How I quit my PhD and went full-time bitcoin
Not Dr. Ryan X. Charles Software Engineer
Exponential Hash Rate (2011) March 4, 2011
GH/s
January 3, 2009
Exponential Hash Rate (2014) March 4, 2014
GH/s
January 3, 2009
March 4, 2011
Exponential Price (2011)
Exponential Price (2014)
Why Bitcoin is Exploding
The Forces that Monetize Bitcoin 1. 2. 3. 4.
Intrinsic Value First-Mover Network Effect Self Se lf-I -Int nter eres estt of Bi Bitc tcoi oine ners rs
Intrinsic Value (1/4) ●
Internet Gold ○ ○
○
●
Fills a niche ○
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delocalized gold intangible currency with no trust requirement and a limited supply decentralized ledger with limited space Irreversible digital payments
Cool
First-Mover Advantage (2/4) ● ●
Bitcoin was first Altcoins are not sufficiently better to overcome bitcoin’s momentum
Network Effect (3/4) ● ●
Win/win The more people that use it, the better for all of us
Self-Interest of Bitcoiners (4/4) ●
All the problems are solvable ○ ○ ○ ○
● ●
pirateat40 ponzi scheme Mt. Gox bankruptcy blockchain forks (2010, 2013) hacked websites, stolen bitcoin
transaction malleability ...bumps in the road
Implications (1/2) ●
Robin Hanson’s “Economic Singularity” ○
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Bitcoin: ○ ○ ○
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Technology that significantly increases human productivity in a short period of time Technological innovation Encourages productivity Happens extremely rapidly (~10 years)
Bitcoin is the Economic Singularity
Implications (2/2) ●
New cryptofinancial system ○ ○ ○ ○
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Fiat currency collapse ○
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Bitcoin at the base Wallets (Bitcoin Core, blockchain.info, etc.) Payment processors (BitPay, Coinbase, etc.) ...etc. Dollars, euros, pesos, etc., gone
Short period of time, ~10 yr ○
Internet is already here - ideas spread faster
My Story
PhD
●
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Upper limit on TeV gamma-ray flux from dark matter annihilation in dwarf galaxies Wash U, 2007 - 2013
Interest
Why No PhD ●
Opportunity Cost ○ ○
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Bitcoin > PhD New industry
Academia Sucks ○ ○ ○
No jobs Low pay Giant bubble
PhD -> Panama -> BitPay
What I’m Doing
BitPay Open-Source
Bitcore Team ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Jeff Garzik Stephen Pair Juan Ignacio Sosa Lopez Manuel Aráoz Matias Alejo Garcia Mario Colque Gustavo Maximiliano Cortez Ryan X. Charles
HT: Stefan Thomas (bitcoin-js)
BitPay Argentina
Principles of Cryptofinance ●
Voluntary ○
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Decentralized ○
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Solve problems without threatening people Don’t have central points of failure
Open-source ○
Anybody can read, copy, extend
Goals ●
Privacy ○ ○
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Blockchain is public Leaks about your addresses can reveal private info
Security ○ ○ ○
Easy for keys to be stolen Malware Hacked websites
Privacy 1/4: Mixing ● ●
Put bitcoins into common pool Relies on central party
Privacy 2/4: CoinJoin ● ●
Mixes coins in single transaction Decentralized
Privacy 3/4: Merge Avoidance ●
Can extend payment protocol
Privacy 4/4: Stealth Addresses ● ●
Can share one public address Senders generate new addresses to send to
Privacy Summary ●
Need all four: ○ ○ ○ ○
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Mixing CoinJoin Merge Avoidance Stealth Addresses
...and more
Security 1/2: Server Has a Key ● ● ● ●
2-of-3 multisig Server keeps one key You keep one key Your friend keeps a key
Security 2/2: N-of-M Multisig ● ● ● ●
M people (say, a company) N required to sign All keys generated independently Maximum possible security ○ ○
Fundamentally better than physical storage Real cryptographic security - fundamentally better than non-crypto signatures
Security Summary ●
Need: ○ ○ ○
open-source software Signing services Key sharing protocols
Summary ●
Bitcoin is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ○ ○
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Bitcoin > PhD Do not be tempted by academia. Stay away.
Help build bitcore ○ ○ ○
Need better privacy Need better security github.com/bitpay
Voluntary, Decentralized, Open-Source
Ryan X. Charles Software Engineer
Extra Slides
Legacy Financial System ● ● ●
Fractional Reserve Banks (FRBs) Central Banks Fiat Currencies
Fractional Reserve Banks ●
Robin Hanson’s “Economic Singularity”:
Central Banks ●
Robin Hanson’s “Economic Singularity”:
Fiat Currencies ●
Robin Hanson’s “Economic Singularity”:
Cryptofinancial System ● ● ●
Cryptocurrencies Cryptofinancial software Services (processing, security, credit)
Cryptocurrencies ● ● ● ●
Bitcoin Litcoin Dogecoin etc.
Cryptocurrencies ● ● ● ●
Bitcoin Litcoin Dogecoin etc.
