Bitcoin allows users to send money over the internet similarly to how email allows users to send messages. It functions as an alternative currency that exists purely online and without connection to a central bank. Users can obtain bitcoins through exchanges with other currencies or from other individuals, then store and send them through online wallets to make purchases or send money internationally for much lower fees than traditional wire transfers.

2. Bitcoin lets you send money over the Internet

3. Bitcoin is likeemail
a@north.com b@south.com
The Internet

4. Bitcoin is likeemail
a@north.com b@south.com
The Internet
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7. Multibit - DesktopThunderbird
Gmail Electrum - Desktop
Blockchain.info -
Browser
“Bitcoin Wallet” -
Android
Bitcoin-Qt - Desktop (Fullclient)
Armory - Desktop

8. Bitcoin is another currency

9. Bitcoin is another currency

11. How to get bitcoins?
Exchanges
Person to person

12. Why is Bitcoin better?

13. Truly international
Online shopping

14. Much cheaper than wire transfer
$-30.00
-$0.0001

15. Much cheaper than wire transfer
$-30.00
-$0.0001
(How can you send 5 dollars overseas?)

16. Difficult to
block

17. Protect your money from inflation

19. Hold your own money

20. It’s money with an
API!

21. Sendin
g
money over Twitter
Sendin money over Reddit

22. What is Virtual Currency
• What is virtual currency?
• What is the connection between
virtual currency and gambling?
• Virtual currency as currency used in social gaming (Value of virtual
currency and virtual goods are generally restricted to virtual world) (E.g.
World of Warcraft Gold, Zynga poker chips)
• Virtual currency as electronic money (Form of alternative currency not
produced by any central banks) (E.g. Bitcoin)

23. Bitcoin
• Created by “Satoshi Nakamoto” – an anonymous or pseudonymous developer or
group of developers
• Debuted in 2009
• Used in peer-to-peer transactions in which participating parties recognize its value
• No central bank or clearing house, no financial regulator, not tied to any currency
• Bitcoin are stored and sent through e-wallets
• Traded/exchanged through online virtual currency exchanges (Mt. Gox, TradeHill)

24. Bitcoin (cont’d)
• Approximately 11 million Bitcoin have been mined, 21 million Bitcoin in total.
• “Miners” – supply Bitcoin network with computing power needed to maintain the
security of the block chain (a distributed technology that acts as Bitcoin’s ledger)
• Every single Bitcoin carries the entire history of the transactions it has undergone, and
any transfer from one owner to another becomes part of the code
• Bitcoin is stored in such a way that the new owner is the only person allowed to spend
it.
• Miners are rewarded with “blocks” of issued bitcoins (a “block” currently contains 25
bitcoins); this is how currency is issued
• Price of Bitcoin fluctuates wildly. As of April 23, 2013, 1 bitcoin is worth $130 USD

25. Bitcoin (cont’d)
Bitcoin/ $USD chart