Bitcoin:

The Future of Digital Payments?

A Group 9 Presentation
 Circle Investors Meet
Welcome to Circle Investors..

MIS Presentation – Group 9 2

Bitcoin: Demystified
What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a distributed,
decentralized digital currency
system
• Released by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008
• Effectively a bank run by an ad hoc network
• Digital checks
• A distributed transaction log

12.59 M 21 M 60%
No. of Bitcoins as of Q1 Max. Number of Bitcoins Of all Bitcoins are already
2014 mined

$861 40 200000
Bitcoin Bitcoin Visa
2014 Price Transactions per minute Transactions per minute

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 Bitcoin Ecosystem
How do Bitcoin users operate?

Exchanges
Enable conversion from Fiat currency to
Bitcoin and from bitcoin to other cryptos.
Transactions happen in exchanges.
Wallets
Digital wallets to store bitcoin public and private
keys that prove ownership of bitcoins of a user International Remittances
Easy transfer of money from one country to
another.

Merchant Services
Enable merchants to accept Bitcoin in the saw
way acquirers enabled merchants to accept
credit cards. Blockchain Technology
No central party to required to verify validity
of transactions. A public ledger called
blockchain securely verifies transactions.

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Circle
The Bitcoin company

Circle is a peer-to-peer payments

technology company.

Beginnings Circle Pay

• Founded in Oct 2013 by Recently launched Free

Jeremy Allaire and Sean Bitcoin wallet provided
Neville. enhanced security,
• Funded by Goldman telephone support and
Sachs and other theft insurance.
credible investors.

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 Investment Options
How to allocate the new 26M dollar funding?

Expand the appeal

Develop Circle Pay Turn Circle into a
Expand to of its wallet to
into a leading two-sided platform
international speculators by
Bitcoin wallet with by expanding to
remittances adding advanced
more features merchant services.
trading features

Option 01 Option 02 Option 03 Option 04

$26 MILLION IN SERIES D

FUNDING

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A. Focus on making Circle the
leading Bitcoin wallet for
consumers by developing
additional consumer features
Advantages :
• Great for regular and micropayments
• Convenient and easy to use
• Offline services without server
• Integrated mobile app for increased usability
• Conversion between crypto to crypto directly
Challenges :
• Security issues
• May be lost with the carrier
• Highly competitive market (established players in the
market) – 5 million wallets
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B. Expansion To International Remittances

Advantages
• Market size estimated at $500 billion a year
• Reducing transaction fees from 8.2% to 3%-2%
• Existing remittance services are time consuming while Bitcoin based remittances
can be instantaneous.
• Convenient, fast delivery

Challenges
• Banned in many countries
• Fear of adoption in the customers

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C. Turn Circle Into A Two-sided Platform By
Expanding To Merchant Services

PROS MULTIBILLION DOLLAR TRANSACTION FEES IS INCLUDE REWARD

MARKET LOW COMPARED TO SYSTEMS FOR
CREDIT CARDS MERCHANTS

CONS CURRENT BITCOINS CREDIT CARD OFFERS THREAT OF NEW

ARE NOT SUFFICIENT DELAYED PAYMENTS ENTRANTS
TO COVER
TRANSACTION OF
CREDIT CARDS
MIS Presentation – Group 9 9
D. Expand the appeal of its wallet to
speculators by adding advanced trading
features
Advantages
• Multi billion dollar market
• Integration through API
• Users are charged a transaction fee of 0.2% to 0.5% for trading
• Easy to compete on cost basis vis a vis comp
Challenges
• Variation of bitcoin value across the markets
• With the Governments issuing warnings and bans against the cryptocurrency, the
exchanges can become dysfunctional anytime and so we should avoid it.
• As Bitcoin varies significantly from Fiat currency, Bitcoin in Deinflationary while
Fiat currency are inflationary, we will not recommend exchanging them.

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DECISION

• Potential to be currency of the future

• Regulatory concerns surrounding Bitcoin due to its ability
to provide transparency, fiscal prudence and route out
corruption
• Block chain is trackable, no bribery/money
laundering/tax evasion
• Making it illegal is not the way, but regulation is needed
• It provides so much ease for business, removes
intermediaries/borders, no inflation
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CIRCLE IN NEWS

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WE WILL INVEST IN WALLET SERVICES

• At the time the firm’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire said it makes

sense to focus more on USDC and “wallet services that
take a bigger step toward reaching our original vision for
a free, open and transparent global payments network.”

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Group 9
Hafis Sayed 19PGP177
Hamza Noor 19PGP178
Jayam Karthik 19PGP183
Sajal Shandilya 19PGP209
Shashank Singla 19PGP214
Bhukya Charan Naik 19PGP164

MIS Presentation – Group 9 14