According to recent reports, Apple has removed the Bitcoin whitepaper from the latest version of its operating system, macOS Ventura 13.4 beta 3. For the past five years, every copy of macOS had the Bitcoin whitepaper in its internal files. However, users discovered the file was missing in the latest version released to app developers.
While Apple has not explained why it removed the whitepaper, some believe it may have been an inside joke among Apple engineers. The removal has sparked reactions among the crypto community, and its impact on Bitcoin’s image is uncertain.
The whitepaper was part of the VirtualScanner.app, an internal tool that simulates the scanning and exporting of documents and images. Reports have noted that the virtual scanner tool is missing from the latest macOS beta, indicating that regular users were not supposed to discover the Bitcoin whitepaper and the internal tool.
Users who have not updated their macOS Mojave systems to the latest beta version might still find the file. The latest move by Apple comes after a California court ruled that Apple violated state competition laws by barring developers from using alternative in-app payment methods. The court ruling could pave the way for cryptocurrencies to add more functionality to their iOS apps.
