why bitcoin may be more disruptive than the internet. barcamp nashville 2013

BitcoinMore disruptive than the Internet?

#bcn13bitcoin - Luke Stokes - @lukestokes

● Brief history of money● Describe the problem we need to disrupt● 10,000 foot overview of Bitcoin● Connect the dots● My Story● Q/A

Hold on to your butts…

A ridiculously brief history1694 - Bank of London1791 - First Bank of the United States1817 - Second Bank of the United States1913 - Federal Reserve Act1933 - Executive Order 16021944 - Bretton Woods1971 - The Nixon Shock

So what is fiat?● Any money declared by a government to be

legal tender.● State-issued money which is neither

convertible by law to any other thing, nor fixed in value in terms of any objective standard.

● Money without intrinsic value.

Is fiat really so bad?● 775 historical fiat currencies, most failed● Average lifespan: 27 years

World Reserve Currency

Historical World Reserve Currency Status

Where does Bitcoin come in?We’ll get there…

First some important quotes.

Quotes"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws"— Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild

Quotes"It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."— Henry Ford

Quotes"History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it's issuance."— James Madison

Quotes“You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, I will rout you out!”— Andrew Jackson

Quotes"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce."— James A. Garfield

Quotes"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. ...The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."— Thomas Jefferson

Where are we going...● If you control the money supply, you control

the people.● If you control the credit, you control the

money supply.● If you control the risk, you control the credit.

Third Party RiskYour BankYour GovernmentYour Credit Card Company

What is Bitcoin?The first decentralized digital currency.http://www.weusecoins.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency means trust is based on math

Bitcoin Address“Owning” some Bitcoin

Example Bitcoin Address

Example: writing a checkCentralized clearing house needed

BTC: No Central AuthorityOpen source protocol“Blockchain” public ledgerProof of work algorithm or “mining”No double spendsControlled, predictable money supply

Programmable MoneyCredit Cards created before the Internet

Bitcoin is built on top of the Internet

It’s not just money...

My StoryStarted in February 2013http://bestoked.blogspot.com/2013/03/bitcoin-do-you-speak-it.htmlhttp://bestoked.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-bitcoin-obsession.html

Got into mining...

I got into mining… “Free money!!!”

Got into mining...

It didn’t go as planned

Buy/Sell: Coinbase, Bitstamphttp://howtobuybitcoins.info/us.html

Merchants: Bitpay, Coinbase, FoxyCart

Mining…?

How to get started?

My suggestion would be to avoid mining

● Our current system is risky● Decentralization and math remove risk● We need to control our own money● The future of money will be a digital,

decentralized, and programmable● Bitcoin is the current leader

In Summary

Questions?

Tweet me for a link to slides: @lukestokes #bcn13bitcoin