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

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

ICO is a method for crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a method of raising money where the funds are acquired usually in smaller amounts from a large number of investors to fund a new business. This is done usually via the internet. ICOs has been the method of choice for crowdfunding startups offering new cryptocurrencies and tokens.

ICOs are comparable to the IPO. Just as an IPO is launched to raise capital by a firm, similarly, ICOs are launched to generate money for a startup project. The critical difference is that IPOs are regulated and fall under the umbrella of the securities market (shares in the company), whereas ICOs are unregulated and do not fall under any strict category of already established market structures.

However, there are a few suggestions stating that ICOs should be treated as securities in light of some scam ICO schemes that were launched in the past, as well as growing concerns around investor protection. The Securities...