What Is a Whitepaper

The most literal translation of whitepaper is ‘white paper’, although translated that way it still doesn’t say much about it.


Its origin lies in academia. In that context there are a couple of terms that have become two more anglicisms:

Paper & Whitepaper

A paper is understood as a scientific text, usually the presentation of research or of a very specific topic.

A whitepaper is a document that serves as a guide to explain a particular concept or the solution to a specific problem.

They are usually issued by a person or entity with authority on the subject, and the content tends to be technical, very specific, clearly explained, and may also include any element that helps in understanding the explanation offered (charts, diagrams…)

Within the world of cryptocurrencies, the whitepaper is of capital importance (quite literally), since its mission is to define the project and, if the project holds an ICO, to attract potential investors.

This document should explain the problem to be solved, how it will be solved, the funding phases, the number of tokens that will be available and an implementation roadmap for the project, among other notable details.

Thus, in the crypto world the whitepaper serves to explain and lay the foundations of the project; it is a pillar that must not be missing or be built carelessly.

The main problem with these documents in the cryptocurrency market is that they can be hard to understand for an audience that, with the rise of cryptocurrencies, is not trained or equipped to understand them. For this reason, many people run the risk of being scammed by projects that offer nothing disruptive or with the potential to become real.

Bear in mind that the people who write these documents are usually programmers, and however much they simplify terms and concepts, the whitepaper may not be understandable to everyone, so sometimes it pays to be patient when reading this type of document and understanding everything it sets out.

One example is the Bitcoin whitepaper. It is a simple document of just nine pages that lays the foundations for the cryptocurrency. The document is difficult to understand for anyone without advanced knowledge of programming and mathematics, so it is clearly aimed at an eminently technical audience.

There is no required minimum or maximum length, simply whatever is needed to explain the project. Keep in mind that this document does not necessarily have to explain everything; things may be missing, and therefore you should ask the author(s) of the document or the technical community that forms around it.

Basically, the fundamental elements that every whitepaper for a cryptocurrency should contain are:

  • The problem the project solves.
  • How it solves it.
  • Project capitalisation (funding rounds, minimum capital, maximum capital, development stages, etc.).
  • How the tokens will be distributed and how they will be invested in development.
  • The team involved.
  • Roadmap or development timelines.