“It’s like any other digital commodity in that it finds its value in the people who use it…” — Tyler Moore
KERA Public Radio journalist Justin Martin tapped the expertise of SMU Bitcoin and cybersecurity expert Tyler W. Moore, an assistant professor of computer science in the Lyle School of Engineering.
An expert on the digital currency Bitcoin, Moore’s expertise draws in part on his research surrounding Bitcoin, the exchanges that trade in the currency and patterns of online usage. One of Moore’s studies found that online money exchanges that trade hard currency for the rapidly emerging cyber money have a 45 percent chance of failing — often taking their customers’ money with them.
The finding is from a computer science study in which Moore applied survival analysis to examine the factors that prompt Bitcoin currency exchanges to close.
Book a live interview
 To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Tyler Moore in the SMU Broadcast Studio call News and Communications at 214-768-7650 or email news@smu.edu.
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EXCERPT:
By Justin Martin
KERA
Fans of bitcoin tout the digital currency as secure, anonymous and efficient. But wildly fluctuating exchange rates and charges recently in an alleged bitcoin Ponzi scheme in North Texas have put a spotlight on bitcoin’s risks.Tyler Moore is an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Southern Methodist University and he joins KERA’s Justin Martin for a conversation on bitcoin.
Interview Highlights: Tyler Moore …
… On bitcoin and cryptocurrency:
“Bitcoin is a currency just like dollars or euros or pounds, but it’s completely digital so there’s no paper equivalent. To do that, you need to have some rules in place so that people can’t willy-nilly copy the bits and steal each other’s bitcoins – so that’s where the crypto comes in – you have some cryptography to protect against double spending and sort of enforce the rules of the system.”… On how to acquire bitcoin:
“So there’s two main ways – the more esoteric way is to mine bitcoins, but if you’re new to bitcoin the most common way is to go to a currency exchange, just like you would when you enter a new country, go the airport, go to the exchange, and provide your dollars and get whatever currency you’d like. You can get to an online currency exchange and pay your dollars and whatever the current market rate is they’ll give you the equivalent in bitcoin.”
… On bitcoin’s value:
“It’s like any other digital commodity in that it finds its value in the people who use it. Which is one reason we see these huge fluctuations in that there can be wildly differing demands for the currency at a given time.”
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SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.
By Margaret Allen