Yep, I'd raised concerns about these claims before myself. Funny, I also checked the references, but I didn't realize the whitepaper was supposed to be that old (I'd missed that the document was backdated).
You probably checked version 2, which appeared first and had a date consistent with the references, but which called into question the claimed two-year history.
Version 1 showed up later, a quick and carelessly backdated edit of version 2, apparently to support the bogus "two years in the deep web" story.