In May 2008, the Bolten memorandum threw a wrench into things and set a hard deadline of November 1, 2008. He had to scramble, which created real tension, and there was a promise that it would be ready on time. Nobody believed he would pull it off, but at the last moment — one day before the door closed — he uploaded the Bitcoin whitepaper. By the time the final regulations appeared in the Federal Register, he had also presented the code. It was neither perfect nor elegant, but the promise was kept and the job was done.