Here is the description for a presentation Im giving this upcoming Wednesday 1/29/2014 for Terrapin Hackers Hacktorial series regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies! Bitcoin refers to the decentralized digital currency and payment system proposed in January 2009 by a mysterious Japanese programmer named Satoshi Nakamoto. It has been featured and widely discussed in the mainstream news, financial press, and across the World Wide Web in the past few months as a result of its increased adoption and recognition as a novel financial instrument. In just a few months, the BTC/USD currency pair has gone from less than $100 up to parity with an ounce of gold on December 14th, but has since fallen and stabilized as of 1/26/2014 to around $800 per Bitcoin. The Bitcoin protocol uses several cryptographic technologies, namely public-key cryptography, and as such, Bitcoin is referred to as a cryptocurrency. The idea of a digital monetary system is not new, but the implementation of the Bitcoin protocol is a brilliant synthesis of decades of research and work spanning the fields of computer science, mathematics, cryptography, and macroeconomics. This hacktorial covers a broad spectrum of topics for the purpose of appropriately acquainting the audience with the concepts needed to develop an understanding and appreciation of Bitcoin. We’ll start by asking “why is money useful?” and answering the question by exploring the problems with a barter economy. We will then segue into a discussion about the properties of money and how fiat currency came about, and the reasoning behind the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. We’ll explore the pros and cons of such a centralized banking system, and then we will design a simplified cryptocurrency called Terpcoin, and slowly demonstrate the failings of such a currency, adding features needed to deal with the various problems that come up along the way (such as double-spending and the possibility of forging transaction), slowly building up increasing layers of complexity until it has most of the primary features of Bitcoin. Instead of a top-down description of Bitcoin, we will develop it ourselves from the bottom up! We will have developed an in-depth and fundamental understanding of the features of Terpcoin, finally extending it to incorporate all the important features of Bitcoin, demonstrating why these added complexities are needed to solve the numerous issues that plagued previous efforts in creating a digital cash system. We will shift gears and then move into a practical tutorial on obtaining and securing your bitcoins, as well as highlighting the differences between the various “families” of cryptocurrencies that currently exist, and conclude with an open ended exploration of the possible future of cryptocurrencies in a world of increasing financial regulation. Questions will be answered as they come up throughout the hacktorial, time permitting, and I will be happy to stay afterward to answer any questions individually. At the end of the hacktorial, those who are particularly interested in learning more about cryptocurrencies will be given an opportunity to join the Maryland Cryptocurrency Consortium (MCC) mailing list, an interest and advocacy group for those who wish to discuss, philosophize, and meet other like-minded individuals involved in this fascinating new development that intersects informatics, cryptology, programming, and financial economics. MCC was founded over winter break and we are actively seeking motivated and passionate members to fill an array of roles in its organizational structure, and have very big plans for the future! Definitely come on Wednesday 1/29/2014 at 6:00pm, you’ll have a blast ☺ Description by Arthur Collé Sophie Kaltoum Jennifer Victoria Josh Ashwin Naveed Aboli Sean Ian Bori Ryan Ryan Alex
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 07:37:34 +0000
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