The 5 Most Secure Ways to Host Bitcoin Whitepapers Around the World

The Bitcoin white paper was published in 2008 under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and later uploaded to the website: Bitcoin.org. It was released along with the rest of the code under the MIT license and can be distributed free of charge to anyone who wants it.

In January 2020, Craig Wright claimed that Bitcoin.org continued to host the Bitcoin white paper, infringing his copyright. Since then, many websites have added online hosting of the Bitcoin white paper. Bitcoin.org has therefore temporarily removed the Bitcoin white paper.

In an act of solidarity, Bitcoiners around the world have come together to upload the Bitcoin whitepaper in as many places and as securely as possible. Here are some of the best ways to protect the Bitcoin whitepaper around the world.

1. Government custody of Bitcoin white paper
Several governments have directly uploaded the Bitcoin white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” including Colombia, Estonia, and the United States.

Bitcoin white paper image: Bitcoin.org

“We are pleased to maintain the original Bitcoin white paper on our website as a source of inspiration for future innovators who want to understand how blockchain technology can be used to support cross-border business and other applications,” the Estonian government website said.

Jehudi Castro, an adviser to Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez, posted a link to the white paper via Twitter.

The Colombian government also hosts the Bitcoin whitepaper! Castro is an advisor to the President of Colombia and the official government website is https://t.co/Car1PEKke8 which is their URL abbreviation.

The US government also publicly hosts the Bitcoin white paper, which can be found on the United States Sentencing Commission’s website. Additionally, Representative Patrick McHenrey, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, has hosted a copy of the white paper on his congressional website.

The Bitcoin white paper also appeared on the Miami City Government website, thanks to the efforts of Mayor Francis Suarez, who is trying to make Miami a global center for cryptocurrency innovation.

Miami believes in Bitcoin, and I am working day and night to make Miami a hub for crypto innovation.

Mayor Francis Suarez on January 27, 2021 proudly stated that Miami is the first municipal government to host the Satoshi white paper on the government website.

2. The Ultimate Backup of the Decentralized Network

The Bitcoin whitepaper is also hosted on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and the Ethereum Name Service (ENS).

IPFS is a peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system. Each file is uniquely identified using specific content addressing. (At the bottom of each Decrypt website article, there is an IPFS link to view the article on the web. If you are using Brave, you don't need to run your own IPFS node to view it.)

Ethereum Name Service also serves as an open naming system based on the Ethereum blockchain and using domain names. The platform maps human-readable names to replace traditional complex addresses that are long and difficult to remember. This makes it easier to send money to other ENS users. On January 21, a Twitter user suggested that ENS host it. It took only two hours for Brantly Millegan, ENS Director of Operations, to set up a page hosting the Bitcoin white paper.

3. The company that hosts the Bitcoin white paper

There are now a number of crypto companies that proudly host the Bitcoin whitepaper on their websites. These include the likes of Facebook subsidiary Novi and self-hosted app Casa.

"Nine pages, 3,641 words, 21,443 characters to reimagine finance," said Jameson Lopp, co-founder and CTO of Casa.

Another major company that has begun hosting the Bitcoin white paper is Square, which purchased $50 million worth of Bitcoin last October.

Other companies hosting the bitcoin white paper include policy think tank Coin Center, bitcoin financial services firm NYDIG and Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

4. Access the Bitcoin Whitepaper on the blockchain

Without visiting any of these websites, the Bitcoin whitepaper can also be accessed within the Bitcoin blockchain itself. It is saved in PDF format but must be pieced together.

“I’ve tested this and it’s in the white paper. Good to know it’s literally on the blockchain,” said Jimmy Song, Bitcoin author and developer.

I want to remind everyone that the Bitcoin whitepaper is embedded in your archive node if needed: https://t.co/qG9ONQoP3k

— Jimmy Song (송재준), January 21, 2021

To do this, all you have to do is identify multiple pieces of Sig data and organize them into a single file to extract the white paper as a pdf. Simple, right?

If this is too complicated, Song said, a program called bitcoind could be used, and any user could run a python script to access the white paper from the blockchain. At least that would be relatively easy.

5. Bringing the Bitcoin White Paper to Life

If you don’t want to visit the website or search the Bitcoin blockchain, you can get a copy of the Bitcoin white paper by printing a 3D rendering of the document. It can then be effectively kept in cold storage, protected from the internet and accessible even without WiFi.

“Looking at this 3D rendering of the Bitcoin whitepaper, you’ll notice that the wall mount is built directly into the backing,” said Twitter user Mike In Space.

Check out the 3D rendering of the Bitcoin whitepaper at: https://t.co/csqgpuCCYU

A Bitcoin white paper poster mounted on a wall. Photo: TOMER STROLIGHT

A 3D rendering of the Bitcoin whitepaper provided by Privacy Pros, a company dedicated to providing physical offline backup solutions for private keys.

But that’s not all. It’s also possible to keep a version of the Bitcoin whitepaper at home in physical form. A poster of the Bitcoin whitepaper is for sale on the Touch of Modern website.

“For some, Bitcoin may hold as much mystery as Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity. But for blockchain enthusiasts, it’s an important breakthrough that heralds the next evolution in how we handle and think about wealth,” the site says.

Note: Thanks to Tomer Strolight for giving us permission to use his image of the Bitcoin whitepaper as the header image for this article.