• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Some Fortune Crypto pricing data is provided by Binance.
The CoinsBitcoin

Former Kickstarter CTO finds Bitcoin white paper hidden in Mac operating system

By
Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss
Crypto Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 6, 2023, 1:18 PM ET
Bitcoin hidden under cup
Satoshi Nakamoto is the anonymous author of the document that outlined the design of Bitcoin.Nuthawut Somsuk—iStock/Getty Images

The legend of Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, lives on: in an Apple computer near you.

Andy Baio, former CTO of Kickstarter, posted Wednesday on his more than two decades old blog that he’d found the Bitcoin white paper—the nine-page document outlining the design of the world’s first cryptocurrency—squirreled away on his MacBook.

“I’ve asked over a dozen Mac-using friends to confirm, and it was there for every one of them,” he wrote. All versions of Mac’s operating systems created after 2018 had the white paper preloaded, he said.

Baio landed upon the PDF when he was trying to scan documents from a combination printer-scanner onto his computer, he told Fortune. He found the white paper, authored by Nakamoto, after trying to connect the scanner to his MacBook, which wasn’t initially appearing on his laptop. On a recently released MacBook, Fortune was able to independently access the PDF in the same location.

The discovery is but the latest in popular culture. Beyond die-hard Bitcoiners—Nakamoto’s text is seen by some as a quasi-religious screed—the white paper has shown up on Formula 1 cars and is sold as wallpaper. The author remains an almost mythological figure, whose mysterious origins and unknown identity have spawned reams of speculative journalism. (Even Elon Musk, the embattled CEO of Twitter and Tesla, has guessed at his identity.)

Baio said he believes the inclusion of the white paper in the tech giant’s software wasn’t an explicit decision by the company.

“In its early history, Apple developers used to hide Easter eggs in the operating system,” he told Fortune. “But I get the impression this wasn’t something that management would have approved of—basically the decision of a single engineer.”

He said an anonymous source told him that someone at Apple flagged the white paper’s inclusion in its operating systems internally, but the task of removing it was assigned to the very same engineer who had initially placed it.

“With this new attention to it,” Baio added, “I’ll be surprised if it isn’t removed in the next beta.”

A spokesperson for Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit May 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.
About the Author
By Ben WeissCrypto Reporter
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Ben Weiss is a crypto reporter at Fortune.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in The Coins

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in The Coins

A picture of Bitcoins
The CoinsCryptocurrency
The crypto market may be out of gas as Bitcoin dips under $100k and altcoins plummet
By Carlos GarciaNovember 6, 2025
2 months ago
Brad Garlinghouse smiles at the camera.
The CoinsVenture Capital
Ripple says Fortress, Citadel Securities invest $500 million
By Emily Mason and BloombergNovember 5, 2025
2 months ago
A man in a black hoodie and glasses is speaking
The CoinsCryptocurrency
Altcoin giant Animoca Brands aims to go public next year, listing will test investor appetite for exotic crypto assets
By Carlos GarciaNovember 4, 2025
2 months ago
A man tries to pull a coin with a BTC logo up a mountain.
The CoinsBitcoin
Crypto’s big ‘Uptober’ ends with a whimper, Bitcoin down 4%
By Carlos Garcia and Ben WeissOctober 31, 2025
2 months ago
Two men are looking at monitors while trading
The CoinsCryptocurrency
Crypto’s second wave of ETFs arrives, investors snap up new Solana offering
By Carlos GarciaOctober 31, 2025
2 months ago
Michael Saylor on stage at a Bitcoin conference.
CompaniesBitcoin
Michael Saylor boosts yield, says Strategy is at an ‘inflection point’
By David Pan, Judy Lagrou and BloombergOctober 30, 2025
2 months ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Gen Z could wave goodbye to résumés because most companies have turned to skills-based recruitment—and find it more effective, research shows
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 29, 2025
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
MacKenzie Scott's close relationship with Toni Morrison long before Amazon put her on the path give more than $1 billion to HBCUs
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 28, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Arts & Entertainment
Gen Zers and millennials flock to so-called analog islands 'because so little of their life feels tangible'
By Michael Liedtke and The Associated PressDecember 28, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Malcolm Gladwell tells young people if they want a STEM degree, 'don’t go to Harvard.' You may end up at the bottom of your class and drop out
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 27, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Banking
Russian official warns a banking crisis is possible amid nonpayments. 'I don’t want to think about a continuation of the war or an escalation'
By Jason MaDecember 27, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton predicts 2026 will see the technology get even better and gain the ability to 'replace many other jobs'
By Jason MaDecember 28, 2025
2 days ago