$re = '/(?:\[.+\])/m';
$str = 'related to such contracts.[79]
References[edit]
smart contract platform.[65][66]
Quorum.[63] It\'s designed
separate version became Ethereum (ETH) with the theft reversed,[12]
and the original chain continued as Ethereum Classic (ETC).[13]';
$subst = "";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php