Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
About the Author xv
Chapter 1 Bitcoin Is a Bubble 1
The Quest to Buy Bitcoin 3
Bitcoin Enlightenment 6
Currencies Are a Matter of Trust 8
What Is Bitcoin? 10
Is It a Currency? 13
It’s Revolutionary 17
Chapter 2 Understanding the Digital Gold Rush 19
The Language of Bitcoin 22
How Do I Buy Bitcoin? 26
Who “Gets” It? 30
The Gold Rush Is Just Starting 31
Chapter 3 Bitcoin Is More than Digital Gold 33
Searching for Satoshi 34
The Search 37
Why Is Satoshi a Genius? 44
Bigger than Satoshi 46
Chapter 4 Byzantine Generals’ Problem 49
How Does Bitcoin Solve the BGP? 52
51 Percent Attack 55
An Elegant Solution 57
Chapter 5 A Decentralized Financial System 59
Grand De-Central Station 63
What’s at Stake? 69
Central Banks 72
Bitcoin Is the Catalyst 73
Chapter 6 What Do You Call a Bitcoin Miner? A Banker 75
How Does a Bitcoin Transaction Work? 77
What Is Cryptography? 78
Still Want to Be a Miner? 82
Do We Need Another Bitcoin? 88
Chapter 7 Nautiluscoin—0 to $1 Million in 60 Days 91
Creating the Coin 94
Did It Work? 104
Chapter 8 Building the Nautiluscoin Economy 107
Dynamic Proof-of-Stake 110
Other Policy Tools 113
Alternative to Gold 115
Money, Made Better 116
Financial Market Integration 117
Special Drawing Rights 119
Why NAUT? 119
Chapter 9 Investing and Trading in Alternative Currencies 121
A New Investment Class 123
Valuation 129
Exchanges 133
Investment Vehicles 134
Asset Class Growth 136
Chapter 10 Regulation 139
Regulatory Agencies 140
Challenges to Regulation 147
Pushing on a String 147
Chapter 11 Smart Money: Set It and Forget It 149
Rules of the Road 151
Smart Contracts and Property 152
Ethereum 155
Cryptoequities: A New Type of Investment 160
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations 161
Professor Money 162
Chapter 12 Everything You Know about Business Is Wrong 163
Cryptonomics 166
Growth Share Matrix 169
Learning Curve Effects 171
Porter’s Three Generic Strategies 172
Human Resource Management 173
Fueling the Sharing Economy 174
The Future Just Might Work 176
Appendix 1 Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Guidance
FIN-20 13-G00 1 Issued: March 18, 2013
Subject: Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to Persons
Administering, Exchanging, or Using Virtual Currencies 179
Currency vs. Virtual Currency 180
Background 180
Definitions of User, Exchanger, and Administrator 181
Users of Virtual Currency 181
Administrators and Exchangers of Virtual Currency 182
Providers and Sellers of Prepaid Access 185
Dealers in Foreign Exchange 186
Appendix 2 New York State Department of Financial Services Proposed New York Codes, Rules
and Regulations
Title 23. Department of Financial Services
Chapter I. Regulations of the Superintendent of Financial Services
Part 200. Virtual Currencies 187
Section 200.1 Introduction 188
Section 200.2 Definitions 188
Section 200.3 License 190
Section 200.4 Application 191
Section 200.5 Application Fees 193
Section 200.6 Action by Superintendent 193
Section 200.7 Compliance 195
Section 200.8 Capital Requirements 196
Section 200.9 Custody and Protection of
Customer Assets 197
Section 200.10 Material Change to Business 197
Section 200.11 Change of Control; Mergers and
Acquisitions 198
Section 200.12 Books and Records 200
Section 200.13 Examinations 201
Section 200.14 Reports and Financial Disclosures 202
Section 200.15 Anti–Money Laundering Program 203
Section 200.16 Cyber Security Program 207
Section 200.17 Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery 210
Section 200.18 Advertising and Marketing 211
Section 200.19 Consumer Protection 212
Section 200.20 Complaints 215
Section 200.21 Transitional Period 215
Index 217
