CONTENTS

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Introduction.. Bitcoin Then and Now. Future.................. Significance ... Current Trends Opinion.....

3 4 5 6 7 9

INTRODUCTION
Bitcoin is an electronic cash system & digital currency introduced as open source software in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. A digital or virtual currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments. Bitcoin is a type of alternative currency known as a crypto currency, which uses cryptography for security, making it difficult to counterfeit. Bitcoin issuance and transactions are carried out collectively by the network, with no central authority. It is created by a process in which user can send & receive bitcoins using Wallet software on a personal computer, mobile device or any web application. Bitcoin can be gained in exchange for products, services or other currencies. Any transaction using bitcoins transfers ownership from one digital wallet address to another one using bitcoin mining. Mining is the process of providing synchronized & secure network system for transaction using computer & digital technology controlled by different Data Centers. The total number of Bitcoins that will be issued is capped at 21 million to ensure they are not devalued by limitless supply. They are divisible to 8 decimal places; Bitcoin fractions are called satoshis. Users store their Bitcoins in a digital wallet, while transactions are verified by a digital signature known as a public-encryption key

BITCOINS THEN AND NOW

The first mention of the concept of a crypto-currency allegedly found in 1998 by Wei Dai on the mailing list of Cypher Punks place and Bitcoin can trace its origins to the B-money proposal. The first bitcoin specification & proof of concept was published by a pseudonymous community called as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 in cryptography mailing list. The document, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System describes the early concepts behind Bitcoin and was preceded by the first release of the Bitcoin software. The Bitcoin project was registered on November 9, 2008. The Bitcoin network was launched on January 3, 2009 with the socalled Genesis block. Genesis block contains a reference to the media business by employees of the Central Bank of Britain. On February 9, 2011 and a few days later Bitcoin for about one U.S. dollar was traded in most exchange markets In October 2012, BitPay announced acceptance of bitcoin by over 1000 merchants under payment processing service. In February 2013, Bitcoin-based payment processor Coinbase reported selling of bitcoins worth of US$1 million in a single month. The value per bitcoin was over US$22. In April 2013, due to inefficient capacity payment processors like BitInstant & Mt.Gox experiences processing delays. For that reason bitcoin value drops radically from US$266 to US$76.

FUTURE
Bitcoins future was called into question this week due to the collapse of Mt Gox, which filed for bankruptcy in Japan on Friday. Mt Gox, one of the largest exchanges for the virtual currency, was the victim of either a security flaw or an inside job or a combination of both. Whatever the causes, nearly $500 million worth of bitcoins have disappeared into the virtual either, leaving clients of Mt Gox with little or no recourse to recoup their losses. Thats because Bitcoin, by design, is beyond any government control or regulatory oversight. Bitcoins is a payment innovation thats taking place outside the banking industry, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said during her Senate testimony. So the fed doesnt have authority to supervise or regulate bitcoin in any way. Other regulators, both in the US and abroad, have drawn similar conclusion; in the past, such statements have caused temporary fluctuations in bitcoin prices but generally cheered its libertarian advocates. But the crypto-currencys biggest draw for its supporters its lack of government oversight could now prove to be its undoing, or at least prevent it from going mainstream. Consumers who may have been curious about bitcoin before this week are now going to be very wary about making transactions or investments in the virtual currency.

SIGNIFICANCE
Payment Freedom Bitcoin allows users to have full control over the money because it is possible to send & receive any amount of money instantly anywhere in the world at a time without having trouble. Very low Transaction Fees Transaction of bitcoin charges much less fees than traditional PayPal or Credit Card networks. Bitcoin payments can be processed with either no fees or extremely low fees. Extra amount can be charged as a confirmation of faster transactions. The process includes Merchant Processors which assists merchants by converting bitcoins to authorized currency & depositing funds directly into merchants bank account daily. The result is lower fees & fewer administrative costs. Diminished Risks Bitcoin transactions are secure, irreversible & dont contain any personal information. This protects merchants from losses caused by fraud. So merchant can easily expand to new markets where either credit cards are not available for transaction or fraud rates are unacceptably high. Security & Control Bitcoin users always have full control over their transaction because it is impossible for merchants to force unwanted & unnoticed charges like traditional processes. It also protects users from identity theft. The user can even protect their money by backup & encryption codes. Transparent & Unbiased As bitcoin protocol is secured by cryptography there is nobodys control over the transaction. So no individual or organization can manipulate the data. All information about the transaction is readily available on block chain for user to verify & use in real time. This allows bitcoin to be trusted for being completely neutral, predictable & transparent.

CURRENT TRENDS
According to the current investors trends in bitcoin total no of 36 deals have been done globally through bitcoin investment & total amount invested is about $100 million.

The amount invested in different sectors of industry through bitcoin globally is

If we draw a pie chart about some countries were the major bitcoin transaction happened till date, it will look like

So, according to the bitcoin transaction & investment top 5 countries globally are USA following by Canada, China, UK & Singapore.

EXCHANGE RATE
According to 9th March, 2014 bitcoin exchange rate in different currency is: 1 Bitcoin = 619.88 US Dollar 446.15 Euro 369.55 British Pound 37,850.51 Indian Rupee 63,808.3 Japanese Yen 22,530.4 Russian Ruble 3796 Chinese Yuan

OPINION
Bitcoin really needs to be broken down into two areas: viability as a currency and as a trading vehicle. As a viable currency, Im excited and fearful for it. I love the thought of taking the power away from our government and the RBI ability to print money into infinity. On the dark side of it, Bitcoins can be used to hide large transactions from governments which really opens the door to black market activities. It's far too young for me to get involved in Bitcoin in my own life as I fear that global governments will try to shut it down as they will be losing billions in tax revenue if Bitcoin gets really big. As a trader, it offers some incredible opportunities. Price fluctuations have been all over the map recently. In the last 2 months Bitcoin has risen nearly 100%, prior to that it fell 55% in 2 months, in the last April it fell from 81% in 6 days! This volatility is incredible and, if youre on the right side of the trade, can be very profitable. The graph shows the trend in bitcoins transactions over the past two months.