Bitcoin and the Need for a Digital Currency

John R. Meese

John R. Meese

B.S. EconomicsMiddle Tennessee State University

Lifetime Member: Bitcoin Foundation

www.johnrmeese.com @JohnRMeese

The need for new money

We need money that is both...

Sound and Digital

Depreciation of the US Dollar

Fiat Money

Money without intrinsic value that is declared by government as legal tender.

We live in a digital world

● Business● Communication● News● Social life

● Finance?

U.S. Money Supply

M2= $10,989.2 Billion

Physical Currency= $1,153.3 Billion

Today’s Solution

Bitcoin is…● 100% Digital● Distributed● Deflationary● Open Source● Fast● Cheap● International● Secure

Bitcoin is… 100% Digital

Wallet ID:1FyjGyAPZN58viucU3qgHwwdYgXU5fVw4i

Physical Bitcoins by Casascius

Paper Bitcoin Wallets

Bitcoin is… Distributed

Bitcoin is… Deflationary

Today11,910,025 BTC

In 2140 A.D.20,999,999.9769 BTC

Bitcoin “Mining”❖ Blocks mined

every ~10 minutes

❖ Minors are paid by rewards & fees

❖ Without it network would not function

Bitcoin is… Open-Source

❖ Anyone can view the code

❖ Anyone can update the code

❖ All changes must be accepted by the community

Bitcoin is… Fast

8 times faster than top 500 Supercomputers Combined

Bitcoin is… Cheap

❖ Transactions are FREE

❖ Minimal fees may be added to tip miners

❖ Merchant fees are nonexistent

“Zero” transaction fees

Bitcoin is… International

Bitcoin is… Secure

❖ Public Transactions

❖ Private keys

❖ “Push”-only system

Bitcoin Price History: All Time

Bitcoin Price History: 1 Year

Bitcoin Price History: 6 Months

Market Capitalization

The Demise of the Silk Road❖ Dread Pirate

Roberts arrested

❖ Some dealers tracked down

❖ 515,000 BTC “seized”

The Demise of the Silk Road

Bitcoin Now

● 5 year anniversary

● 1 Bitcoin = $225

● 55,000 transactions per day

● 56% of all Bitcoins have been mined

For more information...

www.johnrmeese.com @JohnRMeese

➢ Visit trybtc.com

➢ Visit blockchain.info

➢ Check out the Bitcoin Magazine