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The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust

Author : Kevin Werbach

Publisher : MIT Press

Page : 339 pages

File Size : 45,29 MB

Release : 2018-11-20

Category : Computers

ISBN : 0262038935

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Book Description

How the blockchain—a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust—can become trustworthy The blockchain entered the world on January 3, 2009, introducing an innovative new trust architecture: an environment in which users trust a system—for example, a shared ledger of information—without necessarily trusting any of its components. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is the most famous implementation of the blockchain, but hundreds of other companies have been founded and billions of dollars have been invested in similar applications since Bitcoin’s launch. Some see the blockchain as offering more opportunities for criminal behavior than benefits to society. In this book, Kevin Werbach shows how a technology resting on foundations of mutual mistrust can become trustworthy. The blockchain, built on open software and decentralized foundations that allow anyone to participate, seems like a threat to any form of regulation. In fact, Werbach argues, law and the blockchain need each other. Blockchain systems that ignore law and governance are likely to fail, or to become outlaw technologies irrelevant to the mainstream economy. That, Werbach cautions, would be a tragic waste of potential. If, however, we recognize the blockchain as a kind of legal technology that shapes behavior in new ways, it can be harnessed to create tremendous business and social value.



The Real Business of Blockchain

Author : David Furlonger

Publisher : Harvard Business Press

Page : 326 pages

File Size : 39,23 MB

Release : 2019-10-15

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 163369805X

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Book Description

Blockchain is transforming business. What's your strategy? Leaders of forward-thinking organizations are exploring how blockchain can transform the way they create and seek value. Whether it's used to streamline multiparty processes, create and trade new assets, or leverage artificial intelligence and the internet of things, blockchain enables entirely new business opportunities. This is just the start. As blockchain becomes more widely adopted, it has the potential to radically change the way companies and societies operate, as transformative a paradigm shift as the launch of the internet. The Real Business of Blockchain is one of the first books on this transformative technology written for business leaders. Authors David Furlonger and Christophe Uzureau--both of Gartner, the world-renowned research and advisory company--will help you: Assess how blockchain will impact your business Explore the value proposition that blockchain offers Make smart near- and midterm investments Position your organization in a new competitive landscape Timely, visionary, and accessible, The Real Business of Blockchain cuts through the hype and helps you unlock the vast capabilities of this powerful and potentially world-changing technology.



The Truth Machine

Author : Paul Vigna

Publisher : Picador

Page : 334 pages

File Size : 45,3 MB

Release : 2019-03-05

Category : Computers

ISBN : 1250304172

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Book Description

"Views differ on bitcoin, but few doubt the transformative potential of Blockchain technology. The Truth Machine is the best book so far on what has happened and what may come along. It demands the attention of anyone concerned with our economic future." —Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard, Former Treasury Secretary From Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna, the authors of The Age of Cryptocurrency, comes the definitive work on the Internet’s Next Big Thing: The Blockchain. Big banks have grown bigger and more entrenched. Privacy exists only until the next hack. Credit card fraud is a fact of life. Many of the “legacy systems” once designed to make our lives easier and our economy more efficient are no longer up to the task. Yet there is a way past all this—a new kind of operating system with the potential to revolutionize vast swaths of our economy: the blockchain. In The Truth Machine, Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna demystify the blockchain and explain why it can restore personal control over our data, assets, and identities; grant billions of excluded people access to the global economy; and shift the balance of power to revive society’s faith in itself. They reveal the disruption it promises for industries including finance, tech, legal, and shipping. Casey and Vigna expose the challenge of replacing trusted (and not-so-trusted) institutions on which we’ve relied for centuries with a radical model that bypasses them. The Truth Machine reveals the empowerment possible when self-interested middlemen give way to the transparency of the blockchain, while highlighting the job losses, assertion of special interests, and threat to social cohesion that will accompany this shift. With the same balanced perspective they brought to The Age of Cryptocurrency, Casey and Vigna show why we all must care about the path that blockchain technology takes—moving humanity forward, not backward.



Mastering Ethereum

Author : Andreas M. Antonopoulos

Publisher : O'Reilly Media

Page : 424 pages

File Size : 35,3 MB

Release : 2018-11-13

Category : Computers

ISBN : 1491971916

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Book Description

Ethereum represents the gateway to a worldwide, decentralized computing paradigm. This platform enables you to run decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts that have no central points of failure or control, integrate with a payment network, and operate on an open blockchain. With this practical guide, Andreas M. Antonopoulos and Gavin Wood provide everything you need to know about building smart contracts and DApps on Ethereum and other virtual-machine blockchains. Discover why IBM, Microsoft, NASDAQ, and hundreds of other organizations are experimenting with Ethereum. This essential guide shows you how to develop the skills necessary to be an innovator in this growing and exciting new industry. Run an Ethereum client, create and transmit basic transactions, and program smart contracts Learn the essentials of public key cryptography, hashes, and digital signatures Understand how "wallets" hold digital keys that control funds and smart contracts Interact with Ethereum clients programmatically using JavaScript libraries and Remote Procedure Call interfaces Learn security best practices, design patterns, and anti-patterns with real-world examples Create tokens that represent assets, shares, votes, or access control rights Build decentralized applications using multiple peer-to-peer (P2P) components



Mastering Bitcoin

Author : Andreas M. Antonopoulos

Publisher : "O'Reilly Media, Inc."

Page : 414 pages

File Size : 20,32 MB

Release : 2017-06-12

Category : Computers

ISBN : 1491954345

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Book Description

Join the technological revolution that’s taking the financial world by storm. Mastering Bitcoin is your guide through the seemingly complex world of bitcoin, providing the knowledge you need to participate in the internet of money. Whether you’re building the next killer app, investing in a startup, or simply curious about the technology, this revised and expanded second edition provides essential detail to get you started. Bitcoin, the first successful decentralized digital currency, is still in its early stages and yet it’s already spawned a multi-billion-dollar global economy open to anyone with the knowledge and passion to participate. Mastering Bitcoin provides the knowledge. You simply supply the passion. The second edition includes: A broad introduction of bitcoin and its underlying blockchain—ideal for non-technical users, investors, and business executives An explanation of the technical foundations of bitcoin and cryptographic currencies for developers, engineers, and software and systems architects Details of the bitcoin decentralized network, peer-to-peer architecture, transaction lifecycle, and security principles New developments such as Segregated Witness, Payment Channels, and Lightning Network A deep dive into blockchain applications, including how to combine the building blocks offered by this platform into higher-level applications User stories, analogies, examples, and code snippets illustrating key technical concepts



Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain

Author : David Gerard

Publisher : David Gerard

Page : 222 pages

File Size : 22,78 MB

Release : 2017-07-24

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN :

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Book Description

An experimental new Internet-based form of money is created that anyone can generate at home; people build frightening firetrap computers full of video cards, putting out so much heat that one operator is hospitalised with heatstroke and brain damage. A young physics student starts a revolutionary new marketplace immune to State coercion; he ends up ordering hits on people because they might threaten his great experiment, and is jailed for life without parole. Fully automated contractual systems are proposed to make business and the law work better; the contracts people actually write are unregulated penny stock offerings whose fine print literally states that you are buying nothing of any value. The biggest crowdfunding in history attracts $150 million on the promise that it will embody “the steadfast iron will of unstoppable code”; upon release it is immediately hacked, and $50 million is stolen. How did we get here? David Gerard covers the origins and history of Bitcoin to the present day, the other cryptocurrencies it spawned including Ethereum, the ICO craze and the 2017 crypto bubble, and the attempts to apply blockchains and smart contracts to business. Plus a case study on blockchains in the music industry. Bitcoin and blockchains are not a technology story, but a psychology story. Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. “A sober riposte to all the upbeat forecasts about cryptocurrency” — New York Review of Books “A very convincing takedown of the whole phenomenon” — BBC News



Blockchain Bubble Or Revolution

Author : Aditya Agashe

Publisher : Paravane Ventures

Page : 242 pages

File Size : 13,70 MB

Release : 2019-06-12

Category :

ISBN : 9780578528151

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Book Description

Some experts say that cryptocurrencies and blockchains are just a scam; others say they're "the most important invention since the internet." It's hard to tell who's right. Authored by Product Managers from Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, Bubble or Revolution cuts through the hype to offer a balanced, comprehensive, and accessible analysis of blockchains and cryptocurrencies. You'll learn the core concepts of these technologies and understand their strengths and weaknesses from real-world case studies; dive deep into their technical, economic, political, and legal complexities; and gain insights about their future from exclusive interviews with dozens of tech industry leaders. No coding or math needed! Are cryptocurrencies and blockchains a bubble or a revolution? We'll help you decide for yourself. What's inside: Bitcoin and the blockchain How Bitcoin and blockchains work from a technical perspective with no assumed technical knowledge Satoshi Nakamoto and the history of Bitcoin, the original blockchain A thorough overview of crucial crypto concepts (eg. blocks, keys, mining, nodes, etc.) Frameworks for understanding when it actually makes sense to use blockchain Major application scenarios for blockchain and cryptocurrencies and where it'll fall flat Public blockchains and altcoins Emerging trends in blockchain technology What you should know before buying any cryptocurrency An overview of Etherum and smart contracts An overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the top altcoins and stable coins, including Monero (XMR), Tether (USDT), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Alternatives to blockchain and cryptocurrencies New kinds of decentralized ledger technology (dlt) The economics of both traditional payment methods and cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency security best practices and major breach case studies Private blockchains How blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and traditional banking and finance will interact with one another in the future Public blockchains vs private blockchains Limitations and shortcomings of public blockchains and cryptocurrencies The role of blockchain in the strategy of top tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft Case studies of how non-tech companies are effectively utilizing blockchain (eg. Walmart using it to prevent foodborne illness) Business blockchain case studies ranging from gaming (e.g. Xbox) to cloud services (e.g. Microsoft Azure's blockchain-as-a-service and Amazon's AWS offering) Blockchain's use for big data, internet of things (IoT), and machine learning (ML) Cryptocurrency regulation and policy ICOs vs STOs vs IPOs ICOs' status as securities The SEC's STO rules and Reg A+/CF/D/S KYC and AML laws The debate over whether cryptocurrencies are securities The official stance of various countries on crypto An overview of crypto policy and regulatory hurdles The role of crypto in emerging markets and China Digital democracy and voting on the blockchain The future of decentralized technology If, how, and when the tokenization of national currencies will play out Facebook and WhatsApp's upcoming cryptocurrencies Currency tokenization and China's efforts to tokenize the yuan Blockchain, IoT, and the tangle Cryptocurrencies vs. fiat vs. the gold standard Predictions about the future of money, business, and currency Why blockchains would do better on Mars than Earth



Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Cryptoassets

Author : Fabian Schar

Publisher : MIT Press

Page : 289 pages

File Size : 26,88 MB

Release : 2020-09-01

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 0262362902

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Book Description

An introduction to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology; a guide for practitioners and students. Bitcoin and blockchain enable the ownership of virtual property without the need for a central authority. Additionally, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies make up an entirely new class of assets that have the potential for fundamental change in the current financial system. This book offers an introduction to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology from the perspective of monetary economics.



Blockchain

Author : Richie Etwaru

Publisher : Dog Ear Publishing

Page : 206 pages

File Size : 48,48 MB

Release : 2017-08-10

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 1457556626

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Book Description

Richie covers the so what of blockchain as opposed to the crowded area of the what of blockchain. In the 1st half readers self-realize that a trust gap is exponentially expanding in commerce, and humans are carrying the unnecessary burden to always trust but verify with intermediaries. Today, we the human species start every company or transaction with the automatic subliminal assumption that counterparties cannot be trusted. In the 2nd half, Richie re-positions blockchain from a paradigm that is looking for a problem, into a paradigm that would help close the trust gap. Blockchain, mankind’s first opportunity for trusted commerce at global scale. About the Author



Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies

Author : Arvind Narayanan

Publisher : Princeton University Press

Page : 335 pages

File Size : 39,5 MB

Release : 2016-07-19

Category : Computers

ISBN : 1400884152

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Book Description

An authoritative introduction to the exciting new technologies of digital money Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies provides a comprehensive introduction to the revolutionary yet often misunderstood new technologies of digital currency. Whether you are a student, software developer, tech entrepreneur, or researcher in computer science, this authoritative and self-contained book tells you everything you need to know about the new global money for the Internet age. How do Bitcoin and its block chain actually work? How secure are your bitcoins? How anonymous are their users? Can cryptocurrencies be regulated? These are some of the many questions this book answers. It begins by tracing the history and development of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and then gives the conceptual and practical foundations you need to engineer secure software that interacts with the Bitcoin network as well as to integrate ideas from Bitcoin into your own projects. Topics include decentralization, mining, the politics of Bitcoin, altcoins and the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the future of Bitcoin, and more. An essential introduction to the new technologies of digital currency Covers the history and mechanics of Bitcoin and the block chain, security, decentralization, anonymity, politics and regulation, altcoins, and much more Features an accompanying website that includes instructional videos for each chapter, homework problems, programming assignments, and lecture slides Also suitable for use with the authors' Coursera online course Electronic solutions manual (available only to professors)