American technology giant Apple’s customers have found the original copy of Bitcoin’s white paper created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 hidden in modern versions of the company’s Mac computers.
Bitcoin White Paper Hidden in Modern Versions of MacOS
According to a blog post by American technologist Andy Baio, the file can be found in different Mac operating system versions ranging from Mojave (10.14.0), launched in 2018, to its current version and the recently released Ventura (13.3), except for High Sierra (10.13), rolled out in 2017 and the versions before then.
Baio suggested that the Bitcoin white paper has been shipped with every copy of MacOS since 2018. He explained that he was connecting his printer to scan a document when he found the copy on his computer. He first discovered a device called “Virtual Scanner ||,” and after entering a few commands, the white paper popped up as a sample document for the device.
The technologist disclosed that he asked many of his friends using Mac computers to cross-check their gadgets for the same document by inputting a specific command – open/System/Library/Image\Capture/Devices/VirtualScanner.app/Contents/Resources/simpledoc.pdf – and they all confirmed that their devices had the same file.
The American further located a separate file named “cover.jpg,” saved in the device’s resources folder. The file had a JPEG photo, which he eventually discovered was taken by photographer Thomas Hawk on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay in 2008.
Not the First
While Baio researched his findings, he figured out that a couple of other Mac users had discovered the hidden files years before he did. He mentioned a tweet by designer Joshua Dickens from November 2020, where he shared the “mystery,” seeking answers. With time, Dickens’ tweet led to another Apple Community post by one bernd178 in April 2021, where the Mac user reported the same “weird” incident.
It is worth noting that despite reports from several users about their discoveries, Apple has not dropped any comment on the issue or indicated any intention to make amends. This has increased speculation as to why the Bitcoin white paper would be found in a MacOS.
“Of all the documents in the world, why was the Bitcoin whitepaper chosen? Is there a secret Bitcoin maxi working at Apple? The filename is “simpledoc.pdf,” and it’s only 184 KB. Maybe it was just a convenient, lightweight multi-page PDF for testing purposes, never meant to be seen by end users,” Baio said.
