The Bitcoin white paper was recently found buried inside the macOS Catalina and subsequent system files. The paper, simply named “simpledoc.pdf,” claims to detail Satoshi Nakamoto’s nine-page plan for decentralized currency based on a public ledger.
The Bitcoin white paper has been secretly included in every copy of MacOS released since 2017. Andy Baio, a technologist, claims he found Satoshi Nakamoto’s bitcoin white paper on his Apple Mac computer by mistake.
While trying to fix my printer today, I discovered that a PDF copy of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin whitepaper apparently shipped with every copy of macOS since Mojave in 2018.
Andy Baio wrote in an April 5 blog post
He said that he had questioned over a dozen of his friends and other people who used Macs to confirm, and the document, which was referred to as “simpledoc.pdf,” was there for each and every one of them. In order to locate it in accordance with Baio’s instructions, The following command can be entered by users when the terminal is opened::
open /System/Library/Image\ Capture/Devices/VirtualScanner.app/Contents/Resources/simpledoc.pdf
In October of 2008, a document under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” was released into the public domain. This document is now well known. In it, the author puts forth their theory on the fundamental mechanics that enable what is today the cryptocurrency with the highest market value in the world.
Although Baio is unable to provide an explanation as to why the document is located in such an inconspicuous location in macOS, he claims that all recent versions of the operating system seem to include it.
Following the tech giant’s decision in the latter part of 2017 to permit the purchase and sale of NFTs via apps listed on its App Store, Apple’s relationship with the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector is tumultuous to say the least.
