"A phase change is coming. Virtual communities are in their ascendancy, displacing conventional notions of nationhood. Geographic proximity is no longer as important as it once was.
A lot of work remains. Technical cryptography still hasn’t solved all problems, the role of reputations (both positive and negative) needs further study, and the practical issues surrounding many of these areas have barely been explored.
We will be the colonizers of cyberspace."
-Timothy C. May, 1994
https://nakamotoinstitute.org/library/virtual-communities/