What Is Whitepaper?
Also known as: White Paper, Technical Whitepaper
In short
A whitepaper is the foundational document of a cryptocurrency or blockchain project, explaining its purpose, the problem it aims to solve, its technical architecture and its token economy. It is one of the first sources investors and developers consult when evaluating a project.
The best-known whitepaper in the crypto world is the nine-page paper published by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 that describes Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. This document explains how the double-spending problem can be solved without a central intermediary using Proof of Work (PoW). Most later projects also introduced themselves with a similar document.
A typical whitepaper includes a problem statement, the proposed solution, the consensus mechanism and technical details, the token's use case, the supply and distribution plan, the roadmap and team information. Some projects also publish a shorter summary (litepaper) or a formal technical specification such as Ethereum's Yellow Paper. The EU's MiCA regulation requires in-scope issuers to prepare and publish a whitepaper containing certain information.
Because a whitepaper can also be used as a marketing tool, the claims it contains should be read critically. Whether the document is technically consistent, whether its promises are realistic, whether it was copied from other projects and whether the goals on the roadmap were achieved on time should be checked. A well-written document is no guarantee that the project will succeed.
Last updated: · This content is for information purposes only and is not investment advice.