170 likes | 420 Views
Bitcoin. Nathan Kistler CST300L Fall 2012. What is Bitcoin?. Digital Currency Anonymous Secure. The purpose of Bitcoin. Provide a currency free from centralized control Facilitate online commerce Allow for anonymous transactions. History of digital currency.
E N D
Bitcoin Nathan Kistler CST300L Fall 2012
What is Bitcoin? • Digital Currency • Anonymous • Secure
The purpose of Bitcoin • Provide a currency free from centralized control • Facilitate online commerce • Allow for anonymous transactions
History of digital currency • Credit card transactions require third party management and reveal a customer's identity • Cypherpunks • Affect political change using cryptography • Jim Bell - Assassination Politics
History of digital currency • b-money • Noncommercial prototype • Bitgold • Scarce digital resources can have value • DigiCash • Prevent counterfeiting by using a trusted central authority • WoW Gold, Linden Dollars • Digital currency to buy digital goods
History of Bitcoin • Proposed 1998 in paper by an individual using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto • Spawned from the cypherpunk movement • First version available in 2009
How Bitcoin works • Uses publically viewable leger to verify transactions • Peer to Peer network • Eliminates centralized control • Peers verify transaction chain by reaching consensus • Use of cryptography • Keep users anonymous • Prevent counterfeiting • Open source • Users demand transparency
How Bitcoin works • Bitcoin Miner generates new currency at the same rate as a geometric series • Total amount of currency is capped • Users have Bitcoin "wallet" • Each Bitcoin has a unique address and associated denomination
How Bitcoin works • Bitcoin Miner generates new currency at the same rate as a geometric series • Total amount of currency is capped • Users have Bitcoin "wallet" • Each Bitcoin has a unique address and associated denomination • About Bitcoin
Potential issues • Security vulnerabilities • Lack of acceptance • Theft
What Bitcoin could do • Reduce the power of government authority • Difficult to collect taxes • Bypass laws and regulations • Allow interest groups to act without interference • Replace government issued currencies • Make targeted advertising more difficult • Disrupt business plans for many websites • Exchange Bitcoins for other types of currency
References bitcoin.org staff (November 2012). About Bitcoin. Retrieved from http://bitcoin.org/about.html blockchain.info (December 2012). Bitcoin Block Explorer. Retrieved from http://blockchain.info Jim Bell (February 1996). Assassination Politics. Retrieved from http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/jimbellap.htm mtgox.com (December 2012). Bitcoin Exchange. Retrieved from https://mtgox.com/ Satoshi Nakamoto (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Retrieved from http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf paysius.com staff (November 2012). How it Works. Retrieved from https://paysius.com/how-it-works Morgen E. Peck (June 2012). Bitcoin: The Cryptoanarchist's Answer to Cash. Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/bitcoin-the-cryptoanarchists-answer-to-cash/0 Morgen E. Peck (October 2011). The World's First Bitcoin Conference. Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/networks/the-worlds-first-bitcoin-conference Benjamin Wallace (November 23, 2011). The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/mf_bitcoin/all/1 weusecoins.com staff (May 22, 2011). What is Bitcoin? Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo weusecoins.com staff (December 2012). Top Questions. Retrieved from http://www.weusecoins.com/questions.php