Crypto naming controversy

The meaning of the word crypto as an abbreviation is controversial. Cryptographers who specialize in cryptography have used the term "crypto" as an abbreviation for their field of study. However, "crypto" has become a common abbreviation for cryptocurrency. Dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary, define "crypto" as a shorthand for cryptography. Cryptocurrencies use cryptography as their underlying mechanism. Computer scientist Matthew D. Green has stated that most cryptocurrencies barely have anything to do with serious cryptography, aside from trivial use of digital signatures and hash functions. Matt Blaze has stated in 2018 that "I think calling cryptocurrencies ‘crypto’ is a poor choice, with bad consequences for both cryptography and cryptocurrencies".[1] Matt Blaze has registered the domain crypto.com in 1993, which he sold in 2018 to a cryptocurrency company.[2] The Staples Center in Los Angeles will be renamed to the Crypto.com Arena, referring to the cryptocurrency company behind the domain. Parker Higgins of the Freedom of the Press Foundation has said that the cryptography crowd is by nature deeply invested in precision.[1] Journalist Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai from Vice has compared the controversy to the meaning of the word "hacker", which can used for criminals and curious technology enthausiast as part of the hacker culture.[3][4][5]

The word cryptography derives from the prefix "crypto-" of Greek origin meaning "hidden" and the suffix "-graph" also of Greek origin and meaning "to write". This name reflects cryptography's historical role as the study of codes for secret communication. The term "cryptography" nowadays refers to an effervescent area of research that has moved beyond secret ciphers to study message authentication, digital signatures, secure multiparty computation and zero-knowledge proofs, among other active areas of research.