bitcoin: friend or foe? fad or the future?
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to Today’s Webinar
The Expert Toolkit Series:Bitcoin: Friend or Foe? Fad or the Future?
Micheal Burch, CPA, CA, CFP Managing Partner – Welch LLP
www.welchllp.com
@WelchLLP
Haseeb AwanCo-Founder of BitAccess Inc.
www.bitaccess.co
@ahaseeba
Presenters
Jim McConnery, CPA, CA, TEPPartner – Welch LLP
www.welchllp.com
@WelchLLP
• What is it?
• Why was Bitcoin created?
• Essential elements
• How to mine Bitcoins
• Dependability
• Affect on currencies
• Mature enough as an investment?
• Who’s maintaining the scorecard?
• Resources
• Audience Q & A
What we will cover today
What’s the best way to describe Bitcoin?
• Digital currency
• Operates independently from a Central bank
• Payment network system is powered by all users
• Exchanged through sending to valid electronic addresses
• Minimal transaction fees
• Instant transactions
Why was Bitcoin created in the first place?
• Ease of transfer
• Anonymous form of
payment
• Not controlled by a
central authority
• Concept created by
Satoshi Nakamoto
What are the essential elements of
Bitcoin that our clients should
know about?
www.bitcoins.com
• Bitcoins are not tax exempt!
• Increasingly popular
currency among businesses
• Bitcoin money supply is
completely transparent
• Not the 1st digital currency.
Won’t be the last
How does one mine Bitcoins?
• Require software
with specialized
hardware within the
network
• Software solves
mathematical
problems based
on accuracy, miners
receive bitcoins in
exchange
Is Bitcoin dependable?
What about these stories we hear about
hundreds of thousands of dollars’
worth going missing?
• Sophisticated hackers can get a hold of the
private cryptographic key associated with
your digital wallet through attacking online
services that store the keys for many users
• There is still no great option for storing
digital currencies to ensure theft protection
Does this mark the demise of national currencies?
www.bitcoins.com
• Difficult to say at this
point
• Bitcoin is an example
of currency evolving
• Cheaper to produce
than paper & coins
Is it mature enough to be considered an investment?
• Still very volatile
• Bitcoin mining has
become exponentially
more difficult
• Market risk: value has
bounced up & down
considerably in the
past year
• Fraud risk
Who is maintaining the score card?
How do I know how much anybody has?
Is it verifiable?
• Maintained by all Bitcoin users around the world
• https://blockchain.info is a bitcoin transaction database &
displays how much bitcoin is in circulation
• Bitcoin uses private encryption keys to verify owners &
register transactions
What are the best articles you have
read/written on the subject?
• White papers on Bitcoin
• Bitcoin.org
Micheal Burch, CPA, CA, CFP Managing Partner – Welch LLP
www.welchllp.com
@WelchLLP
Haseeb AwanCo-Founder of BitAccess Inc.
www.bitaccess.co
@ahaseeba
Audience Q & A
Jim McConnery, CPA, CA, TEPPartner – Welch LLP
www.welchllp.com
@WelchLLP