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Publisher's Note: This edition from 2018 is outdated and does not cover the latest insights on consensus algorithms, Ethereum 2.0, tokenization, and enterprise blockchains.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

Summary

We started this chapter with the introduction to Bitcoin network, following it with a discussion on Bitcoin node discovery and block synchronization protocols. Moreover, we presented different types of network messages. Then we examined different types of Bitcoin wallets and discussed various attributes and features of each type. Following this, we looked at Bitcoin payments and payment processors. In the last section, we discussed Bitcoin innovations, which included topics such as Bitcoin Improvement Proposals, and advanced Bitcoin protocols. Finally, we presented a basic introduction to Bitcoin buying and selling.

In the next chapter, we will discuss Bitcoin clients, such as Bitcoin Core client, which can be used to interact with the Bitcoin blockchain and also acts as a wallet. In addition, we will explore some of the APIs that are available for programming Bitcoin...