Bitcoin whitepaper turns 18 as $6.3B hack fuels custody debate

Bitcoin’s whitepaper turned 18 on Oct. 31, bringing fresh attention to Satoshi Nakamoto’s proposal for payments without trusted intermediaries days after Binance reported a $6.3 billion theft. Summary Satoshi published the Bitcoin whitepaper on Oct. 31, 2008, through the cryptography mailing list. The nine-page document proposed preventing double-spending without relying on a bank or central mint. Binance has pledged to cover losses after attackers drained billions from its cryptocurrency wallets. Self-custody advocates and US investor guidance describe different responsibilities for safeguarding private keys. Satoshi Nakamoto’s original announcement, preserved in the mailing-list archive, described an electronic cash system that would let people transact directly without a trusted third party. Posted at 2:10 p.m. EDT on Oct. 31, 2008, the email linked to the paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” Eighteen years later, anniversary posts have returned to that opening promise while the industry deals with another major exchange breach. Bitcoin Archive shared an image of the original email alongside the message, “18 years of Bitcoin.” Another anniversary post f...