BITCOIN

The most important invention in the

history of the world since the Internet.
- Roger Ver & Nic Cary
 Topics
• An introduction to Bitcoin

• The history of Bitcoin

• The economics of Bitcoin

• Charts & Trends

• The Future

• Final thoughts & Questions

 AN intro to Bitcoin

• Bitcoin is:
•A technology
•A protocol
•A network (the world’s largest distributed computing project)
 Bitcoin is Not

• It not a company
• Is not centrally controlled
• Is not proprietary
• Is not bound to any location or jurisdiction
 What is bitcoin?
• The Bitcoin (payment system) is a public, distributed peer-
to-peer ledger used to store and transfer the ownership of
bitcoins (currency).

• When a transaction is made, it is permanently stored in the

blockchain (the public ledger)

• Payments are sent between wallets, exchanges, and other

services instantly with basically no fees.
 History
• Introduced conceptually by a pseudonymous developer or group
known as Satoshi Nakamoto

• Network launched in 2009 as an open source project

• In 2010 basic marketplaces form, and the price of BTC rises

• 2011 sees accelerated interest and investment

• 2012 thousands of merchants worldwide begin accepting bitcoin,

network expands

• Bitcoin price accelerates past $200 in 2013; hundreds of startups

begin building services on top of the protocol
 Bitcoin the currency
• More coins are released over time by the
network

• Network maintained by “miners” who are

rewarded with optional fees and newly
released coins

• Regulated by mathematical algorithms

• Secured with cryptography

• Maximum of 21,000,000 BTC

• Each coin is divisible by eight decimal places.

 Properties of Bitcoin
• It is easy to divide and recombine

• It cannot be counterfeited

• It is highly durable, so long as certain precautions are taken

• It can be sent anywhere, instantly, at near-zero cost

• It is scarce, with a known supply and a known inflation schedule

MARKET CAP $USD
# OF WALLETS
TRANSACTIONS
 What’s the big deal?

• This is the world’s first scarce digital commodity

• Borderless, frictionless, and purely digital - it’s a designed so

beautifully as money people voluntarily use it as a medium of
exchange

• The only payment system with ZERO country party risk

 The future

• Bitcoin is ideal for remittence payments -- expect disruption

here

• Highly mobile and will likely replace regimes like M-Pesa

• Unimaginable new businesses will spawn -- the block chain will

store much more than just bitcoins.
Questions?
- Roger Ver & Nic Cary