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Why Everyone From Square to Facebook Is Now Hosting the Bitcoin White Paper

The uploads come in response to legal threats by Craig Wright.

By Zack Seward
AccessTimeIconJan 21, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. UTC
Updated Apr 10, 2024 at 2:29 a.m. UTC
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Some of the Bitcoin community's most prominent voices (and also Facebook subsidiary Novi) are now hosting the Bitcoin white paper.

The move follows legal threats from nChain Chief Scientist Craig Wright levied against the nonprofit that has long hosted crypto's foundational document.

"Yesterday, both Bitcoin.org and Bitcoincore.org received allegations of copyright infringement of the Bitcoin white paper by lawyers representing Craig Steven Wright," the nonprofit wrote Thursday morning.

Bitcoin was created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, who has yet to be conclusively identified. Wright has repeatedly made claims that he is Satoshi.

Seemingly in response to the takedown notice, a wave of crypto firms have published the white paper on their websites. As of press time they include:

Others are likely to join in.

The document has been uploaded to Arweave, a distributed platform for "permanent" file storage. It is also being stored on the "uncensorable web" via the InterPlanetary File System (IFPS) and the Ethereum Name Service (ENS).

Bitcoincore.org appears to have taken down its copy of the Bitcoin white paper. The PDF is still live, however, on Bitcoin.org.

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