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

Decentralization

Decentralization is not a new concept. It has been in use in strategy, management, and government for a long time. The basic idea of decentralization is to distribute control and authority to the peripheries of an organization instead of one central body being in full control of the organization. This configuration produces several benefits for organizations, such as increased efficiency, expedited decision making, better motivation, and a reduced burden on top management.

In this chapter, the concept of decentralization will be discussed in the context of blockchain. The fundamental basis of blockchain is that no single central authority is in control of the network. This chapter will present examples of various methods of decentralization and ways to achieve it. Furthermore, the decentralization of the blockchain ecosystem, decentralized applications, and platforms for achieving decentralization will be discussed in detail. Many exciting applications and ideas emerge from the decentralized blockchain technology, such as decentralized finance and decentralized identity, which will be introduced in this chapter.