2012-02-21 Bitcoin will revolutionize how Africans transact

http://mobilemoneyafrica.com/bitcoin-will-revolutionize-how-africans-transact-rudiger-koch/

Rudiger Koch, IT Consultant,Intersango Ltd, London.
He will be speaking on Bitcoin at the MobileMoney WestAfrica summit on March 5th & 6th in Lagos.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a decentralized electronic cash system using peer-to-peer networking, digital signatures and cryptographic proof to enable irreversible payments between parties without relying on trust. It is also the name of Satoshi Nakamoto’s implementation of the Bitcoin protocol (aka Satoshi client), which is released under the MIT license.

How is it different from other means of transfer or exchanges?

There is no central clearinghouse and no company or other entity owns the Bitcoin network – it is completely decentralized. To appreciate the magnitude of this, one has to consider that experts deemed it impossible to solve the “double spending problem” without a trusted entity until the release of Nakamoto’s seminal paper. Hence there is no possibility that Bitcoin can fail because some organization fails. No entitiy can inflate Bitcoin. Bitcoin is here to stay.

Bitcoin is completely open and because of that it enables business in ways proprietary solutions can’t. For example, there are no vendor lock-in and royalties. In a way, Bitcoin compares to proprietary solutions like the Internet compared to proprietary networks like Compuserve or AOL in the early ’90s.

Does it work globally?

Bitcoin works wherever there is full access to the Internet. It may also work where access is limited or through gateways or proxies like mobile phone network providers usually offer. Currently Bitcoin is limited to Smartphones, pads and PCs, but we’re working to bring it to low cost cell phones.

How can it benefit Africans?

Bitcoin offers Africans multiple and unique ways to lower or even remove the digital divide. There is more to Bitcoin than just reliable, cheap and very fast transfers to and from anywhere in the world. At a certain adoption rate of Bitcoin, network effects will ensure that it will dominate world wide online payments. If Africans are quick enough to act, they can put themselves into the driver’s seat of that development and play a similar role in the Bitcoin network as the USA is playing in the Internet.

How is Intersango different from other Bitcoin Exchanges out there?

Intersango is the market leader of Western European exchanges. It has it’s own implementation of the Bitcoin protocol, libbitcoin, and participates actively in the definition of future Bitcoin standards.

The security of Bitcoin?

The security of the Bitcoin network has never been breached. As so often, the weak point is the user. The ironclad principle that Bitcoin transactions are irreversible can turn against a user if the wallet gets stolen or is lost and there is no backup. A user has to follow certain principles as with their physical wallet, such as not carrying around a lot of cash in their day to day use wallet, say, on a mobile phone, but storing large amounts with banks or in offline wallets.

More about the management of Intersango?

Donald Norman is CEO. He teamed up with Amir Taaki in April 2011 and has been the organizational force of the group. He has made Bitcoin Consultancy into the most trusted bitcoin operators and has become an advocate of bitcoin outside the community.

Patrick Strateman as CTO with a speciality in IT security, has led the way building up Intersango over the course of 3 months.
Amir Taaki developed the original inspiration for Intersango, a site named Britcoin to bring bitcoin to the UK. Additionally, he is heavily involved with developing bitcoin and is the maintainer of libbitcoin. Amir has been a big contributor to the bitcoin community since its early days of a $0.06 exchange rate. He has been developing free software fulltime for 10 years.

What should Africans expect from Intersango in coming months and years?

As a Bitcoin exchange, we are interested in wider Bitcoin adoption. Expanding Bitcoin based trade between Europe and Africa will expand our business. We will therefore continue to advocate Bitcoin in Africa because it is Africans who have most to gain. Most importantly, Africans need local exchanges. We will support these local exchanges in every way we can. Our sister company, Bitcoin Consultancy, can provide commercial technical support in this area.

What should delegates expect at the Mobile Money West Africa Summit in March?

I will focus on how Africans can directly benefit from Bitcoin and name some existing obstacles to adoption and show ways how to remove them. My presentation should give the audience the knowledge to get started and a direction to integrate Bitcoin into their business.

http://mobilemoneyafrica.com/bitcoin-will-revolutionize-how-africans-transact-rudiger-koch/