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

Bitcoin payments

Bitcoin can be accepted as payment using various techniques. Bitcoin is not recognized as a legal currency in many jurisdictions, but it is increasingly being accepted as a payment method by many online merchants and e-commerce websites. There are a number of ways in which buyers can pay a business that accepts Bitcoin. For example, on an online shop, Bitcoin merchant solutions can be used, whereas in traditional, physical shops, Point of Sale (POS) terminals and other specialized hardware can be used. Customers can simply scan the QR barcode with the seller's payment URI in it and pay using their mobile devices. Bitcoin URIs allow users to make payments by simply clicking on links or scanning QR codes. A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is basically a string that represents the transaction information. It is defined in BIP21. The QR code can be displayed near the point of the sale terminal. Nearly all Bitcoin wallets support this feature.

Businesses...