Bitcoin is making giant strides throughout the world. Satoshi Nakamoto, its creator, continues as an enigmatic and cryptographic figure. Nonetheless, rumors surrounding his potential wealth have not gone unnoticed by the mafi a. He has also popped ups or the radar of the secret services. In fact, NSA agents have been searching for him for some time now. The opportunities that this crypto-currency has opened up within the fi nancial markets have turned Nakamoto into a hero admired in more and more places near and far. His fans would go to great lengths to protect and defend him. For many, simply managing monetary transactions and issuing bitcoins without the involvement of intermediaries as well as carrying out transactions collectively online are factors which promote values for a freer world: In hope for a better world.

Most people, upon first hearing about Bitcoin, don't really understand it. Is it magical Internet money? Where does it come from? Who controls it? Why is it important? For me, understanding all the things that come together to make Bitcoin work - the physics, math, cryptography, game theory, economics, and computer science - was a profound moment. In this book, I share this knowledge with you in a very simple and easy to understand way. With nothing but a high school level math background, we will walk through inventing bitcoin, step by step.

Join the technological revolution that’s taking the financial world by storm. Mastering Bitcoin is your guide through the seemingly complex world of bitcoin, providing the knowledge you need to participate in the internet of money. Whether you’re building the next killer app, investing in a startup, or simply curious about the technology, this revised and expanded second edition provides essential detail to get you started. Bitcoin, the first successful decentralized digital currency, is still in its early stages and yet it’s already spawned a multi-billion-dollar global economy open to anyone with the knowledge and passion to participate. Mastering Bitcoin provides the knowledge. You simply supply the passion. The second edition includes: A broad introduction of bitcoin and its underlying blockchain—ideal for non-technical users, investors, and business executives An explanation of the technical foundations of bitcoin and cryptographic currencies for developers, engineers, and software and systems architects Details of the bitcoin decentralized network, peer-to-peer architecture, transaction lifecycle, and security principles New developments such as Segregated Witness, Payment Channels, and Lightning Network A deep dive into blockchain applications, including how to combine the building blocks offered by this platform into higher-level applications User stories, analogies, examples, and code snippets illustrating key technical concepts

A comprehensive and authoritative exploration of Bitcoin and its place in monetary history When a pseudonymous programmer introduced "a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party" to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few people paid attention. Ten years later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications. While Bitcoin is an invention of the digital age, the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Author Saifedean Ammous takes the reader on an engaging journey through the history of technologies performing the functions of money, from primitive systems of trading limestones and seashells, to metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern government debt. Exploring what gave these technologies their monetary role, and how most lost it, provides the reader with a good idea of what makes for sound money, and sets the stage for an economic discussion of its consequences for individual and societal future-orientation, capital accumulation, trade, peace, culture, and art. Compellingly, Ammous shows that it is no coincidence that the loftiest achievements of humanity have come in societies enjoying the benefits of sound monetary regimes, nor is it coincidental that monetary collapse has usually accompanied civilizational collapse. With this background in place, the book moves on to explain the operation of Bitcoin in a functional and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralized, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate records, thus allowing its users to utilize the Internet to perform the traditional functions of money without having to rely on, or trust, any authorities or infrastructure in the physical world. Bitcoin is thus best understood as the first successfully implemented form of digital cash and digital hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy, and the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin’s real competitive edge might just be as a store of value and network for the final settlement of large payments a digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure. Ammous’ firm grasp of the technological possibilities as well as the historical realities of monetary evolution provides for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free market money. As it challenges the most sacred of government monopolies, Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments in favor of individuals, offering us the tantalizing possibility of a world where money is fully extricated from politics and unrestrained by borders. The final chapter of the book explores some of the most common questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they please? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what to make of all the thousands of Bitcoin knockoffs, and the many supposed applications of Bitcoin's 'block chain technology'? The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource for a clear understanding of the rise of the Internet’s decentralized, apolitical, free-market alternative to national central banks.

This book provides a thorough overview of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and digital assets and their impact on the future of money and finance. It provides a 360-degree practical, concise, and engaging overview of all the topics that one interested about digital assets needs to know including how Bitcoin and Ethereum work, an overview of the most important digital assets in the market, and deep dives into the various types of digital assets including cryptocurrencies, stable coins, CBDCs, utility tokens, security tokens, NFTs, and many others. The book also covers all the essentials including DeFi, crypto mining, crypto regulations, crypto investors, crypto exchanges, and other ecosystem players as well as some of the latest global crypto trends from Web 3.0 and the Metaverse to DAOs and quantum computing. Written by a leading industry expert and thought leader who advises some of the leading organisations in the digital assets space globally, this book is ideal for anyone looking to acquire a solid foundational knowledge base of this fast-growing field and understand its potential impact on the future of money.

From their shadowy origins in Bitcoin to their use by multinational corporations, cryptocurrencies and blockchains are remaking the rules of digital media and society. Meanwhile, regulators, governments, and the public are trying to make sense of it all. In this accessible book, Quinn DuPont guides readers through the changing face of money to show how blockchain technology underpins new forms of value exchange and social coordination. He introduces cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to readers in terms of their developers and users, investment opportunities and risks, changes to politics and law, social and industrial applications - and what this all means for the new economy. The author argues throughout that, rather than being a technical innovation, cryptocurrencies and blockchains are social technologies enabling developers and users to engage in unprecedented experiments with social and political levers. Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains dispenses with hype and offers sober reflection on this crucial and timely topic. It is essential reading for students and scholars of culture, politics, media, and the economy, as well as anyone who wants to understand, take part in, or change the future of work and society.