bitcoin: friend or foe? fad or the future?

Welcome to Today’s Webinar

The Expert Toolkit Series:Bitcoin: Friend or Foe? Fad or the Future?

Micheal Burch, CPA, CA, CFP Managing Partner – Welch LLP

mburch@welchllp.com

www.welchllp.com

@WelchLLP

Haseeb AwanCo-Founder of BitAccess Inc.

haseeb@bitaccess.co

www.bitaccess.co

@ahaseeba

Presenters

Jim McConnery, CPA, CA, TEPPartner – Welch LLP

jmcconnery@welchllp.com

www.welchllp.com

@WelchLLP

• What is it?

• Why was Bitcoin created?

• Essential elements

• How to mine Bitcoins

• Dependability

• Affect on currencies

• Mature enough as an investment?

• Who’s maintaining the scorecard?

• Resources

• Audience Q & A

What we will cover today

What’s the best way to describe Bitcoin?

• Digital currency

• Operates independently from a Central bank

• Payment network system is powered by all users

• Exchanged through sending to valid electronic addresses

• Minimal transaction fees

• Instant transactions

Why was Bitcoin created in the first place?

• Ease of transfer

• Anonymous form of

payment

• Not controlled by a

central authority

• Concept created by

Satoshi Nakamoto

What are the essential elements of

Bitcoin that our clients should

know about?

www.bitcoins.com

• Bitcoins are not tax exempt!

• Increasingly popular

currency among businesses

• Bitcoin money supply is

completely transparent

• Not the 1st digital currency.

Won’t be the last

How does one mine Bitcoins?

• Require software

with specialized

hardware within the

network

• Software solves

mathematical

problems based

on accuracy, miners

receive bitcoins in

exchange

Is Bitcoin dependable?

What about these stories we hear about

hundreds of thousands of dollars’

worth going missing?

• Sophisticated hackers can get a hold of the

private cryptographic key associated with

your digital wallet through attacking online

services that store the keys for many users

• There is still no great option for storing

digital currencies to ensure theft protection

Does this mark the demise of national currencies?

www.bitcoins.com

• Difficult to say at this

point

• Bitcoin is an example

of currency evolving

• Cheaper to produce

than paper & coins

Is it mature enough to be considered an investment?

• Still very volatile

• Bitcoin mining has

become exponentially

more difficult

• Market risk: value has

bounced up & down

considerably in the

past year

• Fraud risk

Who is maintaining the score card?

How do I know how much anybody has?

Is it verifiable?

• Maintained by all Bitcoin users around the world

• https://blockchain.info is a bitcoin transaction database &

displays how much bitcoin is in circulation

• Bitcoin uses private encryption keys to verify owners &

register transactions

What are the best articles you have

read/written on the subject?

• White papers on Bitcoin

• Bitcoin.org

Micheal Burch, CPA, CA, CFP Managing Partner – Welch LLP

mburch@welchllp.com

www.welchllp.com

@WelchLLP

Haseeb AwanCo-Founder of BitAccess Inc.

haseeb@bitaccess.co

www.bitaccess.co

@ahaseeba

Audience Q & A

Jim McConnery, CPA, CA, TEPPartner – Welch LLP

jmcconnery@welchllp.com

www.welchllp.com

@WelchLLP