Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Third Edition

By : Imran Bashir
Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Third Edition

By: Imran Bashir

Overview of this book

Blockchain is the backbone of cryptocurrencies, with applications in finance, government, media, and other industries. With a legacy of providing technologists with executable insights, this new edition of Mastering Blockchain is thoroughly revised and updated to the latest blockchain research with four new chapters on consensus algorithms, Serenity (the update that will introduce Ethereum 2.0), tokenization, and enterprise blockchains. This book covers the basics, including blockchain’s technical underpinnings, cryptography and consensus protocols. It also provides you with expert knowledge on decentralization, decentralized application development on Ethereum, Bitcoin, alternative coins, smart contracts, alternative blockchains, and Hyperledger. Further, you will explore blockchain solutions beyond cryptocurrencies such as the Internet of Things with blockchain, enterprise blockchains, tokenization using blockchain, and consider the future scope of this fascinating and disruptive technology. By the end of this book, you will have gained a thorough comprehension of the various facets of blockchain and understand their potential in diverse real-world scenarios.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
23
Index

Types of tokens

With the rapid development of blockchain technology and the related applications, there has been a tremendous increase in the development of various types of token and relevant ecosystems. First, let's clarify the difference between a coin and token. Is a Bitcoin a token? Or are tokens and coins the same thing?

A coin is a native token of a blockchain. It is the default cryptocurrency of the blockchain on which it runs. Common examples of such a token are Bitcoin and ether. Both of these tokens or coins have their own native blockchain on which they run: the Bitcoin blockchain and the Ethereum blockchain.

On the other hand, a token is a representation of an asset that runs on top of a blockchain. For example, Ethereum not only has its own ether cryptocurrency as a native token (or coin) but also has thousands of other tokens that are built on top of Ethereum for different applications. Thanks to its support of smart contracts, Ethereum has become a platform...