1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
|
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=480, height=752, user-scalable=no, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0" />
<title>Vancouver Bitcoin</title>
<link href="img/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
{{#css}}index{{/css}}
</head>
<body>
<div class="navbar navbar-inverse">
<div class="navbar-inner">
<div class="container-fluid">
<a class="brand" href="/">VanBTC</a>
<div class="nav-collapse collapse">
<p class="navbar-text pull-right">
<a href="/login" class="navbar-link">Login</a>
</p>
</div><!--/.nav-collapse -->
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="row-fluid">
<div class="span6">
<h1>What are bitcoins?</h1>
Bitcoins are units of digital currency that can be
transferred over the Internet. They get stored at a
unique address which is like an online wallet or
bank account that you can access with a
password. Registering a new address is free and
is as easy as signing up for an email account.
Transactions between bitcoin addresses are
recorded in a public record that's published on
the Internet and keeps track of what amounts are
stored at every address. Fifty new bitcoins are
generated by a mathematical algorithm every ten
minutes and are distributed to people who
contribute computing power to the network. The
software to participate in the network is free so
anyone can run it. Over time, fewer and fewer
bitcoins will be created until there are a total of
21 million of them by the year 2040. Each bitcoin
is divisible up to 8 decimal places, making
it possible to transact tiny amounts.
</div>
<div class="span6">
<h1>Why use them?</h1>
They're free, fast, secure, and global. Merchants
don't get charged for accepting them and you don't
get charged for transferring them, even
internationally. There are no fees, prerequisites, or
limits. You can register addresses anonymously and
create as many accounts as you like. They can
never be frozen because no central authority
controls them. Whether you're sending a fraction of
a cent or a million dollars, the network doesn't
discriminate. You can use bitcoins to securely store
and backup your savings and gain access to them
from anywhere that has Internet. Bitcoins tend to
appreciate in value over time because of their
limited supply so they make a good investment.
Unlike dollars and other national currencies, no
government or issuing authority can print more of
them.
</div>
</div>
<div class="row-fluid">
<div class="span6">
<h1>What can I buy with them?</h1>
The number of companies accepting bitcoins is
growing quickly but their immediate utility still isn't
so much as a VISA/Mastercard/Debit competitor for
retail commerce but as an alternative to Western
Union, PayPal and the Big Banks as a means of
transferring value. They enable you to send free,
immediate payments to your friends and family
from a phone or laptop so you can pay a co-worker
back for coffee, transfer wages to family overseas,
or donate to organizations like WikiLeaks who have
been cut off by the major payment companies.
We're working to get more stores accepting them in
Vancouver though because we believe it'll be in
their best interest to avoid the transaction fees
charged by the credit card companies. Transaction
fees end up getting built into the prices we pay for
goods and services across the board so we're all
subsidizing the big banks and credit card
companies indirectly whether we use their services
or not.
</div>
<div class="span6">
<h1>How is their price set?</h1>
Most merchants accepting bitcoin will use an
exchange rate from one of the online markets
like cavirtex.com to determine their equivalent
dollar value. The exchange rate is simply the last
price that some seller was able to charge some
buyer for bitcoins in the free market and is
governed by supply and demand.
Bitcoins aren't backed by any underlying
commodity or insured by any authority. They
have an intrinsic value however as a superior
form of currency due to their mathematically
guaranteed scarcity, security, ease of use,
distributed nature, lack of fees, divisibility, and
global recognition.
At vanbtc.ca we offer to pay cash to local
merchants in exchange for bitcoins they receive
as payment. We also offer to sell bitcoins for cash
in person at various locations. We peg our rates
to cavirtex.com and don't take any commission.
</div>
</div>
<div class="row-fluid">
<div class="span6">
<h1>Where can I get some?</h1>
Sign up for a free account at blockchain.info/wallet and find someone who will send you some in
exchange for goods, services, or cash. Local merchants and enthusiasts in Vancouver can be found at
vanbtc.ca. There are also several bitcoin exchange markets operating online. The largest one in Canada
is cavirtex.com and is run out of Calgary. They link up buyers and sellers and facilitate trades by
allowing you to deposit and withdraw Canadian dollars directly from your bank account. A list of other
online exchanges and their rates can be found at bitcoincharts.comvanbtc.ca
</div>
<div class="span6">
<h1>Where can I learn more?</h1>
<p>
Check out vanbtc.ca and get a wallet at blockchain.info. Come to our monthly meetup group
(meetup.com/bitcoinvan) or send me an email at [email protected]. I'm a local software
developer and I've made a bitcoin payment app that's running in stores around town. I'd be happy to
send you some bitcoins and teach you more about them.
</p>
</div><!--/span-->
</div><!--/row-->
<hr>
<footer>
<p>© VanBTC 2012</p>
</footer>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
