White Paper
A foundational document laying out a crypto project's technology and token design, modeled on Bitcoin's 2008 paper.
The white paper is where a project explains itself. Satoshi Nakamoto's 2008 Bitcoin paper—nine pages—set the template: a clear problem and an elegant technical solution. It remains the genre's high mark.
Most modern white papers cover the technology alongside the token supply and distribution. Investors read them before an ICO or token sale.
Treat them as marketing, not gospel. Plenty of polished white papers have backed projects that shipped nothing. The document promises; the code is what delivers.
Related terms
The economic design of a token — its supply, distribution, and incentives — that shapes whether it can hold value.
ICO (Initial Coin Offering)A crowdfunding method where a project sells a new token to the public to raise capital.
Satoshi NakamotoThe pseudonymous person or group who created Bitcoin and then disappeared, leaving the project to the community.
VaporwareSoftware or a product announced with fanfare but never actually shipped, sometimes used to pump a token.