Staunton - Bit by Bit: Bitcoin For Beginners Who Live In The Real World

What if I told you that you could make $20,000 simply by holding up a sign at a college football game? What if I told you that someone once paid $40,000 for two pizzas with a currency he mined on the Internet? Or would you believe me if I told you about a guy who forgot about a $27 investment he made in 2009 only to remember it in 2013 and find out it was worth $889,000? All of the above, strange as they may seem to you and me, are perfectly normal in the world of Bitcoin.

Welcome and thank you for purchasing Bit by Bit: Bitcoin For Beginners Who Live In The Real World . What do I mean when I say For Beginners Who Live In The Real World? There are a lot of books out there that claim to show you how to become a Bitcoin millionaire by trading in Bitcoin, mining Bitcoin (more on this later) or holding it as a store of value like gold. This isnt one of those books. Bitcoin can be used to purchase real world items such as flights or electronics, so to a certain extent it is money and as most of us know, there is no get rich quick scheme when it comes to money and Bitcoin is no different.

This book is an introduction to Bitcoin the digital currency. The chances that you have not heard about Bitcoin are slim. Since its introduction in 2009 it has courted controversy just as much as it has praise. It has been hailed as the answer to the global financial crisis and condemned as nothing more than a ponzi scheme. Bit by Bit is for you if:

• Lately you have been reading a lot about Bitcoin and you want to know more
• Youre a merchant who is thinking of using Bitcoin in their online or offline business
• Youve heard that Bitcoin can make you rich and you want to learn all you can before you embark on a career in Bitcoin
• You live in a developing country, you send money from abroad to friends or family in a developing country and you are interested in Bitcoins low costs and ease of use
• Youre a developer who is interested in getting in on the ground floor of the next big thing

Before we jump down the Bitcoin rabbit whole let me give you a brief introduction to your author. Firstly Im a technology entrepreneur. Three years ago I started my own software company, which develops software for property and financial institutions to help them manage their property portfolios.

I have taken Propertygate from the startup stage, to the early company stage; to the investment stage and now we are in the growth stage selling our software to whoever needs it both at home in Ireland and across the globe.

Almost everyday I come in to contact with some of the largest banks and financial institutions in the world as we sell them our software. And what Ive come to realize when dealing with organizations of enormous size and complexity is that they do not like change. It doesnt matter if this change is brought upon them by sheer necessity or brute force from upper management, whatever the reason for it, one thing is clear, its going to be slow and painful.

Bitcoin and its underlying technology, block chain, is one of the most disruptive technologies to have ever been developed. It has the potential to help entrepreneurs create new and innovative products in areas as diverse as money donations to property transactions. But not only is Bitcoin an opportunity for creation it can also help empower those in developing countries previously locked out of modern financial systems.

Bitcoin has the potential to be one of the biggest drivers of change in the past century and the reason I talk about my experience with change is to show you that I know it. I know how to explain it, manage it and implement it which gives me an excellent perspective to explain Bitcoin to you.

What is Bitcoin, what are crypto-currencies? How do we make Bitcoin? How do we spend it? Is it safe? Or, is it used only by people who dont want to be found, like those on the now defunct, Silk Road?

Two years ago if you had asked me any of these questions I would not have known how to answer you. Then twelve months ago a friend said to me that Bitcoin, a new kind of money, was going to revolutionize money, banking and finance the world over, its the next big thing he said. Developing a product that is aimed at financial institutions across the globe, I am always keen to learn more about new and disruptive technologies in the space.

In this book I am going to answer all of these questions and more. I have researched Bitcoin from the perspective of the individual who simply wants to know about it and perhaps get some bitcoins and make some purchases. Ive looked at Bitcoin from the merchants perspective that wants to start accepting Bitcoin for goods so that she can take advantage of its low fees. And of course being an entrepreneur Ive looked at Bitcoin from this perspective as well, exploring the current opportunities and the future disruption it may bring.