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Bitcoins

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BITCOINS (BTC)

I. What are Bitcoins?
• A currency that uses cryptographic techniques to allow money transfers directly between peers, rather than through a central authority like a bank. Bitcoin has been called a cryptocurrency because it is decentralized and uses cryptography to control transactions and prevent double-spending
• Virtual currency designed for digital realm, generated using mining.
• Mining means devoting computing resources to finding "blocks" of Bitcoins. Mining is very computationally intensive, to the point that any computer without a powerful graphics card is unlikely to mine any bitcoins in less than a few years.
• “Gold for Nerds”

II. Who created/invented Bitcoins?
• Satoshi Nakamoto (alias)

III. When did this Bitcoins created?
• 2009

IV. What countries are investing in Bitcoins?
• It seems like the majority of the activity comes from the US and China, with Australia, Japan, Europe and Brazil also regularly investing. (Nov. 18, 2013)

V. Why did he created Bitcoins?
• Satoshi Nakamoto wanted people to be able to exchange money electronically and securely without the need for a third party, such as a bank. He based Bitcoin on cryptographic techniques that allow you to be sure the money you receive is genuine, even if you don’t trust the sender.

VI. How is it being created?
• Through the used of complex computer algorithm and a software called “TOR”
VII. How to mine Bitcoins?
• To mine bitcoins, one must solve a 64-digit computer algorithm problem. When one ables to solve the problem, he/she will win a block of 50 bitcoins. Only 50 bitcoins are generated every 10 minutes and the difficulty level is adjusted. Eventually, new coins will not be issued this way; instead, mining will be rewarded with a small fee taken from some of the value of a verified transaction.

VIII. Other Ways to acquire Bitcoins?
• You ca purchase bitcoins from people who have them, or use online currency exchanges (mt. Gox) that accept dollars via wire transfer.
• Earn Bitcoins by accepting them as means of payment
• Earn free bitcoins by completing tasks on websites
• Earn Bitcoins from interest payments
• Earn Bitcoins by getting tipped
• Earn Bitcoins as a regular income
• Earn Bitcoins from Gambling
• Earn Bitcoins through trading

IX. How does it work?
• Unlike credit cards-authorized by cross-checking personal information, bitcoins are validated w/ cryptography. With each payment, a public ledger updates wallet balances without connecting wallets to real-life identities.

X. The Basics
• Once you download and run the Bitcoin client software, it connects over the Internet to the decentralized network of all Bitcoin users and also generates a pair of unique, mathematically linked keys, which you’ll need to exchange bitcoins with any other client. Users maintain two accounts(wallets) : a public and a private. Public accounts are used for other people to send you bitcoins and the private account is kept hidden in your computer.
• A Bitcoin address looks something like this: 15VjRaDX9zpbA8LVnbrCAFzrVzN7ixHNsC.
XI. Where to spend your bitcoins
• Deep webb markets like silk road
• Dating site OKCupid
• Social News site Reddit
• Some etsy sellers, small merchants
• Baidu (Internet Giant)
• Some 2,400 merchants

XII. Pro’s

• It’s a frictionless money transfer
• It’s easy to navigate
• has no or low transaction fees,
• is accessible across the globe with a simple Internet connection
• lets users remain “relatively” anonymous.
• it can be divided down to fractions 1e-8 -- one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin
• safer from concerted financial sabotage

XIII. Con’s
• Can be hacked
• It’s value is very volatile (value can fluctuate uo to 45% in a single day)
• Highly attractive to individuals who are into illegal activities.

XIV. Who controls the Bitcoin economy?
• No one. The economics of the currency are fixed into the underlying protocol developed by Nakamoto.
XV. Major Bitcoin Exchanges
• Mt.Gox
• BTC China
• Bitstamp
• BTC-e
• CoinX
• itBit
• Kraken
• Coinsetter
• Coinfloor
XVI. Did you that...
• the "father" of Bitcoins, Satoshi Nakamoto reportedly has around 150,000 Bitcoins (~$3.0M USD) out of around 6.518m Bitcoins currently in existence.
• "Satoshi" is the smallest unit of Bitcoin currency
• Nearly 11 millions Bitcoins had been created
• Bitcoin’s current market capitalization is USD 370 million
• 1 Bitcoin is about $420 USD (Nov. 13, 2013)
• As of September 2013 55,000 transactions have been recorded per day.
• University in Cyprus (UNic) Becomes First to Accept Bitcoin Payments.
• Avish Bhama and Sean Lavine, founders of U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange BitMe, have created the Philippines Typhoon Relief Bitcoin Wallet to collect donations for the Philippine Red Cross.

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