In early April, blogger Andy Baio accidentally stumbled upon the Bitcoin whitepaper on an Apple product, surprising the crypto community. However, with Apple's latest update to the macOS Ventura 13.4 system, the whitepaper has seemingly disappeared.  

The Disappearance of Bitcoin Whitepaper

Apple released a new update, macOS Ventura 13.4 beta 3 for developers on April 25th.   The new version allows Apple developers to link their Apple IDs to their developer accounts instead of installing profiles to gain access to the developer beta. Additionally, public beta testers can sign up on the Apple public beta website and receive beta updates through the System Preferences app.   In the latest system release, Apple removed VirtualScanner.app, which stored the Bitcoin whitepaper in a hidden manner. The app allowed developers to simulate scanning processes and export documents and images using the Image Capture app without the need for a physical scanner.   The Bitcoin whitepaper was found in the Image Capture app folder along with other unrelated PDF files and images. These applications and files have been removed from the beta versions, but Apple has not yet given any comments or explanations regarding the removal of the whitepaper.  

Speculations

With the removal of the apps and the Bitcoin whitepaper from the latest MacOS Ventura 13.4 release, it appears that Apple may have never intended to publicize the whitepaper. Some speculate that the file wasn't removed from the public release earlier because there was no sensitive information in it.   However, several conspiracy theories have emerged, including one suggesting that Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder, is Satoshi Nakamoto.  

Discovery of the Bitcoin Whitepaper

Blogger Andy Baio discovered a PDF copy of the whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto while attempting to fix his printer on April 5th. He shared his experience on the Wavy website the same day. It's believed that the PDF whitepaper is available on all MacOS Mojave devices, and was released by Apple in 2018. Baio tried to confirm this with his colleagues who use Apple.