Update: Bitcoin Whitepaper Soon To Be Removed From Apple MacBooks

The discovery of the hidden whitepaper on Apple MacBooks sparked excitement earlier this year among the Bitcoin community. Many speculated on the reasons behind Apple’s inclusion of the whitepaper as an Easter egg in their operating system – some believed it could be a nod to the growing popularity of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, while others thought it could be a playful experiment or a hidden feature for developers.

However, recent reports suggest that the whitepaper will be removed in an upcoming software update, specifically in the beta version of MacOS Ventura 13.4. This could indicate that its inclusion in the MacOS system was unintentional and meant for testing purposes only, with no intention of it being discovered by everyday users. While the removal of the whitepaper may disappoint some Bitcoin enthusiasts who enjoyed the thrill of finding it, it also raises questions about the broader relationship between cryptocurrencies and mainstream technology companies.

Indeed it was quite a significant find, as the Bitcoin whitepaper, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” has been hiding in plain sight on every Apple MacBook shipped since 2017.

The discovery of the hidden whitepaper was made by a curious user who stumbled upon it inside MacOS in April 2021 and shared the information on the MacOS Community Forum. The whitepaper was found buried within the Image Capture Utility, specifically in a function called Virtual Scanner II, which is not enabled by default. Inside Virtual Scanner II was a PDF copy of the Bitcoin whitepaper, as confirmed by prominent technologist Andy Baio.

Baio, who was trying to fix his printer, discovered the hidden whitepaper and asked over a dozen of his friends to confirm its existence on their MacBooks, and indeed, it was there for every single one of them, inside a file called “simpledoc.pdf.” Baio shared the instructions to find the whitepaper, which involved opening the terminal and typing a specific command, making it a fun treasure hunt for Bitcoin enthusiasts.

The Bitcoin whitepaper, authored by an individual or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, was published in October 2008 and is considered the foundational document of the Bitcoin network. It outlines the principles and mechanisms that power the world’s first cryptocurrency, proposing a decentralized, peer-to-peer electronic cash system that allows online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without the need for a financial institution.

In conclusion, the discovery of the hidden Bitcoin whitepaper on Apple MacBooks was an exciting Easter egg for the cryptocurrency community. It provided a playful treasure hunt for Bitcoin enthusiasts and sparked curiosity about Apple’s intentions behind its inclusion…however, with recent reports of its upcoming removal, it seems that the whitepaper’s presence on MacBooks may have been unintentional and short-lived. Nevertheless, the legacy of the Bitcoin whitepaper as the foundational document of the world’s first cryptocurrency remains intact, and its significance in shaping the future of finance and technology cannot be understated.