Museum objects
1 shown · 4 cited but not shown. An image only appears here if it is openly
licensed and confirmed to depict the object we claim. Otherwise we cite it and link you to
the museum — we would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
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Bitcoin whitepaper, Oct 2008
bitcoin.org (self-published)
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
Bitcoin Whitepaper (Original PDF)
bitcoin.org (self-published) · Bitcoin whitepaper, Oct 2008 · October 31, 2008
The nine-page document titled 'Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,' published by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, released without copyright restriction.
This is Hiro's birth certificate, except no one signed their real name to it — a stranger handed the world a blueprint and then disappeared, and that vanishing act became the entire foundation of who he is.
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Genesis block, address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa
Bitcoin blockchain (public ledger)
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
Genesis Block (Block 0)
Bitcoin blockchain (public ledger) · Genesis block, address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa · January 3, 2009
The first-ever block mined on the Bitcoin network, containing a reward address that has never once been spent.
Hiro's address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa has sat untouched since the day he was born — the one thing in his whole existence that has never moved.
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Genesis block coinbase parameter
Bitcoin blockchain / The Times archive (referenced)
no openly-licensed image yet — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
The Times of London, Jan 3, 2009 (Embedded Headline)
Bitcoin blockchain / The Times archive (referenced) · Genesis block coinbase parameter · January 3, 2009
The headline 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks' was embedded directly into the Genesis Block's code as a timestamp and statement.
Hiro was born quoting the very financial system he was built to replace — his first words, encoded forever, were literally a headline about banks failing.
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Cypherpunk Manifesto, 1993
Activism.net (self-published archive)
no openly-licensed image yet — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
A Cypherpunk's Manifesto (Eric Hughes, 1993)
Activism.net (self-published archive) · Cypherpunk Manifesto, 1993 · 1993
The foundational ideological text of the cypherpunk movement, arguing that privacy in an electronic age requires cryptography, not laws.
Fifteen years before Hiro existed, someone wrote down exactly why he'd need to exist — this manifesto is his ideology's grandfather.
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Object ID 3451279, Collection ID CJE305673
British Museum
image could not be loaded — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
Casascius Physical Bitcoin Coin
British Museum · Object ID 3451279, Collection ID CJE305673 · 2011-2013
Physical brass or silver tokens created by Mike Caldwell, each embedded with a real private key holding actual bitcoin, held today in the British Museum's numismatic collection.
For a currency that was supposed to exist only as code, someone eventually needed to hold him in their hand — the British Museum agreed, and put him in a case next to coins two thousand years older.
Shown: an openly-licensed image of the same object type. The object cited above is held at British Museum.
Primary sources
The documents themselves. We link and quote — that is citation, and it needs no licence.
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
founding_whitepaper · October 31, 2008 · Satoshi Nakamoto (pseudonym) · bitcoin.org
The original whitepaper describing Bitcoin's design and purpose.
The original document, written by an anonymous person, that first explained how Bitcoin would work.
Wikipedia: History of Bitcoin
encyclopedia_entry · Ongoing · Wikipedia contributors · Wikipedia
Comprehensive timeline covering Bitcoin's founding, price milestones, and major events.
A detailed timeline of Bitcoin's entire history, from its creation to major price milestones.
Satoshi Nakamoto Cryptography Mailing List Archive
correspondence_archive · 2008-2011 · Satoshi Nakamoto (pseudonym) · Satoshi Nakamoto Institute / metzdowd.com
The archived original emails Satoshi sent to the cryptography mailing list announcing and discussing Bitcoin.
The actual saved emails that Bitcoin's anonymous creator sent to other computer scientists when first announcing the idea.
Ethereum Foundation Blog — 'Hard Fork Completed'
blog_post · July 20, 2016 · Ethereum Foundation · Ethereum Foundation
Referenced for cross-character context on blockchain governance events relevant to crypto-era characters.
An official blog post about a major decision point in blockchain history, useful for comparing how different cryptocurrencies handle crises.
Wikipedia: Bitcoin Genesis Block / Casascius Coins
encyclopedia_reference · Ongoing · Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons contributors · Wikimedia Commons
Reference material on the Genesis Block and physical Bitcoin tokens like Casascius coins.
Photos and information about physical coins that were made to hold real bitcoin inside them.
Where this money travelled
Hiro has no hometown — he was born from an anonymous whitepaper, referenced a London newspaper in his first block, and spread through a leaderless global network with no headquarters.
Decentralized / Unknown Origin0.0000, 0.0000
London, UK (The Times headline)51.5074, -0.1278
British Museum, London51.5194, -0.1270
Sichuan, China (mining farms)30.6171, 102.7103
Global Peer-to-Peer Network20.0000, 0.0000
What we don't know
The page no competitor will build.
- 4 of 5 objects on this page are cited but not shown — either the rights are not cleared, or we could not verify that an available image really depicts the object. We would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
- 1 source(s) here are Wikipedia — a tertiary source. It is a pointer, not our evidence. These are being replaced with the primary documents Wikipedia itself cites.
