White paper, sometimes referred to as a “white book,” is a documented guide or report about a complex issue or an issuing body’s stand on a particular matter. The white paper is particularly relevant in government policies or issuances and marketing tools and agendas.
The British Government pioneered the white paper following the pioneer of the “Churchill White Paper” of 1922. Governments usually use white papers to gauge public reaction towards new policies and legislation.
It is also popular in implementing B2B (business to business) marketing. Many companies use white paper to build arguments based on facts that gear towards the promotional advantage of their products and services. Non-profit government organisations also use white paper to endorse highlights and features of products, services or even solutions that it plans to offer.
The main difference between white paper from advertising material, like flyers and brochures, is that white papers are scholarly and factual. Brochures and flyers are sales persuasive and flashy in advertisements, while white paper presents technical evidence supporting the company’s claims. Further, it normally asserts a superior method to solve a particular problem or challenge related to the products/services it bargains.
White Paper And Cryptocurrency
In the rise of cryptocurrency back in 2010, crypto companies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) released white papers to inform and entice investors and traders to their upcoming projects. The most famous white paper concerning cryptocurrency is Satoshi Nakamoto’s famous white paper. This white paper is about Bitcoin, one of the most traded cryptocurrencies today. Nakamoto launched his white paper in October 2008, and at present, his white paper is still taking the interest of cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Bitcoin became so popular that its market capitalisation is already more than $600 billion. Financial experts are describing Bitcoin as one of the highest-risk investments today. However, more enthusiasts are banking on this cryptocurrency. This belief is because of the statistical data that shows a whopping growth of Bitcoin’s market price, creating a new pool of millionaires/billionaires from Bitcoin’s early adopters. To build your expertise on cryptocurrency, visit the Bitcoin Up website today and know the advantage of crypto trading.
The origin of cryptocurrency can be traced back to the 1970s era. Here are the white papers that precede the success of this emerging digital technology:
Authored by: Ralph C. Merkle, 1979
Digital Technology Revolution: Secure and efficient data encryption
Merkle innovated his “Merkle Trees,” also known as the certified digital signatures. The mechanism works by converting building blocks of information into a unique code, thus offering a reliable and efficient data encryption mode.
Experts use a tree to represent Merkle’s innovation. The “root” of the tree comprises all the previously encoded information, while “leaves” are new blocks of data that form the branches. Similar to a tree, the branches of new data are all connected to the root. This innovation of hashing blocks of information allowed space-efficient encoding of blockchain data. This breakthrough earned the title of one of the fathers of cryptography for Merkle.
This whitepaper is significant in the concept of cryptocurrency. The blockchains serve as a public ledger where all cryptocurrency transactions are stored, managed, and verified.
Authored by: David Chaum, 1981
Digital Technology Revolution: Digital Anonymity
Chaum is the innovator behind digital cash, cryptography, and privacy-preserving technologies. His white paper launched back in 1981 paved the way for the advancement of anonymous communication research. Included in his study are the “mix networks,” the mechanism works by allowing a group of senders to submit an encrypted message and its recipient to a server. The server can reorder and obscure the messages, thus allowing the server to identify the sender of a particular message solely.
The anonymity and privacy that cryptocurrency features rely on this white paper. Transactions done using blockchains are secured and private at the advantage of the users.
How to Timestamp a Digital Document
Authored by: Stuart Haber, W. Scott Stornetta, 1991
Digital Technology Revolution: Digital Data Time-Stamping
This white paper pioneered blockchain technology. It dealt with the challenges of data tampering and proposed a solution coined as a “digital safety deposit box.” The innovative safety deposit box can track the date and time of data creation and store its copy for safekeeping. Fixed chains of time-stamp requests guarantee accurate records.
Authored by: Nick Szabo, 1994
Digital Technology Revolution: Auto-run digital contracts
These auto-run or self-executing contracts are one of the widely used blockchains of Ethereum. This innovation is essential in blockchain-based applications because of its transparency, traceability, and irreversible nature. Currently, this white paper supports applications like banking, gambling, gaming, and financial services.
See Also >> The Basics Of Cypto Debit Cards
The primary purpose of Smart Contracts is to minimise transaction costs and the need for trusted mediators in a business. Szabo coined this innovation as “computerised transaction protocols that execute the terms of a contract.”
Bitcoin: a Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
Authored by: Satoshi Nakamoto, 2008
Digital Technology Revolution: blockchain-based cryptocurrency
This white paper initiated by an individual or group pseudo by the name “Satoshi Nakamoto” was published as open-source software in 2008. Since then, cryptocurrency and enthusiasts became widely enticed in this innovation. This white paper paved the way for numerous white papers that created other popular cryptocurrencies. Nakamoto created a new interest, research, and business ventures about blockchains, decentralised economies, and digital currency.
The outstanding work of Nakamoto used the concepts of Haber, Stornetta, and Merkle and developed a design of a purely peer-to-peer electronic system.
Will cryptocurrency be the future of money, investments, and financial technology? Experts and insiders suggest that the success of this new science may speed up economic digitisation. However, as the market is volatile and rapidly changing, knowing the trade guided by cryptocurrency learning hubs is highly recommended.
