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What is Bitcoin?
Well there's Bitcoin and bitcoin, What's the difference?
Bitcoin: is the peer-to-peer (P2P) Network or new protocol, like "https" is a protocol for the internet.
bitcoin: is the first ever decentralized digital currency. Digital money, similar to the way E-mail is digital letters.
- bitcoin is money for the internet, or the internet for money.
- It is not controlled by any governments, countries, banks, and is not owned by any one person, just like the internet is not owned by any specific person.
There are several advantages to using bitcoin over credit card or cash.
bitcoin can be used in any part of world in any country.
Also there are no limits on the amount of bitcoins a person can send.
bitcoins are generated throughout the internet with computers by a process called bitcoin mining.
bitcoin mining is allowing your computer to solve complex math problems and verify transactions in the process.
When a bitcoin miner verifies a transaction they get paid in what is called a "miner fee" for verifying and processing that transaction which on average is never more than 6 or 7 cents worth of bitcoin.
Miners are also awarded a certain amount of bitcoins based on how many math problems their computer solves and the amount of computing power their computer contributed to the Bitcoin Network.
Anyone can download a free application to their computer called a "bitcoin miner"; which they can then use to add their computing power to the Bitcoin Network to mine bitcoins.The bitcoins they mine belong to them and they can spend them on whatever want.
bitcoin mining is what keeps the Bitcoin Network working, fast, and secure. It is impossible to hack the Bitcoin network because there are thousands of miners working to secure it. Even the computing power of the 500 super computers in the world can't hack or take over The Bitcoin Network because the Bitcoin Network has about 3,000 times more computing power and is getting stronger every day.
The Bitcoin Network has this new technology called the Bitcoin Bockchain. The Blockchain is a record or ledger of every bitcoin transaction that has ever happened since Bitcoin first began. The Blockchain utilizes timestammping each transaction which the miners than confirm and verify so there is no double spending and everyone agrees on the amount of bitcoin everyone has on the Bitcoin Network.
The Blockchain is where Bitcoin will have much more future potential. I'll explain in more detail later in the presentation.
bitcoins are kept in what is called a "bitcoin wallet." A bitcoin wallet is an application or program where you can receive and send bitcoins to other people who have bitcoin wallets.
There are several different bitcoin wallets, these are the ones I personally use and recommend:
MultiBit: Is a bitcoin wallet program for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Mycelium: Is a bitcoin wallet for mobile devices such as android and other smartphones except Apple.
Apple has decided to remove all bitcoin wallet applications from their app store. So anyone with an Apple phone are excluded from using bitcoin right.....
.... Not exactly. At first I thought they would be, but then I heard about a website where Apple users who want to use bitcoin can get a bitcoin wallet.
If you use an Apple phone and want to use bitcoin you can go to Coinpunk.com and generate a bitcoin wallet and start accepting bitcoins. I would warn though I have not personally used this service so please be careful and do your own research. I felt like I had to offer something for people who use Apple. If people who use Apple want to experiment though this might be a good way until Apple adds bitcoin wallets again or more advance programs come out that able to bypass the app system. If you want you can check out your app store to see if Apple has added them back.
You can use bitcoins at over 15,000 online retailers.
Some of the major retailers include Overstock.com and TigerDirect.com and they are only the beginning.
Germany deems it as it as private money and have many shops that accept it as payment for goods and services.
Gyft is an app that now allows users of the app to turn their bitcoins into digital gift cards on their phones or computers for over 200 retailers, so this is one of the easiest ways right now for people to use bitcoin in every day life at some of their favorite stores.
One of the main goals of bitcoin is that it is used to purchase every day goods. Right now the value of bitcoin is measured by whatever currency you use, but hopefully soon it will be measured in the amount of goods you can buy with it just like any other currency.
coinmap.org shows all the physical retailers that accept bitcoin for various goods and services.
There will never be more than 21 million bitcoins. 25 bitcoins are created every 10 minutes on the Bitcoin Network all over the world. When Bitcoin first started in 2009 the amount of bitcoins created every ten minutes was 50, but every four years the number of bitcoins mined or created is halved. So in 2013 the number of bitcoins created every 10 minutes was and still is 25 bitcoins until 2017 where 12.5 bitcoins are created every ten minutes.It will look like this every four years when it halves: (6.25, then 3.125, then 1.5625, then 0.78125......) and this pattern continues until the 21 millionth bitcoin is created which is estimated to be the year 2141.
In the long term bitcoin will be a deflationary currency due to there being a limited supply of them.
A single bitcoin can be divided into 100 million pieces. The smallest unit is called a satoshi. This is what it looks like in decimal form (0.00000001) 1 satoshi.
Bitcoin/bitcoin allows for something new called micro-payments like a payment of 5 cents which is not available with any other payment system.
Unlike paper currency, bitcoins cannot be counterfeited or copied.
bitcoins can be sent anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds just like E-mail.
Denominations of bitcoin
Just like the dollar can be can be divided into halves, quarters, dimes, nickles, and pennies, bitcoin can also be divided into smaller units.
These are not all the possible denominations of bitcoin, but these are the most commonly used ones.
1 BTC= 1 bitcoin (1.00000000)
1 mBTC= 1 millibitcoin (0.001)
1 uBTC= 1 microbitcoin (0.000001)
1 Satoshi= is the smallest unit of a bitcoin (0.00000001)
Now here's a comparison between Gold, bitcoin and the dollar.
Gold
Medium of exchange
A unit of account
Durable
Divisible
Fungible
(Interchangeable)
Store of value
bitcoin
Medium of exchange
A unit of account
Durable
Divisible
Fungible
(Interchangeable)
Not a good store of value
right now but should be in
the future due to it being a
deflationary currency.
The Dollar
Medium of exchange
A unit of account
Durable
Divisible
Fungible (Interchangeable)
A store of value
Inflation Proof
Cannot be Counterfeited
Open Source
Virtually Weightless
Decentralized
No Chargebacks
Pseudonymous
Nearly Instant Transactions
Using bitcoin is very simple all you need is a bitcoin wallet for your computer laptop phone or tablet.
Important Note: The device and program you use will generate a new random bitcoin address one will be a public bitcoin address and the other will be a private address known as a private key.
A public bitcoin address always starts with "1" and has an average 32 capital and lower-case letters. Here is a random made up example 1Tjks8rw6eDCBm9nHY3tPqw4sk.....ect.
A private bitcoin address or private key always starts with "5" and has an average of 51 capital and lower-case letters. Here is a random made up example 5Mndt7rw6eqRRff368PuyBDEer18uBgeawWsktng.....ect.
Your private key is what allows you to send, spend, or use your bitcoins. It basically creates a digital signature that uniquely connected or associated with your bitcoin wallet by math.
Your private key is also important because if you happen lose your bitcoin wallet but still have your private key you can regenerate your bitcoin wallet or public address.
Now on the other hand if you lose your private key but still have your public address you cannot regenerate your private key. So it's important not to lose it. If you lose your private key you basically lose your bitcoins because there is no other way to access them.
Your public bitcoin address is similar to your E-mail address in the sense that you can give it to anybody or post it anywhere. This address allows you to receive bitcoins from others.
Your private address or private key is something you don't want to share and keep secret. Your private key is what allows you to spend your bitcoin or send bitcoin to another person. So if someone was to get a hold of your private key they would be able to steal your bitcoins by sending them to their bitcoin wallet. Most bitcoin wallet applications or programs allow the user to put a password on their private key(s) so anytime they want to send bitcoin to someone they have to put in the password first. So as long as you have a good password on your private key(s) if someone was to get a hold of your bitcoin wallet they wouldn't be able to take bitcoins from it.
Once you have a bitcoin wallet you simply:
1.Scan a QR code of another persons bitcoin wallet or copy and paste the public address, of the who you wish to send to.
2.Enter the amount you wish to send and press the send button.
3. That's it! Just like sending an e-mail.
1.Now to receive from someone you simply give them your bitcoin address or let them scan the QR code of your bitcoin address.
2.Then they can send bitcoin to you.
3. Then you receive what they sent.
One college student made over $10,000 worth of bitcoin by putting his bicoin address QR code on a piece of cardboard during a football game which was televised. So anyone who was watching who had bitcoin sent him some.
Let's move on to how to get bitcoin.
Bitvisitor.com is where I first got a small amount of bitcoin from. If you want you can use my referral link:
http://www.bitvisitor.com/?ref=1PDyYEUHBHQfezHCrcbGM58HBpTTfLU9WE
At Bitvisitor you first enter your public bitcoin address and press Submit. Then on the next page you have to enter a captcha to get the amount of bitcoin shown for visiting that web page for five minutes. Once you type the captcha press the visit button to start.
A timer of five minutes will start to count down. Once it finishes a green NEXT button will appear in the top right corner, you must click it to receive the small amount bitcoin. You're limited on the amount of websites you can visit each day. You will get paid out once you reach 100uBTC and you should receive the payment within an hour. You can minimize the window or be on another window if your busy doing something else and the timer will still countdown.
freebitco.in is another website to get an amount of free bitcoin. First you create an account. Then you enter in a captcha for this one and it is a random number generator. This website has prizes for certain numbers. You can win a fraction of a cent, two cents, two dollars, $20 or even $200 worth of bitcoin. What I like about this website is that you can play every hour. So you have a chance to win $200 worth of bitcoin every hour.
You get a payment sent to your bitcoin wallet every Monday as long as you reach the payout minimum which shouldn't take to long.
If you use my referral link I can give you a little extra bitcoin when your payment is sent.
My referral link: http://freebitco.in/?r=322854
One of the last websites I'll recommend is bitcoinget.com. All you have to do is enter your public address and you will have many different options for getting bitcoin like watching a video or completing a task. The payout minimum is small and once you reach it you should be paid within 24 hours.
Here is my referral link:
http://freebitco.in/?r=322854
Now you can also get bitcoin from bitcoin exchanges like Coinbase.com, but I have not personally used this exchange so please do your own research.
You can also choose to get paid in bitcoin for selling goods or services. Some people have even requested their employer to get paid in bitcoin and their employer agreed to it. Of course it depends on your employer.
Buying directly from a person is another way to get bitcoin just make sure the person has good reviews and you trade in a public place for your safety.
Now another way to get bitcoin is using a bitcoin ATM machine. They are a fairly new invention and have been shipped to many parts of the world. There are not that many right now in the United States but you can look them up to see where they are located. This makes buying bitcoin easier than buying from someone you don't know or a bitcoin exchange.
Now remember you do not have to buy an entire bitcoin. You can buy a fraction of a bitcoin whether it's $5 $10 $20 $25 or really any specific amount you choose. At this moment that I'm typing this one bitcoin is around $450. Also as with anything only put in what you can afford, because you never know if you might lose it. Due to it being somewhat new, the value of it is still is very volatile.Don't put your whole life-saving into it that would not be smart.
Bitcoin was releases in 2009 by an anonymous person or group of people by the pseudonymous name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi Nakamoto started working on Bitcoin because of the financial crisis in 2008.
It is what inspired Satoshi Nakamoto to create a decentralized Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
So this is why Bitcoin was created and it was created by an anonymous programmer.
Satoshi Nakamoto created something so powerful at a time when people were in fear and maybe even hopeless losing trust in the banks from the government bailing them out when they should have failed from their poor decisions. Satoshi made something people can trust and give them hope again.
If you want to learn the more technical details about Bitcoin you can read Satoshi Nakamotos' original white paper, just Google it.
Currency or cash is only the first application of Bitcoin.
Currently there are 84 other categories that can be added or applied to Bitcoin or the Blockchain and maybe many more in the future.
New alternatives for copyrights, ownership, Crowd funding, communication, social media, deeds, last wills, ideas, or property. There are countless things that can be implemented and improved with the Bitcoin Blockchain technology.
Control Against Fraud:
An unprecedented level of security is possible with Bitcoin. The network provides users with protection against most prevalent frauds like chargebacks or unnecessary charges, and again bitcoins are impossible to counterfeit. Users can backup or encrypt their wallets. Users even have an option to make what is called a paper wallet. which is basically printing their private address or private keys on a piece of paper. Bitcoin is designed to allow its users to have complete control over their money.
Global Accessibility:
All payments in the world can be fully interoperable. Bitcoin allows any bank, business, or individual to securely send and receive payments anywhere at any time, with or without a bank account. Bitcoin is available in a large number of countries that still remain out of reach for most payment systems due to their own limitations. Bitcoin increases global access to commerce it can help international trades to flourish.
Cost Efficiency:
With the use of cryptography, secure payments are possible without slow and costly middlemen. A Bitcoin transaction can be much cheaper than its alternatives and be completed in a short time. This means Bitcoin holds some potential to become a common way to transfer any currency in the future. Bitcoin can also play a role in reducing poverty in many countries by cutting high transaction fees on workers' salaries.
Tips and Donations:
Bitcoin has been a particularly efficient solution for tips and donations in several situations. Sending a payment only requires a tap or click of a button and receiving can be as simple as displaying a QR code. Donations can be visible for the public, giving increased transparency for non-profit organizations. In cases of emergencies such as natural disasters, bitcoin donations could contribute to a faster international response.
Micro Payments:
Bitcoin can process payments scale to the dollar and even much smaller amounts. Such payments are routine even today. Imagine listening to internet radio paid by the second, viewing web pages with a small tip for ads not to be shown, or buying bandwidth from a WiFi hotspot by the kilobyte. Bitcoin is efficient enough to make all these ideas possible.
Trust and Integrity:
Bitcoin offers solutions to many of the trust problems that plague banks. Selective accounting transparency, digital contracts, and irreversible transactions, Bitcoin can be used as a ground to restore trust and agreement. Banks cannot cheat the system to make a profit at the expense of other banks or the public. A future in which major banks would support Bitcoin could help reinstate integrity and trust in financial institutions.
Resilience and Decentralization:
By its high decentralization, Bitcoin created a different form of payment network with an increased level of resilience and redundancy. Bitcoin can handle millions of dollars in trade without requiring military protection. With no central point of failure such as a data center, attacking the network is virtually impossible. Bitcoin could represent an interesting step forward in securing local and global financial systems.
Automated Solutions:
Automated services usually have to deal with cost and limitations of cash or credit card payments. This includes all vending machines, from bus ticket booths to coffee machines. Bitcoin is suited to be used in a new generation of automated services as well as to cut their operating costs. Imagine self-driving taxis, or a store where your basket lets you pay for your purchases without having to wait in a line. Many ideas are possible.
What Bitcoin/bitcoin has done so far.
Bitcoin/bitcoin now allows the 3.5 billion un-banked people in the world to have access to the global market and participate. Bitcoin also allows these same people to secure and have full control over their money.
In April of 2013 the government of Cyprus did a "bail in" which means that they took from their citizens bank accounts to pay off the governments debts. A lot of people who keep their savings in bank accounts and thought it would be safe lost all of their savings. The people of Cyprus quickly adopted and started using Bitcoin/bitcoin which led to one of the first major spikes in the value of one bitcoin.
Bitcoin/bitcoin has even been beneficial for the people of Argentina:
Bitcoin/bitcoin has also been good for Organic farmes:
Bitcoin/bitcoin is also empowering people in Uganda:
Even here in the United States Bitcoin/bitcoin has helped people living in poverty:
Just for a quick and visual recap:
Bitcoin is said to be the greatest thing created since Internet and E-mail. Just like the Internet allowed people to build upon it so does Bitcoin and the Internet allows the foundation. Bitcoin will change the world just like Internet did.
If you want to learn more about Bitcoin/bitcoin these are the people I recommend you listen to:
10 Good Reasons Why You Should Use Bitcoin. 2014. wikiblinks. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://wikiblinks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/why-you-should-use-bitcoin.jpg>.
How you can recognize the Bit-card's security characteristics. 2014. 5C-Basic GmbH & Co. KG, Germany. Web. 8 May 2014. http://www.bit-card.de/media/wysiwyg/CardCoin.png.
Clark, Jim. Market Discussion with CEO Jim Clark - The Difference Between Bitcoin, The Dollar and Physical Gold. 2013. RME Republic Monetary Exchange, Phoenix. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://jimclark.republicmonetary.com/images/bitcoin_dollar_gold.jpg>.
Bitcoin Wallet What is a Bitcoin Wallet? 2013. Bitcoin Creator. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://bitcoincreator.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/bitcoin-wallet.png>.
Meese, John R. Bitcoin: What, Why, and How? 2014. Private collection. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://johnrmeese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/blockchain.png>.
Block chain. 2014. Private collection. Web. 8 May 2014. <https://en.bitcoin.it/w/images/en/d/df/Blockchain.png>.
Young, Amanda. Motivate Me – Day Two – Melting Ice. 2012. wotpast. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://wotpast.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/icecubemelting-554169.jpg?w=300&h=187>.
Nickerson, Matt. How to Buy Bitcoins. 2013. CBT Nuggets. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://blog.cbtnuggets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/bitcoin-stock.jpg>.
Bitcoin Network. 2014. Among Tech. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.amongtech.com/wp-content/uploads/Bitcoin-Network-300x187.jpg>.
Castillo, Michael D. Bitcoins in retail: Real commerce or no sale? 2013. Upstart business journal. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://assets.upstart.bizjournals.com/news/technology/gyft-bitcoins-delcastillo-ubj%20copy*280.jpg?v=1>.
Junky, Crypto. Bitcoin’s Top Merchants Come Out To Play On Bitcoin Black Friday. 2014. Crypto Junky Cryptocurrency Guides. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://cryptojunky.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/gyft.jpeg>.
Gyft on twitter. 2012. Gyft, San Francisco. Web. 8 May 2014. <https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSm9euHdu-dqzIjUFREgeYEBh4ahoacLxphEmleabA4dN7t4ukqZg>.
Thomas, Stefan, prod. What is bitcoin ?. Narr. Chris Rice. Adapt. Fabian Ruhle. weusecoins.com, 2011. Web. 13 May 2014. <https://www.weusecoins.com/en/materials>.
Homeless using bitcoins to buy food. Narr. Christina Leavenworth. Christina Leavenworth/Youtube.com, 2013. Web. 17 May 2014. <
BicoinsinArgentina/Uganda/organicfarmers. Bitcoinfilms.org /Youtube.com, 2013. Web. 17 May 2014. <http://bitcoinfilm.org/documentaries/>.
bitcoin. Ed. Satoshi Nakamoto, Gavin Andresen, Pieter Wuille, Nils Schneider, and Jeff Garzik. bitcoin , 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 17 May 2014. <https://bitcoin.org/en/innovation>.
Where can I use bitcoin, who Accepts it?
Where do I Keep my bitcoins?
bitcoin Accepted Here Logo
bitcoin wallet respresentation
Work Cited Page
How does Bitcoin/bitcoin work?
work cited page
bitcoin logo with gears
The Properties or Characteristics of bitcoin
People to Look up
The Potential of Bitcoin, Future Innovations
A representation of bitcoin
People to look up
Andreas Antonopoulos
Gavin Andresen
Roger Ver
There's much more that can be done with this new technology.
Who Created Bitcoin/bitcoin?
Donate Here if you like
How can I get bitcoin?
or
1PDyYEUHBHQfezHCrcbGM58HBpTTfLU9WE
1JSmEiseYnzFH5KMRQ7YvYbqRmVFyxPh2N
A majority of the donations will go towards supplies for homeless shelters.
Satoshi Nakamoto
bitcoin representation
Bitcoin, Gold, and the Dollar
bitcoin, Dollars, and Gold
How to use bitcoin.
Why use bitcoin?
bitcoins can be transferred directly from person to person through the internet without having to use a third party entity, like a bank.
Bank
Fast, Cheap, Good, and More!
Using bitcoin
Because of this there are very small transaction fees. For example one person sent 6 million dollars worth of bitcoin to another person. It only cost him 6 cents to make a transaction of that size and it was automatically taken out of what his final bitcoin balance was. So in a sense it was basically free.
Now if he would have made that same transaction the traditional way using banks, credit card, or money wiring it would have cost him an estimated $130,000.
Unlike banks, your Account cannot be frozen.