ABSTRACT

This is an introductory presentation on bitcoins and how they work. Although there are a lot of research materials and related software programs freely available in the public domain, one needs to have a minimum level of IT and mathematical knowledge to understand the intricacies behind bitcoin protocols and its applications.

The first part of this presentation aims to show the audience how bitcoins are generated (mined) and how they can be transferred from one account to another over the peer-to-peer network. We will also explain how bitcoin transactions are signed and validated by the decentralized validation nodes.

In the second part of this presentation, we will look at the evolution of the bitcoin market over the last few years and its impact on the overall economy. Although there are conflicting views about virtual currencies and their implications, we will finish this presentation with potential hurdles (as part of the future research directions) that the bitcoin community has to overcome in order to promote the bitcoin as an alternative currency that can co-exist with the existing fiat currencies.

Sponsored by Westpac

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