Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency and payment system created in 2009 by the anonymous entity Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoins are created through a process called mining and stored electronically. While no single entity controls the Bitcoin network, transactions are verified by miners and recorded in a public ledger called the blockchain. Though still small, Bitcoin usage has grown with many companies now accepting it as a form of payment. However, Bitcoin also faces issues regarding its lack of backing, user protection, and volatility that raise questions about its long-term viability and future role in the global financial system.

1. INTRODUCTION
TO BITCOIN
Presented by AMADOU NIANE

2. What is Bitcoin?
• Bitcoin is an innovative payment
network and a new kind of money
(Satoshi, 2008).
• It is a protocol that is electronically
created and stored (Satoshi, 2008).
• Uses cryptography for security, which is
extremely difficult to counterfeit
(Satoshi, 2008).
• Facilitates electronic payments based on
mathematical proof and validation.
• Bitcoins are mined using computer
power in a distributed network.

3. What is Bitcoin? Cont.

4. Who created Bitcoin?
• Released in 2009 by a programmer using
the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto
(Goodman, 2016).
• Satoshi is Unknown

5. Why Bitcoin?
• Bitcoins can be used to buy merchandise
anonymously.
• International payments are easy and cheap
• No credit card fees.

6. Who controls the
Bitcoin network?
• Nobody owns the Bitcoin network
much like no one owns the
technology behind email or the
Internet.
• Bitcoin transactions are verified by
Bitcoin miners which has an entire
industry.

7. Bitcoin Characteristics
• Decentralized
• Open source
• Peer to peer
• Easy to use
• Unregulated (that is changing slowly)
• Anonymous yet Transparent
• Fast but irreversible transfers

8. Bitcoin an industry Trend
• Millennials and high income
consumers/believers are earlier
adopters
• 13% of millennials and 19% of high
income respondents use digital
currencies to make payments on a
weekly basis (Accenture, 2014).
• Usage is estimated to increase in
these two groups to 26% and 32%
respectively by 2020 (Accenture,
2014).
• Decline in payments using traditional
payment instruments (Accenture,
2014).
• This momentum is expected to
continue in the future

9. Political Analysis
• Not controlled by any government body.
• Vietnam and Taiwan banks barred from
accepting bitcoin.
• United States, Canada & EU considered Pro-
bitcoin (Bajpai, 2015).

10. Economical Analysis
• Market capitalization exceeds $6
billion- 0.008% of global GDP of $78
trillion (Chokun, 2018).
• 21 million bitcoins in existence today
and 17,271,638 in circulation (Source:
Blockchain.com)
• Too small to affect Federal government
ability to conduct monetary policy
• Over 88,000 merchants currently use
Bitcoin (Chokun, 2018).

11. Environmental Factors
• As demand grows, more
computational power required.
• Miners to find alternative source of
electricity- cheap coal in old plants.
• Cold countries (Sweden, Ireland and
Canada).

12. Legal Factors
• Decentralized nature of the coin
hinders any form of regulatory effort
• This is changing:
Countries such as Canada, U.S.A,
E.U are putting regulations in place

13. Companies accepting
Bitcoin
• Microsoft
• Overstock
• Newegg
• Dell
• PayPal
• Subway
• Shopify
• Expedia
(Chokun, 2018).

14. Whatothersthink
aboutBitcoin?
• “Bitcoin is unstoppable” Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-Founder
• “Bitcoin is a remarkable cryptographic
achievement and the ability to create
something that is not duplicable in the digital
world has an enormous value.” Eric Schmidt,
Former CEO of Google
• “Bitcoin is the beginning of something great: a currency
without a government, something necessary and imperative.
But I am not familiar with the specific product to assert
whether it is the best potential setup. And we need a long time
to establish confidence.” Nassim Taleb former trader and risk
analyst
• “If you are stupid enough to buy it, you will pay the price for
it today” Jamie Dimon CEO of JP Morgan Chase
(Rosulek, 2017).

15. Bitcoin vs Fiat money
• Digital
• Limited supply 21
millions
• Printed by computers
• Decentralized
• Physical
• Unlimited supply
• Issued by
government
• Centralized
Bitcoin Fiat

16. Bitcoin Key issues
• No one is backing it
• Users are not
protected
• It is not widely
accepted
• It is too volatile

17. Future in question
• No one knows
• Mostly unregulated
• Governments are concerned about
taxation and their lack of control

18. Recommendations
• Crypto-currency landscape is still
evolving and despite its issues and
challenges
• The bitcoin technology is in the stage
as the internet in the 1990s
• Bitcoin might not be the major Crypto-
currency of the future due to its
challenges and drawbacks
• The bitcoin open technology platform
is definitely leading the way towards a
more seamless digital global economy
• Invest what you can afford to lose

19. Questions