Your Apple computer is hosting the Bitcoin white paper

The Bitcoin white paper was found buried deep inside Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) system files on computers running macOS Catalina or later. The document, which has the filename “simpledoc.pdf,” purports to present Satoshi Nakamoto’s ideas for a decentralized form of currency that is based on a public ledger on all nine of its pages. 

On the day of Nakamoto’s 48th birthday, an independent blogger named Andy Baio claimed for the first time that there was a subtle mention to the world’s oldest blockchain on his Waxy blog on April 5.

“I was trying to scan a document with my wireless printer/scanner, but the device wasn’t showing up in Image Capture after I upgraded macOS recently. Just this “Virtual Scanner II” device that I’d never seen (or noticed?) before,” Baio told Blockworks.

Baio claims that the document is present in all up-to-date versions of macOS, but he can’t explain why it would be in such a hidden location. According to Baio, you may see the file by opening Terminal and entering the following command:

Non Apple experts

If you are not an Apple expert, he suggests that you “open Finder and click on Macintosh HD, then open the System→Library→Image Capture→Devices folder. Control-click on VirtualScanner.app and choose Show Package Contents, then go to the ContentsResources folder and open simpledoc.pdf.”

Baio adds that there is an additional step required to access the document: “In Image Capture, select the “Virtual Scanner II” device, and in the Details, set the Media to “Document” and the Media DPI to “72 DPI.” You should look at the first page of the Bitcoin paper.”

Apple’s relationship with the blockchain and cryptocurrency business is complicated when the company allowed non-fungible token (NFT) to be traded via apps on the App Store in the second half of 2022.

The change was made to facilitate the sale of NFTs inside applications and the incorporation of tokens into future apps. Apple opted to take a 30% share from App developers earning more than $1 million through its store, and a 15% cut from those making less, in an effort to monetize the buzz around the new technology.