Book Image

Mastering Blockchain

Book Image

Mastering Blockchain

Overview of this book

Blockchain is a distributed database that enables permanent, transparent, and secure storage of data. The blockchain technology is the backbone of cryptocurrency – in fact, it’s the shared public ledger upon which the entire Bitcoin network relies – and it’s gaining popularity with people who work in finance, government, and the arts. Blockhchain technology uses cryptography to keep data secure. This book gives a detailed description of this leading technology and its implementation in the real world. This book begins with the technical foundations of blockchain, teaching you the fundamentals of cryptography and how it keeps data secure. You will learn about the mechanisms behind cryptocurrencies and how to develop applications using Ethereum, a decentralized virtual machine. You will explore different blockchain solutions and get an exclusive preview into Hyperledger, an upcoming blockchain solution from IBM and the Linux Foundation. You will also be shown how to implement blockchain beyond currencies, scability with blockchain, and the future scope of this fascinating and powerful technology.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Mastering Blockchain
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface

Summary


This chapter aimed at introducing concepts of cryptography and financial markets in order to provide background information for you to be able to understand the material provided in later chapters. First, you were introduced to the basics of cryptography, and then various schemes such as symmetric and asymmetric ciphers were introduced. Practical examples using OpenSSL command line were shown so that you could experiment with various commands and experience various cryptographic functions firsthand. Also, some mathematical background was provided at the beginning of the chapter and where necessary, especially with the elliptic curve cryptography. All cryptography concepts presented in this chapter are related to the blockchain technology and are implemented or have been proposed to be implemented in various blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and relevant ecosystems. Moreover, you were given a quick introduction to the financial industry as it sets the scene for various examples that...