Bitcoin is too volatile.Bitcoin is too small.Bitcoin is too risky.These are the types of headlines I am reading over and over again every day and have been for the last 4 years.And you know what?Bitcoin is all of those things.I don’t believe it will always be that way.The key phrase missing from all these headlines is that Bitcoin is too new.Bitcoin didn’t even exist 6 years ago.And in just a matter of five years, we’ve seen tremendous growth.There is not a mainstream publication that hasn’t covered Bitcoin and every day, it’s becoming more and more popular.Nearly every government in the world has acknowledged Bitcoin and they will continue to do so, they have no choice.The Gandhi quote, “First they laugh at you, then fight you, then you win” is entirely true.We’ve now graduated on to the fight phase.And that’s exactly what’s happening right now: a fight.A fight between old systems and new technology.A fight between closed minds and open minds.And a fight between people who want things to stay the same and thousands of entrepreneurs on a mission to bring change.

Despite all the issues the industry has faced in the past years, I remain bullish as ever.While some are caught up looking at the price of Bitcoin and other alt coins, I believe we need to look at the big picture.Regardless of all the negatives, there are a tremendous amount of positives we’ve seen in the past few years.The following are the five reasons why I am a Bitcoin bull.In 2012, there was only $2 million in venture capital invested into Bitcoin startups.In 2013, there was $95 million.And in 2014 alone there was almost $350 million.To put it into perspective, internet startups had only $250 million in venture capital in 1996.We have already exceeded this as an industry and the grand total of investments is currently at $550 million into Bitcoin startups.All this in just a matter of a few years!It’s not just the dollar amount that’s impressive, it’s who is putting it in.Technology revolutionaries like Marc Andreessen, the founder of Netscape have bet over $50 million on Bitcoin startups.

But so have people like Richard Branson, Reid Hoffman, and most notably, the New York Stock Exchange, which took part in the latest funding round of Coinbase along with the former CEOs of Citibank and Thomson Reuters who personally backed the company with their own money.They must be seeing something, right?This caliber of investor does not make blind investments.ubuntu bitcoin removeTwo key growth factors that we are seeing as an industry are the increase in wallets (Accounts) and transaction volume.dogecoin rate chartAccording to Coinbase, for example, in 2013, they had only 13,000 wallets, they recently hit over 1,000,000.ethereum stock yahoo financeThat’s an increase of nearly 8,000 percent!Growing alongside this has been the number of transaction across the network which continues to reach new highs every single month.

Since 2013, the number of transactions has nearly doubled and averages almost 100,000 transactions every single day., Expedia, Microsoft and Dell Computers are all accepting Bitcoin payments now along with over 90,000 other merchants across the world.Sure, they liquidate most of it but according to BitPay’s data, a growing percent of merchants are holding onto a portion of their Bitcoin.Merchant adoption is key to the growth of our industry and several of the most funded startups are dedicated to growing this number every month.Every time a new merchant adds an ‘Accept Bitcoin’ sign, they open the industry up to advertising to their entire customer base.I believe this is the most important of all.A quote in the Huffington Post stated “When you diminish or scoff at Bitcoin, you are essentially deriding hundreds of thousands of young, tech-savvy, hungry entrepreneurs: not a great group to bet against.” Before Bitcoin, I was headed towards a career as a Mathematician, but I left everything for Bitcoin.

And I am not alone.Executives from Visa and PayPal are leaving their jobs to create Bitcoin companies along with thousands of other young entrepreneurs.Entrepreneurs solve problems that have never been solved before.Does Bitcoin have it’s flaws?Of course it does.But some of the world’s greatest minds are dedicating themselves to solving these issues.Did the early internet have flaws?Of course it did!Luckily, it was the same as Bitcoin today and the issues were resolved and the internet evolved into what it is today.Bitcoin is in its infancy and has a long way to go.We’ve only just begun but as always, I remain a Bitcoin bull and will continue to dedicate every waking minute to helping the industry ensure its success.Marco Streng and his team are mining experts with thorough knowledge of the digital currency sector.The current members come from different scientific disciplines, but a common faith in cryptocurrencies has brought them together.They are all strong believers in the future of digital currencies and “love being part of this growing community!.” Genesis Mining was founded at the end of 2013.

The company provides an easy and safe way to purchase hashpower, “without having to deal with complex hardware and software setup and specializes in building the most efficient and reliable mining rigs that can be rented.” They also have solutions for cooling and maintaining data centers.The founders got to know each other by using the same platform for buying and selling Bitcoins.As the company and its user base grew, new mining farms were built up and several additional people hired, specifically programmers and engineers.What is the Ledger Nano S?Ledger Nano S is a secure Bitcoin and Ethereum hardware wallet.It connects to any computer through USB and embeds a built-in OLED display to double-check and confirm each transaction with a single tap on its side buttons.What crypto currencies are supported by the Nano S?Crypto currencies are regularly added to the Nano S, so the list is always evolving.To add a new released coin, you need to install the app from the Ledger Manager (which manages firmware upgrade and app install/uninstall).

The current list of supported cryptos is: What are the differences with the Nano?Nano S is the latest generation hardware wallet available from Ledger.There are many differences in the security architecture, the firmware and the available features.Nano S has a screen and two buttons.Everything is done directly on device: PIN entry, seed configuration, transaction validation.There is no need for an additional security card like for the Nano or HW.1.Furthermore Nano S can manage multiple applications such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or FIDO U2F (strong authentication).How to confirm a transaction?All transactions are confirmed directly on the device's screen.It will show the amount, the destination address and the fee.A confirmation button press is required by the user to proceed to the signature of the transaction.When and how can I disconnect safely my Nano S?Your need to have your Nano S connected only when you wish to browse your accounts or sign a transactions.Once a payment has been signed and sent, you can disconnect your Nano S.

It is not necessary to have your Nano S online when waiting for a payment or waiting for a transaction's confirmation.To disconnect the Nano S, just unplug it anytime.There is no ejection procedure.How to reset the device and wipe the seed?Enter three wrong PIN codes in a row.The device will then reset and wipe its seed.You'll have to recover your seed through your 24 words backup (or generate a new seed).If you wish to wipe your device on purpose, make sure that you either have the recovery sheet with you, or that you have moved all your crypto assets on another place.Does Nano S support a passphrase on a seed?/knowledge_base/topics/how-to-setup-a-passphrase-and-an-alternate-pin Is Nano S based on a Secure Element?Nano S is architected around two microprocessors.One secure chip (ST31 family) and one generic MCU (STM32 family).All private key management and critical code execution is done inside the Secure Element.Why isn't it any anti-tampering sticker on the Nano S box?Ledger is using cryptographic attestation to make sure that the devices you receive are genuine; A cryptographic procedure checks the integrity of the hardware wallet's internal software each time it is powered on.

The Secure Element chip prevents any interception or physical replacement attemps.Anti-tampering stickers are security theater: any attacker capable of reproducing a device can print new shiny stickers.Ledger's products are engineered to be natively tamper-proof and cannot be counterfeited.Can I have my Nano S on a keychain?Nano S has a foldable swivel cover which protects the device when attached to a keychain.You'll find everything you need in the box to securely attach your device. To use your Nano S with the Chrome app, Electrum or Mycelium, browser support must be disabled.Can Nano S manage Bitcoin and Ethereum?Just select which app (Bitcoin/Ethereum) you whish to activate on the device, and launch the corresponding Chrome Wallet application on your computer.Does Nano S support both Ethereum chains (ETH/ETC)?Nano S supports all chains, and the Ledger Wallet Ethereum Chrome application will have a switch to select on which chain you want to operate.However, be careful of replay attack and make sure to split your accounts.

ETH account derivation path is 44’/60’/0'/0 ETC account derivation path is 44’/60’/160720'/0'/0 Can Nano S manage any other crypto-currency?From a technical point of view, it's possible.However it would require to load a specific coin app on device, and therefore that this app would be developed by a third party.Ledger provides will a SDK so anyone can build an app and flash it on Nano S.Is it possible to have multipled crypto-currencies holdings in the same time on the same Nano S?You can have balances in BTC/ETH/DOGE/LTC/etc in the same time with your Nano S. Generally speaking, you can have as much balances than it exist coins, there is no limit on what it can supports.All crypto private keys are derived from your master seed (24 words recovery sheet) so adding new coins or using multiple coins doesn't require to change or update your backup.Recovering your seed on another Nano S (or Blue) will recover all your crypto-currencies in the same time.What is the FIDO U2F app?

Nano S is FIDO U2F certified.This means that you can use this device as a strong authenticator (second factor) for compatible services such as Google, Dropbox or Github.Just select the U2F app on device and pair it with your service.Is there a battery in Nano S?To be powered, Nano S must be plugged to a USB port through a cable (included in the box, but any compatible one can be used).Are the onboarded apps Open Source?What about the firmware?All apps are Open Source.Everything is available on our Github.Regarding the firmware, the source code will be available for all the non secure (STM32) part and some of the secure (ST31) part.Ultimately it'll be available for most of the ST31 with a minimal binary blob implementing the chip functionalities only available under NDA.It'll also not be possible to reverse engineer this binary blob, but it'll be possible to check that it's not performing any other functions than those which are documented.We have elaborated on our vision for Open Source development on Secure Elements on a blog post.

It has not been designed for being waterproof certified but it can for sure resist rain and accidental immersion.We have a video demonstrating full immersion success, but this is not a feature that we can generally guarantee.The latest firmware version is 1.3.1 and you can read a short guide of its features.To update your firmware and apps, follow this step by step guide.How can I update the firmware if the device is not initialized yet?Keep the the right button pressed when you power on the device, and you'll activate recovery mode.You can then launch the Ledger Manager and start the update procedure.Note that if you have a seed set, the update will wipe the seed.Why has my Ethereum wallet suddenly stopped working, while Bitcoin and other alts still do? Putting the device in "Browser Support" changes it's behavior as a USB device.You need to disable Browser Support whithin the Nano S internal Ethereum application's settings in order to switch the device back to regular USB mode, therefore allowing the PC application to communicate with it.