1. Bitcoin Nathan Kistler CST300L Fall 2012

2. What is Bitcoin? Digital Currency Anonymous Secure

3. The purpose of Bitcoin Provide a currency free from centralized control Facilitate online commerce Allow for anonymous transactions

4. History of digital currency Credit card transactions require third party management and reveal a customer's identity Cypherpunks o Affect political change using cryptography o Jim Bell - Assassination Politics

5. History of digital currency b-money o Noncommercial prototype Bitgold o Scarce digital resources can have value DigiCash o Prevent counterfeiting by using a trusted central authority WoW Gold, Linden Dollars o Digital currency to buy digital goods

6. 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

7. How Bitcoin works Uses publically viewable leger to verify transactions Peer to Peer network o Eliminates centralized control o Peers verify transaction chain by reaching consensus Use of cryptography o Keep users anonymous o Prevent counterfeiting Open source o Users demand transparency

8. 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

9. 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

11. Potential issues Security vulnerabilities Lack of acceptance Theft

12. What Bitcoin could do Reduce the power of government authority o Difficult to collect taxes o Bypass laws and regulations o Allow interest groups to act without interference o Replace government issued currencies Make targeted advertising more difficult o Disrupt business plans for many websites Exchange Bitcoins for other types of currency

13. References bitcoin.org staff (November 2012). About Bitcoin. Retrieved from http://bitcoin.org/about.htmlhttp://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.pdfhttp://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf paysius.com staff (November 2012). How it Works. Retrieved from https://paysius.com/how-it-workshttps://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