Bitcoin became a buzzword overnight. A cyber-enigma with an enthusiastic following, it pops up in headlines and fuels endless media debate. You can apparently use it to buy anything from coffee to cars, yet few people seem to truly understand what it is. This raises the question: Why should anyone care about bitcoin? In The Age of Cryptocurrency, Wall Street journalists Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey deliver the definitive answer to this question. Cybermoney is poised to launch a revolution, one that could reinvent traditional financial and social structures whilebringing the world's billions of unbanked individuals into a new global economy. Cryptocurrencyholds the promise of a financial system without a middleman, one owned by the people who use it and one safeguarded from the devastation of a 2008-type crash. But bitcoin, the most famous of the cybermonies,carries a reputation for instability, wild fluctuation, and illicit business; some fear it has the power to eliminate jobs and to upend the concept of a nation-state. It implies, above all, monumental and wide-reaching changefor better and for worse. But it is here to stay, and you ignore it at your peril. Vigna and Casey demystify cryptocurrencyits origins, its function, and what you need to know to navigatea cyber-economy. The digital currency world will look very different from the paper currency world; The Age of Cryptocurrency will teach you how to be ready.
The appearance of bitcoin is the beginning of a new era in which advanced technological capabili- ties have changed the perspective on the financial system's functioning rules and have expanded the understanding of the category of money. Bitcoin is used in commercial transactions, transfers and as an investment asset. The establishment of bitcoin is a part of the movement away from cash transactions and the general acceptance of non-material form of money observed around the world. The aim of the study is to analyse the bitcoin cryptocurrency in the scope of the fulfilment of the definition criteria and functions of money formulated in an economic theory, and to present the current legal situation in selected countries relating with its functioning.
Bitcoin, new digital money, recently got into focus. It uses P2P interaction where each owner transfers the electronic coin to the next owner signing and adding to the end of the coin a hash of the previous transaction and the public key of the next owner. Payment verification is accomplished by notifying the entire network about the transaction. This prevents double-spending and avoids the generation of nonexistent money. Personal information between parties in the transaction are not transferred. Unlike completely anonymous transaction, the
Sidecoin is a mechanism that allows a snapshot to be taken of Bitcoin's blockchain. We compile a list of Bitcoin's unspent transaction outputs, then use these outputs and their corresponding balances to bootstrap a new blockchain. This allows the preservation of Bitcoin's economic state in the context of a new blockchain, which may provide new features and technical innovations.
Augur is a trustless, decentralized platform for prediction markets. It is an extension of Bitcoin Core's source code which preserves as much of Bitcoin's proven code and security as possible. Each feature required for prediction markets is constructed from Bitcoin's input/output-style transactions.
ECDSA has become a popular choice as lightweight alternative to RSA and classic DL based signature algorithms in recent years. As standardized, the signature produced by ECDSA for a pair of a message and a key is not deterministic. This work shows how this non-deterministic choice can be exploited by an attacker to leak private information through the signature without any side channels, an attack first discovered by Young and Yung for classic DL-based cryptosystems in 1997, and how this attack affects the application of ECDSA in the Bitcoin protocol.
Tehniskās attīstības rezultātā mums ir iespēja izvēlēties izdevīgākus, ērtākus un drošākus norēķinu veidus. Tomēr esošais normatīvais regulējums nespēj aptvert visus jaunus institūtus. Līdz ar to daudzās jomās, tostarp nodokļu, rodas neskaidrības par tiesību normu piemērošanu.\nSamērā jauna virtuālā valūta bitcoin var tikt izmantota darījumos kā maksāšanas līdzeklis. Tā nodrošina iespēju veikt transakcijas ātri un izdevīgi, vienlaicīgi pasargājot savas sistēmas lietotājus no konfidenciālās informācijas izpaušanas trešajām personām. Diemžēl ES līmeni nav specifiska regulējuma attiecībā uz virtuālajām valūtām. Tajā pašā laikā bitcoin tiesiskais statuss ir izšķirošs PVN piemērošanā darījumiem, kur tie ir izvēlēti par maksāšanas līdzekli.\nAutors analizēja gan esošu ES regulējumu PVN un finanšu tirgus jomā, gan 20 ES dalībvalstu oficiālo nostāju, gan doktrīnā paustas atziņās par virtuālo valūtu. Tādā veidā tika iegūts pilns priekšstats par bitcoin tiesisko statusu. Analīzes rezultāti ļāva izdarīt pamatotus secinājumus par esošā regulējuma piemērošanas iespējam un par nepieciešamību pēc jauna regulējuma ES līmenī.
The English version of this paper can be found at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2709713 Italian Abstract: La tecnologia fondamentale del protocollo Bitcoin, conosciuta come blockchain, è emersa recentemente in tutta la sua straordinaria portata innovativa, teoricamente in grado di riconfigurare le nostre attuali interazioni economiche, politiche e sociali. Sebbene l'interesse accademico per questa tecnologia sia ormai crescente, finora non è stata ancora divulgata un'analisi esaustiva delle sue applicazioni dal punto di vista politologico. Questa ricerca si propone di discutere i punti essenziali di una governance decentralizzata fondata sulla blockchain, che sfida in varia misura i meccanismi tradizionali della autorità statale, della cittadinanza e della democrazia. In particolare, la ricerca si pone l'obiettivo di verificare la performance della blockchain e delle piattaforme decentralizzate come strumenti iperpolitici, in grado cioè di gestire interazioni sociali su ampia scala e di destituire eventualmente le autorità centrali tradizionali. L'analisi evidenzia i rischi relativi a posizioni dominanti di natura privatistica negli ecosistemi distribuiti, che potrebbero spogliare i cittadini dei loro diritti e permettere l'insorgere di una società globale senza stato. Se gli utopisti tecnologici sollecitano la destituzione di qualsiasi autorità centrale, questa ricerca difende invece il ruolo dello Stato come necessario punto di coordinazione nella società civile e dimostra come la decentralizzazione attuata attraverso algoritmi e sistemi di consenso distribuito costituisca una teoria organizzativa, non una teoria politica autonoma. English Abstract: The core technology of Bitcoin, the blockchain, has recently emerged as a disruptive innovation with a wide range of applications, potentially able to redesign our interactions in business, politics and society at large. Although scholarly interest in this subject is growing, a comprehensive analysis of blockchain applications from a political perspective is severely lacking to date. This paper aims to fill this gap and it discusses the key points of blockchain-based decentralized governance, which challenges to varying degrees the traditional mechanisms of State authority, citizenship and democracy. In particular, the paper verifies to which extent blockchain and decentralized platforms can be considered as hyper-political tools, capable to manage social interactions on large scale and dismiss traditional central authorities. The analysis highlights risks related to a dominant position of private powers in distributed ecosystems, which may lead to a general disempowerment of citizens and to the emergence of a stateless global society. While technological utopians urge the demise of any centralized institution, this paper advocates the role of the State as a necessary central point of coordination in society, showing that decentralization through algorithm-based consensus is an organizational theory, not a stand-alone political theory.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency based on the P2P network. Because of decentralization, anonymity, stability and other advantages, Bitcoin develops rapidly. In order to cope with increasingly wide application fields of bitcoin, this research designs bitcoin's payment based on the IC card, which improves its safety and convenience. According to Bitcoin's unique utilization, we've designed and achieved the documental structure of Bitcoin IC card and mutual authentication between PSAM card and IC card. With the combination of IC card private key and user's private key leading to account's private key, it will be safer to private key. Besides using merge-avoidance algorithm when trading improves the security of the account.
Oppgaven analyserer noen sentrale skatterettslige sider ved bruk av BitCoin etter norsk rett. Problemstillingene vil også ha relevans for andre kryptovalutaer såfremt de fungerer på samme måte.
Given that the global crisis is a cyclical phenomenon that directly affects the company's existence, this adaptation is a condition more than necessary to carry out an activity in a reliable way. Adaptation involves choosing innovative solutions that can withstand market in the current context, as the use of virtual currency Bitcoin as an alternative method in order to remove barriers, given that Bitcoin, a virtual currency created six years ago is not supported or controlled by any government or central bank and is freely traded, fluctuating depending on demand.
In dit artikel worden de mogelijke gevolgen belicht van de introductie van nieuwe en bestaande toepassingen van Bitcoin-technologie. De transnationale, decentrale en gedistribueerde peer-to-peer-structuur van de Bitcoin-technologie en van nieuwe toepassingen hiervan, hebben de potentie om bestaande sociale relaties en instituties te ontregelen. Het krachtenveld waarin maatschappelijke actoren staan kan hierdoor uit balans worden gebracht. De meest radicale van deze nieuwe technologieën is Ethereum. Met name het concept van de Digital Autonomous Organisation (DOA) heeft mogelijkerwijs verregaande consequenties. Ethereum is een ‘contract validating and enforcing system’, een gedistribueerd systeem dat een platform biedt voor autonome computerprogramma’s die in staat zijn om zelfstandig overeenkomsten met rechtspersonen en andere DOA’s aan te gaan en te ontbinden. Ik richt mij op de mogelijkheden van deze toepassingen als nieuwe platformen voor International Financial (Cyber) Crime.
Tässä opinnäytetyössä tutkittiin bitcoin virtuaalivaluuttaa, mitä bitcoin on ja kuinka se toimii. Työssä virtuaalivaluuttaa verrataan perinteisiin fiat-valuuttoihin ja pohditaan, millä tavoin bitcoin eroaa tavallisista valuutoista. Työn tutkimuskysymyksiä olivat bitcoinin käytön edut ja haitat, toimivuus maksuvälineenä sekä bitcoinin tulevaisuuden näkymien pohtiminen. Työssä tutkittiin myös, täyttääkö bitcoin rahan määritelmän vai onko se vain hyödyke. \n \nOpinnäytetyön teoriaosuus pohjatuu pääasiassa ajankohtaisiin artikkeleihin ja uutisiin sekä muutamiin bitcoinia käsitteleviin kirjoihin. Aihe rajattiin virtuaalivaluutoista vain bitcoiniin. Työssä ei perehdytä syvemmin bitcoinin teknisiin ominaisuuksiin, koska niihin perehtyminen vaatisi niin lukijalta, kuin kirjoittajalta enemmän tietoteknistä tietämystä. \n \nTutkimuksen tuloksissa todettiin, ettei bitcoin vielä aivan täysin täytä valuutan määritelmiä, eikä siitä nykyisessä muodossaan ole korvaamaan perinteisiä fiat-valuuttoja. Bitcoinin käyttö maksuvälineenä joka tapauksessa yleistyy ja käyttäjäkunta kasvaa. Toisaalta on kuitenkin vielä mahdoton sanoa tuleeko bitcoin kasvamaan merkittäväksi valuutaksi fiat-valuuttojen rinnalle, vai jääkö se pienen yleisön maksuvälineeksi.
Italian Abstract: Il tema di questo articolo richiama volutamente la definizione di analisi sequenziale propria delle scienze statistiche, nel cui ambito si procede formando un campione rappresentativo senza determinarne a priori l’ampiezza o la numerosità, che dipenderanno dai risultati ottenuti col progredire dell’osservazione o dell’esperimento. La ragione di questa scelta dipende dalla natura stessa del tema esaminato: si tratta di una materia nuova, in continua metamorfosi degli effetti, al punto da rendere particolarmente difficoltosa la determinazione astratta del campione di studio. Le ragioni storiche ed economiche che, nel tempo, hanno portato alla programmazione del protocollo Bitcoin conoscono oggi un'interessante fase evolutiva negli algoritmi di criptazione per l'identificazione di dati e il trasferimento di diritti, un sistema che presenta risvolti giuridici degni di nota. English Abstract: The theme of this paper is, on purpose, recalling the definition of sequential analysis typical of Statistics where the analysis goes on forming a representative sample with no predetermination of its magnitude or numerical amount, which will depend on the result gained as the observation or the experiment are going by. The reason for this choice is depending on the very nature of the topic we aim to analyse: a new subject matter, which effect are keeping on changing, thus making quite difficult the sample abstract determination. The historical reasons that, over time, have led to the Bitcoin protocol development are nowadays having an interesting implement in the encrypting algorithm for data identification and goods transferring, a system with remarkable legal effects.
Virtual currencies and mobile banking are technology advancements that are receiving increased attention in the global community because of their accessibility, convenience and speed. However, this popularity comes with growing security concerns, like increasing frequency of identity theft, leading to bigger problems which put user anonymity at risk. One possible solution for these problems is using cryptography to enhance security of Bitcoin or other decentralised digital currency systems and to decrease frequency of attacks on either communication channels or system storage. This report outlines various methods and solutions targeting these issues and aims to understand their effectiveness. It also describes Secure Bitcoin Wallet, standard Bitcoin transactions client, enhanced with various security features and services.
Bitcoin is the first and most successful digital currency in the world. It polarizes the news almost daily, with either glowing reviews of the many benefits of an alternative and international currency, or doomsday predictions of anarchy, deflation, and another tulip bubble.\nThis article focuses on the truly innovative aspect of Bitcoin - and that which has gone mostly unnoticed since its inception - the technological platform used to transfer Bitcoin from one party to another. This technology is called the Blockchain. The Blockchain eschews a bank or other intermediary and allows parties to transfer funds directly to one another, using a peer-to-peer system. This disruptive technology has done for money transfers what email did for sending mail - by removing the need for a trusted third party just as email removed the need for using the post office to send mail.\nIf this technology can be used for peer-to-peer money transfers, why not extend the technology to accomplish other forms of transfers? Imagine selling a house or buying a car peer-to-peer. What about using the Blockchain technology to buy and sell stocks? Stocks exchanged completely peer-to-peer could resolve many of the issues facing the stock market today, including high frequency trading and short sales. This article develops a peer-to-peer stock market system, the legal implications of such a system, and how this system will fit in with current legislation and regulation.
Anti-Money Laundering is a set of rules and guidelines designed and agreed among countries to use as standard policies and framework in establishing their domestic laws on prevention and suppression of money laundering activities. The expansion of the financial sector and businesses brings about the continuous development of innovative and new financial instruments to facilitate the businesses. In parallel with this development, criminals also take advantages of the unfamiliarity to the newly developed innovation and create new money laundering methods. In this circumstance, and whilst the financial sector is a foundation of the national economic, the government and relevant state authorities have to monitor closely and supervise such new innovations.Among other innovations, virtual currency is created to facilitate financial transactions. It was found that virtual currency is the new financial innovation and also the system that used to connect with the customers through the online network via the internet. The key points of this currency are the description of it which are anonymous account and the system used in the transaction which is the peer-to-peer or blockchain connection system. These features are different from the standard financial instruments such as fiat currencies, financial institution, bank and non-bank business.The virtual currency is considerably new in Thailand. To date, the laws have not been developed to effectively govern the transactions using the said virtual currency. Exchangers, administrators, and users of the virtual currency are not within the scope of governance of the Anti-Money Laundering Act; nor are they subject to any other regulations. That is to say, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, including rules, regulations and guidelines established thereunder, only regulates performances of financial institutions and some other businesses as specifically determined. In other words, obligations and requirements under the Anti-Money Laundering laws do not apply to the virtual currency transactions and/or the involving parties. Thus, there are certain loopholes for some criminals to use the virtual currency instead of money in various financial transactions to avoid detection by the state authorities. Lacking of government supervision in this part leads to a new risk of money laundering through the virtual currency. This thesis studies the Anti-Money Laundering processes in the United States in comparison with those in Thailand, specifically focussing on the issues of money laundering using a kind of virtual currency: Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the most prevalent kind of virtual currency and is addressed widely and extensively in US laws, regulations and court judgments. Those laws can be useful guidelines for Thailand to develop its appropriate solutions for the problem of money laundering through the virtual currency. The key preventive measures under the Anti-Money Laundering Act are customers profile verification and transactions monitoring and recording. These measures are the essential procedures to control and monitor transactions to reduce the risk of money laundering. Also, it can also examine the suspicious transactions or suspect profiles of each customer. These methods could apply to the virtual currency and their relating business for supervision and manage the risk of money laundering as same as the other financial business under the Anti-Money Laundering law and regulation.
The emerging digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin has made waves in mainstream media across the globe, as have the numerous extreme events that have rocked it. One such event, the bankruptcy of a prominent Bitcoin exchange called Mt.Gox, particularly shocked the emerging sociotechnical field. However, it is not clear how the numerous entrepreneurial firms operating in this field survived this shock. \\ \\ Studies of resilience in the face of extreme events have typically examined mature firms, characterised by formal structures and some slack resources. In such studies, the resilience, adaptability and trans-formability of the firm come into view. A new firm in an emergent field, however, is equally driven to survive â but must do so with far more limited resources, without a formal structure and little in the way of organisational learning. In our study, we find that such entrepreneurial firms rely on their col-lective identity in forming resilient responses. Furthermore, one outcome of this shock was a call for regulations and oversight â despite earlier dogmatic rejections of such formal control. \\ \\ Keywords: Bitcoin, Entrepreneurship, Resilience, Extreme Event, Qualitative Study \\