What is White paper?
Bitcoin emerged on October 31, 2008 with a white paper titled “Bitcoin: Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” published in an e-mail list called the Cryptography Correspondence Group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi Nakamoto has taken the biggest step in creating an alternative payment method to the current financial system with this e-mail where stating that he is working on a payment method that does not require trusting anyone else and a third party.
On October 31, 2021, we celebrate the 13th anniversary of the publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper. In this article, we have touched on details such as what is white paper, how to write white paper, which parts of white paper and titles it consists of.
What is White Paper?
White paper is the document that a project team or company writes and publishes the purpose, scope, innovations, philosophy, and technical details of the product to be issued. They are written in an academic and technical language, different from the materials used in the marketing communication of the relevant product due to their content and purpose.
This is the purpose of the technical documents published for cryptocurrencies as white paper. This document, which contains information such as the origin of the cryptocurrency, the purpose of the project, the consensus mechanism used in the verification of transfer transactions, the production and distribution of cryptocurrencies, includes the parts that will be interested in the investors, technology teams, cryptocurrency miners and users who will be interested in the project.
How to Write a White Paper
The technical document will both enable investors to learn about the relevant crypto asset and form a first resource for those interested in the technical infrastructure of the project. Therefore, unlike the content used in marketing communication, a white paper contains a detailed description and architecture of the project, in a more academic language, where mathematical calculations, related graphics and drawings are given about which problems are solved and how. At the same time, the white paper should be presented in a transparent manner in an area accessible to everyone.
How should the White Paper Layout Be?
Writing a white paper is not just a documentation specific to cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, the pioneer of this technical discipline in the cryptocurrency world was Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper published on October 31, 2008. For every cryptocurrency project developed after Bitcoin, a technical document has been prepared and published on the project’s website.
While writing the white paper, it should have some headings in a certain order.
Title of the white paper: It will be useful and sufficient to use a title containing the name of the cryptocurrency project and its short code.
Disclaimer text: If there is a legal explanation and warnings to be made about the cryptocurrency project and its existence, it can be given in this section. Some cryptocurrencies have restrictions on some countries due to their laws and warnings about the fact that there is no guarantee of profit in case of investing in the project can be given in this section, since giving investment advice is a crime according to the law.
Purpose of the project: The project can be the only and first in its field. Or there may be projects that are equivalent but add a side that will make a difference, albeit slightly. In this part of the white paper, the details constituting the starting point of the cryptocurrency project, the definition of the market in which it will be located, and the shortcomings of what the project offers in the market can be given under this heading.
Problem solving method of the project: In this section, where more technical details, calculations and codes can be found, the methods of applying the value proposition specified in the purpose of the project can be given under this heading.
Supply and rules of cryptocurrency: Some cryptocurrencies are created with limited supply, just like Bitcoin, the first and largest cryptocurrency. Others have unlimited supply under certain rules. Here, the details of the supply should also be presented to investors and users under a separate heading.
Project team: Investors and users will wonder which team created and developed the cryptocurrency project and assets that they will use and trade. People and teams will want to research previous projects of companies. For this reason, giving information about the project team will be a useful content for investors and users.
Roadmap: What kind of a roadmap the Cryptocurrency project has in the short, medium and long term after its launch shows the strengths of this project as a product. For this reason, sharing the determined roadmap with its general outlines in the white paper will also benefit the investors.
Having these titles and details in the white paper prepared for a cryptocurrency will be beneficial for both investors and those interested in the technical aspects of the project.
About Bitcoin White Paper
The Bitcoin white paper was published on October 31, 2008, under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, in an email group called Cryptography Correspondence Group. In this technical document titled “Bitcoin: Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”, the starting point of the Bitcoin blockchain project, what kind of problem it proposes to solve, the calculations and outputs of the system that creates the solution to the problem, and a list of resources utilized are stated. There is also an interesting detail in the technical document of the electronic money system proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto: Except for the title of the white paper, the word “Bitcoin” is not mentioned in any part of the article.
You can access the Bitcoin white paper at https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf or https://www.btcturk.com/bitcoin.pdf
