Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition

By : Imran Bashir
Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition

By: Imran Bashir

Overview of this book

Publisher's Note: This edition from 2018 is outdated and does not cover the latest insights on consensus algorithms, Ethereum 2.0, tokenization, and enterprise blockchains. A new and updated edition of this book that includes all the newest developments and improvements in Blockchain including the above topics is now available. A blockchain is a distributed ledger that is replicated across multiple nodes and enables immutable, transparent and cryptographically secure record-keeping of transactions. The blockchain technology is the backbone of cryptocurrencies, and it has applications in finance, government, media and almost all other industries. Mastering Blockchain, Second Edition has been thoroughly updated and revised to provide a detailed description of this leading technology and its implementation in the real world. This book begins with the technical foundations of blockchain technology, teaching you the fundamentals of distributed systems, 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 also explore different other blockchain solutions and get an introduction to business blockchain frameworks under Hyperledger, a collaborative effort for the advancement of blockchain technologies hosted by the Linux Foundation. You will also be shown how to implement blockchain solutions beyond currencies, Internet of Things with blockchain, blockchain scalability, and the future scope of this fascinating and powerful technology.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
14
Introducing Web3
17
Blockchain – Outside of Currencies
18
Scalability and Other Challenges

Asymmetric cryptography

Asymmetric cryptography refers to a type of cryptography where the key that is used to encrypt the data is different from the key that is used to decrypt the data. This is also known as public key cryptography. It uses both public and private keys to encrypt and decrypt data, respectively. Various asymmetric cryptography schemes are in use, including RSA, DSA, and ElGammal.

An overview of public key cryptography is shown in the following diagram:

Encryption/decryption using public/private keys

The preceding diagram illustrates how a sender encrypts data P using the recipient's public key and encryption function E and producing an output encrypted data C which is then transmitted over the network to the receiver. Once it reaches the receiver, it can be decrypted using the receiver's private key by feeding the C encrypted data into function D,...