Crypto Guys Bought the Answer to the CIA’s Mysterious Kryptos Sculpture
The artist Jim Sanborn has sold the solution to the long-standing 'K4' mystery of his CIA sculpture, Kryptos, to the crypto-focused VC firm Paradigm. Paradigm is now tasked with vetting potential solutions to the final remaining puzzle, K5, after years of failed attempts by the public.
Why it matters
This marks the transition of a famous real-world cryptographic mystery into the hands of a private entity, highlighting the intersection of traditional art, intelligence history, and modern crypto-culture.
Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Courtesy of Paradigm Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story On a blustery March day, the artist Jim Sanborn received visitors at his studio on an isolated island in the Chesapeake Bay. The visitors sat him down in front of a laptop, and he typed in a secret message. They compressed the message using a unique hash function, sent that to the cloud, and wiped the laptop clean. Sanborn hoped that this action would set him free. But did it?
The article provides a factual account of a unique event without political or ideological framing.
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