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

Summary

We started this chapter with an introduction to the Bitcoin network, followed by 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 the 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 BIPs 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 the 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 applications.