cypherpunk), does exactly that. It lets anyone design radios using software instead of building them from scratch —making communication more open and less controlled by centralized powers.

This tool uses something called software-defined radio (SDR), meaning most of the work is done by code, not circuits. Through reusable blocks, you can create “flowgraphs” that handle tasks like filtering signals, visualizing frequencies, or even simulating whole radio systems without special hardware. Add devices like the USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripheral), and you’ve got a flexible lab for experiments in wireless communication.

Today, GNU Radio is maintained under the non-profit SETI Institute and runs on major platforms like Linux, macOS, and Windows. Contributions often come in the form of code, bug fixes, or workshops, but there's also direct funding from donations, including cryptocurrency support through platforms like Kivach.

Libsodium

Launched in 2013 by Frank Denis as a fork of the older NaCl project, Libsodium was designed to make strong encryption and secure communications easier to implement without risking common mistakes. This project wasn’t created by explicit cypherpunks, but it aligns with their mindset because it helps people and organizations protect their data privacy, and also the privacy of their average users.

Libsodium provides building blocks for encrypting and decrypting information, verifying digital signatures, and securing passwords. Think of it as a toolkit that lets apps and services communicate safely, whether that’s sending a message or storing sensitive data. It’s already used by popular platforms like Discord and WordPress, as well as cryptocurrency projects such as Stellar and Zcash. Under the hood, it uses modern algorithms like ChaCha20-Poly1305 (a way to encrypt data and check its integrity) and Argon2 (a password hashing method designed to resist brute-force attacks).

The software is actively maintained and runs on major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS. There are also versions for JavaScript and WebAssembly, making it accessible for web developers. The project grows through contributions from a global community and receives financial support through platforms like Open Collective. You can also support them with crypto donations via Kivach.

Cryptpad

These days, sharing documents online feels like handing out copies with your name and notes exposed to big corporations. CryptPad, launched in 2014 by the team at XWiki SAS, set out to change that. It offers a private space for creating and collaborating without revealing your work to the service itself. This makes it attractive to people who value privacy, including those in the cypherpunk movement who aim to give users more control over their data.

Its end-to-end encryption (where only you and your collaborators can read what’s shared) keeps prying eyes out, even if the server is hacked. The software itself bundles tools you probably already know from office suites: text editing, spreadsheets, slides, forms, whiteboards, code pads, and even Kanban boards for project planning. All of this works in the browser, with changes synchronized live for everyone involved. Underneath, it uses asymmetric encryption (public and private keys) and symmetric encryption (shared keys to lock and unlock data) so that no one outside your team can read the contents.

CryptPad runs on most modern web browsers, with instances available on desktops and mobile devices alike. It’s maintained through a mix of subscriptions, research grants, and user donations on platforms such as Open Collective. If you enjoy what it offers, you can chip in with a subscription or a crypto donation via Kivach.

Gosling

This software started development in 2021 by Richard Pospesel, under the umbrella of Blueprint for Free Speech —a nonprofit founded by privacy advocate and cypherpunk Suelette Dreyfus. It offers developers a practical shortcut to anonymous, secure, peer-to-peer connectivity by wrapping the complexities of Tor onion services in a simpler interface.

Under the hood, Gosling is written in Rust, a language designed to keep memory safe (avoiding bugs that might leak your data). It's a bit like giving developers a ready-made engine rather than asking them to build one from scratch. It handles authentication, metadata resistance (hiding who’s talking to whom), hole-punching (letting connections form even behind firewalls), and end-to-end encryption (so only the sender and receiver can read messages). All these features make it more approachable to create apps that preserve anonymity and safety.

The project is still shaping up and can be built on most systems that support Rust, thanks to its cross-platform design. It’s receiving funding from privacy-focused grants and the Blueprint non-profit, supporting its work toward privacy infrastructure for civilians, journalists, whistleblowers, and activists. You can also donate crypto to their repository on GitHub via Kivach.

Cascading Donations with Kivach

Kivach was born from another cypherpunk, open-source project: Obyte. As a donation platform, it can help any open-source project available on GitHub get the funding it deserves without adding extra steps for donors. It focuses on cascading donations: when you support one project, part of your contribution can flow to the other projects that made it possible. This creates a chain of support across the open-source world, letting your coins do more good with a single transaction.

Donating with Kivach is simple if you already have an Obyte wallet. That’s the app where your funds are kept, and it also handles a minimal transaction fee in GBYTE, Obyte’s main token. You can donate other popular cryptocurrencies, though. Just pick the GitHub repository you like, paste the URL or name in the Kivach search, and send the amount you want. The funds will wait there until the project owner claims them.

To receive donations, the setup is quick: install the Obyte wallet, link it to your GitHub account through a simple attestation bot, and decide how to share the income. You can keep everything or pass a share to other developers who helped you build your work.

If you want to discover more cypherpunk and privacy software projects, you can visit our previous episodes!