What is the Bitcoin whitepaper?

The Bitcoin whitepaper is the original thesis paper written under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto on 31 October 2008 that set the basic structure of the Bitcoin network. The paper is titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

Read the Bitcoin whitepaper here: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pd.

What is the purpose of the Bitcoin whitepaper?

A whitepaper summarises a core concept or idea, often detailing the solution to a specific problem. The Bitcoin whitepaper explains why Bitcoin was created and how its system functions without a central authority.

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the presumed pseudonymous person or persons who developed Bitcoin, authored the Bitcoin whitepaper, and created and deployed Bitcoin's original reference implementation. As part of the implementation, Nakamoto also devised the first blockchain database. Nakamoto was active in the development of Bitcoin until December 2010.

There has been widespread speculation about Nakamoto's true identity, with various people posited as the person or persons behind the name. Though Nakamoto's name is Japanese, and inscribed as a man living in Japan, most of the speculation has involved software and cryptography experts in the United States or Europe.