Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Fourth Edition

By : Imran Bashir
5 (3)
Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Fourth Edition

5 (3)
By: Imran Bashir

Overview of this book

Blockchain is the backbone of cryptocurrencies, it has had a massive impact in many sectors, including finance, supply chains, healthcare, government, and media. It’s also being used for cutting edge technologies such as AI and IoT. This new edition is thoroughly revised to offer a practical approach to using Ethereum, Hyperledger, Fabric, and Corda with step-by-step tutorials and real-world use-cases to help you understand everything you need to know about blockchain development and implementation. With new chapters on Decentralized Finance and solving privacy, identity, and security issues, as well as bonus online content exploring alternative blockchains, this is an unmissable read for everyone who wants to gain a deep understanding of blockchain. The book doesn’t shy away from advanced topics and practical expertise, such as decentralized application (DApp) development using smart contracts and oracles, and emerging trends in the blockchain space. Throughout the book, you’ll explore blockchain solutions beyond cryptocurrencies, such as the IoT with blockchain, enterprise blockchains, and tokenization, and gain insight into the future scope of this fascinating and disruptive technology. By the end of this blockchain book, you will have gained a thorough comprehension of the various facets of blockchain and understand the potential of this technology in diverse real-world scenarios.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
23
Index

Bitcoin—an overview

Since its introduction in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin has gained immense popularity and is currently the most successful digital currency in the world, with billions of dollars invested in it. The current market cap at the time of writing for this currency is 702,565,989,960 USD.

Its popularity is also evident from the high number of users and investors, the increasing price of Bitcoin, daily news related to Bitcoin, and the many start-ups and companies that are offering Bitcoin-based online exchanges. It is now also traded as Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

Interested readers can read more about Bitcoin futures at http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/bitcoin-futures.html.

It is built on decades of research in the field of cryptography, digital cash, and distributed computing. In the following section, a brief history is presented to provide the background required to understand the foundations behind the invention of Bitcoin. Digital...