Blockchains

"This book in the Library Futures Series examines blockchain technology, a concept with far-reaching implications for the future of record keeping"--

Understand Bitcoin, blockchains, and cryptocurrency with this clear and comprehensible guide Learn the history and basics of cryptocurrency and blockchains: There’s a lot of information on cryptocurrency and blockchains out there. But, for the uninitiated, most of this information can be indecipherable. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains aims to provide an accessible guide to this new currency and the revolutionary technology that powers it. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies: Gain an understanding of a broad spectrum of Bitcoin topics. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains covers topics such as the history of Bitcoin, the Bitcoin blockchain, and Bitcoin buying, selling, and mining. It also answers how payments are made and how transactions are kept secure. Other cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency pricing are examined, answering how one puts a value on cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. Blockchain technology: Blockchain technology underlies all cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency transactions. But what exactly is a blockchain, how does it work, and why is it important? The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains will answer these questions and more. Learn about notable blockchain platforms, smart contracts, and other important facets of blockchains and their function in the changing cyber-economy. Things to know before buying cryptocurrencies: The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains offers trustworthy and balanced insights to those interested in Bitcoin investing or investing in other cryptocurrency. Discover the risks and mitigations, learn how to identify scams, and understand cryptocurrency exchanges, digital wallets, and regulations with this book. Readers will learn about: • Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies • Blockchain technology and how it works • The workings of the cryptocurrency market • The evolution and potential impacts of Bitcoin and blockchains on global businesses Dive into the world of cryptocurrency with confidence with this comprehensive introduction.

How the blockchain—a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust—can become trustworthy. The blockchain entered the world on January 3, 2009, introducing an innovative new trust architecture: an environment in which users trust a system—for example, a shared ledger of information—without necessarily trusting any of its components. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is the most famous implementation of the blockchain, but hundreds of other companies have been founded and billions of dollars invested in similar applications since Bitcoin's launch. Some see the blockchain as offering more opportunities for criminal behavior than benefits to society. In this book, Kevin Werbach shows how a technology resting on foundations of mutual mistrust can become trustworthy. The blockchain, built on open software and decentralized foundations that allow anyone to participate, seems like a threat to any form of regulation. In fact, Werbach argues, law and the blockchain need each other. Blockchain systems that ignore law and governance are likely to fail, or to become outlaw technologies irrelevant to the mainstream economy. That, Werbach cautions, would be a tragic waste of potential. If, however, we recognize the blockchain as a kind of legal technology that shapes behavior in new ways, it can be harnessed to create tremendous business and social value.

This open access book contributes to the creation of a cyber ecosystem supported by blockchain technology in which technology and people can coexist in harmony. Blockchains have shown that trusted records, or ledgers, of permanent data can be stored on the Internet in a decentralized manner. The decentralization of the recording process is expected to significantly economize the cost of transactions. Creating a ledger on data, a blockchain makes it possible to designate the owner of each piece of data, to trade data pieces, and to market them. This book examines the formation of markets for various types of data from the theory of market quality proposed and developed by M. Yano. Blockchains are expected to give data itself the status of a new production factor. Bringing ownership of data to the hands of data producers, blockchains can reduce the possibility of information leakage, enhance the sharing and use of IoT data, and prevent data monopoly and misuse. The industry will have a bright future as soon as better technology is developed and when a healthy infrastructure is created to support the blockchain market.

This book brings together two major trends: data science and blockchains. It is one of the first books to systematically cover the analytics aspects of blockchains, with the goal of linking traditional data mining research communities with novel data sources. Data science and big data technologies can be considered cornerstones of the data-driven digital transformation of organizations and society. The concept of blockchain is predicted to enable and spark transformation on par with that associated with the invention of the Internet. Cryptocurrencies are the first successful use case of highly distributed blockchains, like the world wide web was to the Internet. The book takes the reader through basic data exploration topics, proceeding systematically, method by method, through supervised and unsupervised learning approaches and information visualization techniques, all the way to understanding the blockchain data from the network science perspective. Chapters introduce the cryptocurrency blockchain data model and methods to explore it using structured query language, association rules, clustering, classification, visualization, and network science. Each chapter introduces basic concepts, presents examples with real cryptocurrency blockchain data and offers exercises and questions for further discussion. Such an approach intends to serve as a good starting point for undergraduate and graduate students to learn data science topics using cryptocurrency blockchain examples. It is also aimed at researchers and analysts who already possess good analytical and data skills, but who do not yet have the specific knowledge to tackle analytic questions about blockchain transactions. The readers improve their knowledge about the essential data science techniques in order to turn mere transactional information into social, economic, and business insights.

Handbook of Research on Blockchain Technology presents the latest information on the adaptation and implementation of Blockchain technologies in real world business, scientific, healthcare and biomedical applications. The book's editors present the rapid advancements in existing business models by applying Blockchain techniques. Novel architectural solutions in the deployment of Blockchain comprise the core aspects of this book. Several use cases with IoT, biomedical engineering, and smart cities are also incorporated. As Blockchain is a relatively new technology that exploits decentralized networks and is used in many sectors for reliable, cost-effective and rapid business transactions, this book is a welcomed addition on existing knowledge. Financial services, retail, insurance, logistics, supply chain, public sectors and biomedical industries are now investing in Blockchain research and technologies for their business growth. Blockchain prevents double spending in financial transactions without the need of a trusted authority or central server. It is a decentralized ledger platform that facilitates verifiable transactions between parties in a secure and smart way. Presents the evolution of blockchain, from fundamental theories, to present forms Explains the concepts of blockchain related to cloud/edge computing, smart healthcare, smart cities and Internet of Things (IoT) Provides complete coverage of the various tools, platforms and techniques used in blockchain Explores smart contract tools and consensus algorithms Covers a variety of applications with real world case studies in areas such as biomedical engineering, supply chain management, and tracking of goods and delivery

The technology likely to have the greatest impact on the future of the world economy has arrived, and it’s not self-driving cars, solar energy, or artificial intelligence. It’s called the blockchain. The first generation of the digital revolution brought us the Internet of information. The second genera­tion—powered by blockchain technology—is bringing us the Internet of value: a new, distributed platform that can help us reshape the world of business and transform the old order of human affairs for the better. Blockchain is the ingeniously simple, revolution­ary protocol that allows transactions to be simul­taneously anonymous and secure by maintaining a tamperproof public ledger of value. Though it’s the technology that drives bitcoin and other digital cur­rencies, the underlying framework has the potential to go far beyond these and record virtually everything of value to humankind, from birth and death certifi­cates to insurance claims and even votes. Why should you care? Maybe you’re a music lover who wants artists to make a living off their art. Or a consumer who wants to know where that hamburger meat really came from. Perhaps you’re an immigrant who’s sick of paying big fees to send money home to loved ones. Or an entrepreneur looking for a new platform to build a business. And those examples are barely the tip of the ice­berg. This technology is public, encrypted, and readily available for anyone to use. It’s already seeing wide­spread adoption in a number of areas. For example, forty-two (and counting) of the world’s biggest finan­cial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Credit Suisse, have formed a consortium to investigate the blockchain for speedier and more secure transactions. As with major paradigm shifts that preceded it, the blockchain will create winners and losers. And while opportunities abound, the risks of disruption and dislocation must not be ignored. Don Tapscott, the bestselling author of Wikinomics, and his son, blockchain expert Alex Tapscott, bring us a brilliantly researched, highly readable, and utterly foundational book about the future of the modern economy. Blockchain Revolutionis the business leaders’ playbook for the next decade and beyond.

Start with the basics of blockchain technology and learn how smart contracts work for Ethereum. This book covers all the basic information for beginners. The book starts with an introduction to blockchain and covers basic concepts, principles and tools, followed by an overview of smart contracts that shows you how companies or individuals can use smart contracts. Author Farhadur Rahim takes a deep dive into blockchain and teaches you about smart contracts and their use cases. The book also underlines the advantages and disadvantages of blockchain and smart contracts. After reading this book, you will be able to learn different aspects of blockchain and smart contracts. Who This Book is For: Programmer Web Developer Software Engineer System Analyst beginner's guide DevOps Engineer Technology Architects Teachers IT Students