What thef***

is Bitcoin?An attempt at demystification

by Naveed Lalani

Hello, I’m Naveed and I like Bitcoin.

@naveed_l @PortableBtque

I can has Bitcoin?!

For buying drugs?

Money to fuel terrorism?

Internet Gold?

Will Bitcoin steal my money?

A digital cryptocurrency? Wtf?

Protocol layer for exchanging value? Huh?

I promise it’s legit!But don’t believe me…

Source: WeUseCoins.com

“I do think Bitcoin is the first [encrypted money] that has the potential to do something like change the world.”

Peter Thiel, Co-Founder of PayPal

“[Virtual Currencies] may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.”

Ben Bernanke, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve

"Bitcoin is a remarkable cryptographic achievement and the ability to create something that is not duplicable in the digital world has enormous value.”

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google

So why all the hate? Follow the $$$

Okay fine! But what is it… really?

Source: WeUseCoins.com

A distributed p2p digital currency.

Digital cash that can be used to pay friends or merchants via the internet without any central authority controlling the exchange. It is transacted via a Bitcoin address and associated keys.

Sample Private Key: Kb8kLf9zgWQnogidDA76MzPL6TsZZY36hWXMssSzNydYXYB9KF

Sample Public Key:3J98t1WpEZ73CNmQviecrnyiWrnqRhWNLy

Secured via a public ledger.

Bitcoin transactions go into a decentralized public ledger called the block chain which is protected with cryptography.

Whenever a new Bitcoin transaction is initiated, miners earn Bitcoin to verify and record the transaction in the block chain and thus new Bitcoins are created.

Millions of Bitcoins will be created.

In Jan 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, mined the first block of Bitcoins ever (known as the “genesis block”) – getting a reward of 50 Bitcoins.

Every four years of operation of the Bitcoin network, half the amount of Bitcoins created in the prior 4 years are created through mining.

~12M Bitcoins are currently in circulation.

A total, final number of 21M Bitcoins will be created by 2140.

Bitcoin is divisible by 8 decimal places – i.e. 0.00000001 BTC - called a Satoshi. Can be divided further if needed.

Unique individuals that currently own Bitcoin maybe 1-5M.

Valued the same way as “normal” money.

Valuable because of utility and scarcity.

No different than cash – depends on if people selling goods and services will accept it.

Bitcoins are limited so value should go up and volatility should go down over time, since there will be fewer major owners and fewer major movements.

Similar to stock market – fairly stable and few major crashes.

1 BTC USD Value

Peak in Dec 2013: $1,151 per BTC

Current Value in May 2014: $451 per BTC

It is money created for the digital age!

You can’t exchange cash online without central authority like PayPal – and they have high fees and usability barriers.

Credit Cards launched in the 1950s – not created for the internet! That is why there is fraud, chargeback issues, fees, require a lot of personal information, cv2 numbers, etc. They were retrofitted for the internet.

No central authority with Bitcoin = much lower fees.

No chargebacks because it is digital cash – once transferred, can’t be taken back.

Fast international money transfer – pay family member in another country same way as your neighbor. No ridiculous fees like with Western Union.

Little to no personal information required to send or receive Bitcoin since it is essentially cash. Protects you while still minimizing risk for merchant.

You can buy and sell it easily.

Can earn Bitcoin by mining, which requires large investment.

Wiring fiat currency to an exchange like Bitstamp or a direct deposit from your bank account to a wallet like Coinbase to buy Bitcoins. Or by accepting Bitcoins as a merchant.

Can hold in a offline wallet like Hive or online wallets like Coinbase, Blockchain.info or Bitpay. Can also hold in paper wallet or in cold storage.

Think of it like cash - many ways to get and store your cash.

Can sell your Bitcoin for fiat currency via exchanges and some of the wallets or even take money out using a Bitcoin ATM.

US Tax laws have defined Bitcoin as property – so for now you pay capital gains taxes on it.

It is accepted in a lot of places!

Source: usebitcoins.info

10s of thousands of merchants accept it directly – Overstock, Zynga, Tesla, Square Market, Virgin Galactic, Wordpress, Reddit, some Subways, etc.

Buy a gift card via Gyft using Bitcoin – use at Amazon, CVS/pharmacy, Dell, Fandango, Gamespot, Sears, Target, Home Depot, and many more.

Bitcoin debit card providers such as Xapo and FreshPay will allow you to use it anywhere Visa and MasterCard is accepted.

May 2014 Daily Bitcoin Volume

Source: CoinMetrics.com

But, its not all rainbows and unicorns.

Same risk as cash. Can be stolen if you don’t secure it safely (never give out your private key!).

Price is volatile and will be for a while.

Can’t be reversed. Can only be refunded by person who has it.

It is NOT anonymous. Everything is recorded publicly. Can create new wallet addresses easily though.

Still experimental and under active development. New changes will be adopted.

Government taxes and regulation still uncertain.

bitcoin protocol > Bitcoin currency

Creating more bling-bling

Source: cryptocoinsnews.com

Content monetization

Eliminating email spam

Source: Stanford IRT

Decentralized Domain Name System - namecoin

Internet for the world via micropayment channels

Autonomous cars and roads

Source: MotorAuthority.com

The Truth: No one really knows.

Source: The Social Network

As Zuck said…

Curious? Learn more!"Bitcoin isn’t Money—It’s the Internet of Money” by Eli Dourado via THE ÜMLAUThttp://theumlaut.com/2014/01/08/bitcoin-internet-of-money/ 

“Why Everybody Who Doesn’t Hate Bitcoin Loves It” by Greg Rosalsky via Freakonomics Radio Podcasthttp://freakonomics.com/2014/03/27/why-everybody-who-doesnt-hate-bitcoin-loves-it-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/ 

“Bitcoin. Sweat. Tide. Meet the future of branded currency.” by Paul Kemp-Robertson via TEDGlobal 2013http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_kemp_robertson_bitcoin_sweat_tide_meet_the_future_of_branded_currency  

“State of Bitcoin 2014 Report” via CoinDeskhttp://media.coindesk.com/report/CoinDesk-State-of-Bitcoin-2014.pdf 

“Professor Bitcoin” by Reihan Salam via The Vice Podcasthttp://www.vice.com/read/the-vice-podcast-professor-bitcoin

"Why Bitcoin Matters” by Marc Andreessen via The New York Timeshttp://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/

“The Fifth Protocol” by Naval Ravikant via Startup Boy Bloghttp://startupboy.com/2014/04/01/the-fifth-protocol/

“The Future of Money” by Mike Hearn via Turing Festival 2013https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu4PAMFPo5Y

Try it for yourself!

Pull up TryBTC.com from your laptop (preferred)or smart phone.

Thanks! :) Questions?

Follow me on twitter:@naveed_l and @PortableBtque

Contact me: naveed@portableboutique.com

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