Bitcoin

Information event
Name
P2P.Gent Bitcoin meetup (51) Presentations!

Type event
Seminar & networking/socializing event

Date
November 16, 2016
7.30 PM 10.30 PM

Amount of networking time

From 10.00 PM 10.30 PM (30 minutes)

Description event
This event starts with several presentations about bitcoins and is organized once
every six weeks. Everyone interested in P2P-technology, Bitcoin, and
cryptocurrencies in general are welcome at the event. Whether it is for networking
or just socializing (P2P.Gent - Bitcoin meetup (51) - Presentations!, n.d.). The
organization wishes to teach people about Bitcoin and give them the opportunity to
show their personal projects.

After the presentation there is a time provided for networking or socializing with
other attendants.

The schedule looks as following:

7.30 Start meetup

PM
8.00 Bitcoin for beginners: What is bitcoin?
PM
8.40 How to use Bitcoin (small groups)
PM
9.00 Bitcoin ideology & use cases
PM
9.20 Bitcoin & anonymity
PM
9.40 Group discussion on cryptocurrency
PM related news
10.00 Networking/socializing
PM

Speakers
Michail Mikhaylov
Mike Roseel

Ideology
1. Bitcoin cuts out the middleman (intermediary)
- No bank needed in between you and your payment
- Straight from payer to receiver

2. Government no longer controls population

- No longer have to ask permission to use your money
- Bitcoin knows that in 2040 there will be a total of +/- 21 000 000
o Based on calculations
o Banks can keep printing money and influence value of currency that
way

3. With bitcoin you are sure that the money stays yours
- In times of crisis, the bank can decide to keep your money in the bank
(E.g. Greece)
- With bitcoin this can never happen
o No can freeze your bank account

P2P
- Peer to peer company
o No more intermediary

Bitcoin
Bitcoin is an electronic solution to irreversibly transfer the right to property without
using a third party.
- 7 years old
- One way street when transaction occurred, there is no way they can
trace back your password based on the transaction (blockchain system)

Bitcoin is:
- Currency
- Permission
o Without middleman
- Proving ownership of land titles
- Time stamping of documents unchangeable
Bitcoin is like an online currency (since 7 years ago)
Block chain system
- After every transaction another block gets added to the chain
o Makes corrections impossible

Installation
- Install a wallet on mobile (coinmap.org shows which ones)
- Buy bitcoins
- Store bitcoins
o 3 ways
Smartphone
For small amounts
o When phone is stolen, money is stolen (unless
backed up)
With QR code
Paper wallet
For bigger amount
With 2 QR codes
o 1 for receiving & 1 for paying
o When scanned the wrong one, person can steal
are your money and refuse to reimburse.
Hard ware wallet
For large amount

Summary

Bitcoin is a seven-year-old cryptocurrency, with an unknown inventor. The reason

the founder wants to remain anonymous, can be explained be the ideology behind
bitcoins, which exists out of three independent aspects. First it cuts out the
middleman, a bank is no longer needed to transfer money. Which leads to the
second aspect, taking the controlling power away from the government. You no
longer have to ask permission about what you can do, but just do what you want
e.g. buy drugs. The last aspect of the ideology is being assured the money stays
yours in times of crisis. The bank will never be able to leave you without any money
as happened in Greece.
In order to purchase bitcoin, you first need to install a wallet on your phone or
laptop, followed by exchanging money for bitcoins. The website www.bitcoin.com
tells you which wallet is best for your needs. The transactions happen in a block
chain system: whenever a transaction occurs, anywhere in the world, a block is put
on top of all the other blocks (transactions). This means, transactions are
irreversible.
For the course E-skills, we were required to do research on one internet related
subject and make an informative video about it. That is the reason why I attended
this event. I found it a very interesting evening and learned a lot about bitcoin.
Although the other attendees were big fans and believed this was the answer to
everything that is wrong with this world, I still have some concerns about the
implementation.