The Bitcoin whitepaper was published by Satoshi Nakamoto to a cryptography mailing list

An individual or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published the paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” to a cryptography mailing list. This document laid the foundation for what would become Bitcoin, the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency.
 

The whitepaper begins with an abstract that introduces the concept of a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash. This system would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without the need for a financial institution.

The paper outlined several key components of Bitcoin, including:
 

- Transactions: How they are conducted and verified on the network.

- Timestamp Server: A method for proving the chronological order of transactions.
 
- Proof-of-Work: A mechanism to prevent double-spending and secure the network.  

- Network: The decentralized structure of Bitcoin’s network.

- Incentive: The use of block rewards to encourage nodes to support the network. 

- Privacy: How Bitcoin can enhance privacy compared to traditional payment systems.

 

The release of the whitepaper is celebrated annually by the Bitcoin community as “Bitcoin Whitepaper Day,” commemorating the moment that set in motion the development of the first and most well-known cryptocurrency. Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity remains a mystery, adding to the lore and allure of Bitcoin’s origins and highlighting the decentralized and open-source nature of the project that continues to thrive and evolve more than a decade later.

The whitepaper is still available for anyone to read and has been translated into many languages, reflecting the global impact of of this new technology. It remains a critical document for understanding the principles and motivations behind the creation of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin whitepaper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf