Investigating Cryptocurrencies


Book Description

Investigate crimes involving cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies Bitcoin has traditionally been the payment system of choice for a criminal trading on the Dark Web, and now many other blockchain cryptocurrencies are entering the mainstream as traders are accepting them from low-end investors putting their money into the market. Worse still, the blockchain can even be used to hide information and covert messaging, unknown to most investigators. Investigating Cryptocurrencies is the first book to help corporate, law enforcement, and other investigators understand the technical concepts and the techniques for investigating crimes utilizing the blockchain and related digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Understand blockchain and transaction technologies Set up and run cryptocurrency accounts Build information about specific addresses Access raw data on blockchain ledgers Identify users of cryptocurrencies Extracting cryptocurrency data from live and imaged computers Following the money With nearly $150 billion in cryptocurrency circulating and $3 billion changing hands daily, crimes committed with or paid for with digital cash are a serious business. Luckily, Investigating Cryptocurrencies Forensics shows you how to detect it and, more importantly, stop it in its tracks.




Understanding Cryptocurrencies


Book Description

Understanding Cryptocurrencies is perfect for both introductory investors to the digital asset space and experienced investors seeking to gain practical insight into frameworks for understanding digital assets and valuation metrics. The book provides in-depth analysis of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the different types of Altcoins in the ecosystem. The author demonstrates an empirical approach to explaining how digital assets can fit into a diversified portfolio of traditional financial assets, or as a standalone portfolio in a parallel financial ecosystem. The book contains fundamental, technical, and on-chain analytic tools for investors to better understand Bitcoin price cycles that will ultimately lead to better returns. The capital from these price cycles oftentimes migrates to other digital assets, creating a robust ecosystem and providing opportunities for enterprising investors to generate additional alpha. In Understanding Cryptocurrencies, the author also offers options for asset custody and counterargument breakdowns to create better informed investors. Lastly, the author provides poignant insight into the economic inefficiencies created from decades of Central Bank interest rate manipulation and monetary expansion. These inefficiencies have had social, political, and economic implications. It is ultimately due to these inefficiencies that a global sound money vacuum exists for Bitcoin and other digital assets to exploit.




Blockchain


Book Description

"Blockchain technology has been called the greatest innovation since the internet. Governments and companies are rushing to implement blockchain technology in a range of areas that could impact every person on the planet within a few years. Is blockchain technology one of the greatest technological revolutions in history or is it just hype? Will blockchain technology cause governments and banking systems to change the way they process information or will it be business as usual? In this book, we’ll look at the answers to these questions along with addressing the different sides of the arguments, for and against, blockchain technology."--Page 4 de la couverture.




Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies


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)




Understanding Bitcoin


Book Description

Discover Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has the finance world buzzing Bitcoin is arguably one of the biggest developments in finance since the advent of fiat currency. With Understanding Bitcoin, expert author Pedro Franco provides finance professionals with a complete technical guide and resource to the cryptography, engineering and economic development of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This comprehensive, yet accessible work fully explores the supporting economic realities and technological advances of Bitcoin, and presents positive and negative arguments from various economic schools regarding its continued viability. This authoritative text provides a step-by-step description of how Bitcoin works, starting with public key cryptography and moving on to explain transaction processing, the blockchain and mining technologies. This vital resource reviews Bitcoin from the broader perspective of digital currencies and explores historical attempts at cryptographic currencies. Bitcoin is, after all, not just a digital currency; it's a modern approach to the secure transfer of value using cryptography. This book is a detailed guide to what it is, how it works, and how it just may jumpstart a change in the way digital value changes hands. Understand how Bitcoin works, and the technology behind it Delve into the economics of Bitcoin, and its impact on the financial industry Discover alt-coins and other available cryptocurrencies Explore the ideas behind Bitcoin 2.0 technologies Learn transaction protocols, micropayment channels, atomic cross-chain trading, and more Bitcoin challenges the basic assumption under which the current financial system rests: that currencies are issued by central governments, and their supply is managed by central banks. To fully understand this revolutionary technology, Understanding Bitcoin is a uniquely complete, reader-friendly guide.




The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains


Book Description

Understand Bitcoin, blockchains, and cryptocurrency with this clear and comprehensible guide Learn the history and basics of cryptocurrency and blockchains: There’s a lot of information on cryptocurrency and blockchains out there. But, for the uninitiated, most of this information can be indecipherable. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains aims to provide an accessible guide to this new currency and the revolutionary technology that powers it. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies: Gain an understanding of a broad spectrum of Bitcoin topics. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains covers topics such as the history of Bitcoin, the Bitcoin blockchain, and Bitcoin buying, selling, and mining. It also answers how payments are made and how transactions are kept secure. Other cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency pricing are examined, answering how one puts a value on cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. Blockchain technology: Blockchain technology underlies all cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency transactions. But what exactly is a blockchain, how does it work, and why is it important? The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains will answer these questions and more. Learn about notable blockchain platforms, smart contracts, and other important facets of blockchains and their function in the changing cyber-economy. Things to know before buying cryptocurrencies: The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains offers trustworthy and balanced insights to those interested in Bitcoin investing or investing in other cryptocurrency. Discover the risks and mitigations, learn how to identify scams, and understand cryptocurrency exchanges, digital wallets, and regulations with this book. Readers will learn about: • Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies • Blockchain technology and how it works • The workings of the cryptocurrency market • The evolution and potential impacts of Bitcoin and blockchains on global businesses Dive into the world of cryptocurrency with confidence with this comprehensive introduction.




Understanding Cryptocurrencies


Book Description

The book intends to provide a high level overview of cryptocurrencies to a new enthusiast by using layman language and limiting many of the technical aspects, providing a very condensed version of this vast development of digital currencies. Blockchain is the new revolution after the Internet that is going to change how we do business today. Cryptocurrencies are the money of the future. These two statements are a positive affirmation from many corners around the world. The author provides a balance of introduction and depth regarding blockchain, hot cryptocurrencies, and their comparisons. Bitcoin, being the pioneer, is discussed in greater detail. The reader will gain the basic idea of bitcoin mining, trading, and investing. With special interest in the various usages of blockchain and interest on traditional banking systems are also discussed.




Mastering Bitcoin


Book Description

Want to join the technological revolution that’s taking the world of finance by storm? Mastering Bitcoin is your guide through the seemingly complex world of bitcoin, providing the requisite knowledge to help you 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 practical book is essential reading. Bitcoin, the first successful decentralized digital currency, is still in its infancy and it’s already spawned a multi-billion dollar global economy. This economy is open to anyone with the knowledge and passion to participate. Mastering Bitcoin provides you with the knowledge you need (passion not included). This book includes: A broad introduction to bitcoin—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 Offshoots of the bitcoin and blockchain inventions, including alternative chains, currencies, and applications User stories, analogies, examples, and code snippets illustrating key technical concepts




Learn Blockchain by Building One


Book Description

As cryptocurrencies and their underlying data structure, blockchains, become further intertwined in our daily lives, a full understanding of them is essential to anyone who wants to keep up and remain informed of the future of finance. There is no better learning method than a hands-on one, and Learn Blockchain by Building One offers just that. Develop your own blockchain using Python with step-by-step instructions from author Daniel van Flymen, an expert in the field. You will come away with a confident working knowledge of popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum and which foundations make them work. Through helpful exercises and real-world examples, you will understand the core concepts of peer-to-peer networking, Proof of Work, hashing, encryption, and digital signatures. Learn Blockchain by Building One gives you timely, real-world lessons in blockchain and cryptocurrencies that you will need as our modern society becomes increasingly digitally sophisticated. The lasting implications of such technology, such as the security of personal transactions and the role of government regulation, are not to be underestimated. Stay ahead of the curve and become a confident blockchain builder now! What You Will Learn Develop a fully-fledged blockchain in Python Obtain a ground-up understanding of of Proof of Work Grasp core cryptographic concepts, such as hashing, encryption, and digital signatures Understand how gossip protocols and peer-to-peer networking works by implementing a TCP client-server Realize the differences and trade-offs between popular blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at intermediate programmers in any area from finance to academia. Readers should be comfortable reading and writing basic Python.




Understanding the Blockchain Economy


Book Description

Blockchains are the distributed ledger technology that powers Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But blockchains can be used for more than the transfer of tokens – they are a significant new economic infrastructure. This book offers the first scholarly analysis of the economic nature of blockchains and the shape of the blockchain economy. By applying the institutional economics of Ronald Coase and Oliver Williamson, this book shows how blockchains are poised to reshape the nature of firms, governments, markets, and civil society.