This textbook focuses on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and its potential impact on society at large. It aims to offer a detailed and self-contained introduction to the founding principles behind DLT accessible to a well-educated but not necessarily mathematically oriented audience. DLT allows solving many complicated problems arising in economics, banking, and finance, industry, trade, and other fields. However, to reap the ultimate benefits, one has to overcome some of its inherent limitations and use it judiciously. Not surprisingly, amid increasing applications of DLT, misconceptions are formed over its use. The book thoroughly dispels these misconceptions via an impartial assessment of the arguments rooted in scientific reasoning.Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers: Mathematics, Technology, and Economics offers a detailed and self-contained introduction to DLT, blockchains, and cryptocurrencies and seeks to equip the reader with an ability to participate in the crypto economy meaningfully.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to blockchain and distributed ledger technology. Intended as an applied guide for hands-on practitioners, the book includes detailed examples and in-depth explanations of how to build and run a blockchain from scratch. Through its conceptual background and hands-on exercises, this book allows students, teachers and crypto enthusiasts to launch their first blockchain while assuming prior knowledge of the underlying technology. How do I build a blockchain? How do I mint a cryptocurrency? How do I write a smart contract? How do I launch an initial coin offering (ICO)? These are some of questions this book answers. Starting by outlining the beginnings and development of early cryptocurrencies, it provides the conceptual foundations required to engineer secure software that interacts with both public and private ledgers. The topics covered include consensus algorithms, mining and decentralization, and many more. “This is a one-of-a-kind book on Blockchain technology. The authors achieved the perfect balance between the breadth of topics and the depth of technical discussion. But the real gem is the set of carefully curated hands-on exercises that guide the reader through the process of building a Blockchain right from Chapter 1.” Volodymyr Babich, Professor of Operations and Information Management, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University "An excellent introduction of DLT technology for a non-technical audience. The book is replete with examples and exercises, which greatly facilitate the learning of the underlying processes of blockchain technology for all, from students to entrepreneurs.” Serguei Netessine, Dhirubhai Ambani Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania "Whether you want to start from scratch or deepen your blockchain knowledge about the latest developments, this book is an essential reference. Through clear explanations and practical code examples, the authors take you on a progressive journey to discover the technology foundations and build your own blockchain. From an operations perspective, you can learn the principles behind the distributed ledger technology relevant for transitioning towards blockchain-enabled supply chains. Reading this book, you'll get inspired, be able to assess the applicability of blockchain to supply chain operations, and learn from best practices recognized in real-world examples." Ralf W. Seifert, Professor of Technology and Operations Management at EPFL and Professor of Operations Management at IMD

Develop a deeper understanding of what's under the hood of blockchain with this technical reference guide on one of the most disruptive modern technologies Key Features Updated with four new chapters on consensus algorithms, Ethereum 2.0, tokenization, and enterprise blockchains Learn about key elements of blockchain theory such as decentralization, cryptography, and consensus protocols Get to grips with Solidity, Web3, cryptocurrencies, smart contract development and solve scalability, security and privacy issues Discover the architecture of different distributed ledger platforms including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Hyperledger Fabric, Hyperledger Sawtooth, Corda and Quorum Book Description 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. What you will learn Grasp the mechanisms behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and alternative cryptocurrencies Understand cryptography and its usage in blockchain Understand the theoretical foundations of smart contracts Develop decentralized applications using Solidity, Remix, Truffle, Ganache and Drizzle Identify and examine applications of blockchain beyond cryptocurrencies Understand the architecture and development of Ethereum 2.0 Explore research topics and the future scope of blockchain Who this book is for If you are a technologist, business executive, a student or an enthusiast who wishes to explore the fascinating world of blockchain technology, smart contracts, decentralized applications and distributed systems then this book is for you. Basic familiarity with a beginner-level command of a programming language would be a plus.

"Views differ on bitcoin, but few doubt the transformative potential of Blockchain technology. The Truth Machine is the best book so far on what has happened and what may come along. It demands the attention of anyone concerned with our economic future." —Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard, Former Treasury Secretary From Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna, the authors of The Age of Cryptocurrency, comes the definitive work on the Internet’s Next Big Thing: The Blockchain. Big banks have grown bigger and more entrenched. Privacy exists only until the next hack. Credit card fraud is a fact of life. Many of the “legacy systems” once designed to make our lives easier and our economy more efficient are no longer up to the task. Yet there is a way past all this—a new kind of operating system with the potential to revolutionize vast swaths of our economy: the blockchain. In The Truth Machine, Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna demystify the blockchain and explain why it can restore personal control over our data, assets, and identities; grant billions of excluded people access to the global economy; and shift the balance of power to revive society’s faith in itself. They reveal the disruption it promises for industries including finance, tech, legal, and shipping. Casey and Vigna expose the challenge of replacing trusted (and not-so-trusted) institutions on which we’ve relied for centuries with a radical model that bypasses them. The Truth Machine reveals the empowerment possible when self-interested middlemen give way to the transparency of the blockchain, while highlighting the job losses, assertion of special interests, and threat to social cohesion that will accompany this shift. With the same balanced perspective they brought to The Age of Cryptocurrency, Casey and Vigna show why we all must care about the path that blockchain technology takes—moving humanity forward, not backward.

Become a Blockchain developer and design, build, publish, test, maintain and secure scalable decentralized Blockchain projects using Bitcoin, Ethereum, NEO, EOS and Hyperledger. This book helps you understand Blockchain beyond development and crypto to better harness its power and capability. You will learn tips to start your own project, and best practices for testing, security, and even compliance. Immerse yourself in this technology and review key topics such as cryptoeconomics, coding your own Blockchain P2P network, different consensus mechanisms, decentralized ledger, mining, wallets, blocks, and transactions. Additionally, this book provides you with hands-on practical tools and examples for creating smart contracts and dApps for different blockchains such as Ethereum, NEO, EOS, and Hyperledger. Aided by practical, real-world coding examples, you’ll see how to build dApps with Angular utilizing typescript from start to finish, connect to the blockchain network locally on a test network, and publish on the production mainnet environment. Don’t be left out of the next technology revolution – become a Blockchain developer using The Blockchain Developer today. What You’ll Learn Explore the Blockchain ecosystem is and the different consensus mechanisms Create miners, wallets, transactions, distributed networks and DApps Review the main features of Bitcoin: Ethereum, NEO and EOS, and Hyperledger are Interact with popular node clients as well as implementing your own Blockchain Publish and test your projects for security and scalability Who This Book Is For Developers, architects and engineers who are interested in learning about Blockchain or implementing Blockchain into a new greenfield project or integrating Blockchain into a brownfield project. Technical entrepreneurs, technical investors or even executives who want to better understand Blockchain technology and its potential.

Get up and running with Oracle’s premium cloud blockchain services and build distributed blockchain apps with ease Key FeaturesDiscover Hyperledger Fabric and its components, features, qualifiers, and architectureGet familiar with the Oracle Blockchain Platform and its unique featuresBuild Hyperledger Fabric-based business networks with Oracle’s premium blockchain cloud serviceBook Description Hyperledger Fabric empowers enterprises to scale out in an unprecedented way, allowing organizations to build and manage blockchain business networks. This quick start guide systematically takes you through distributed ledger technology, blockchain, and Hyperledger Fabric while also helping you understand the significance of Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS). The book starts by explaining the blockchain and Hyperledger Fabric architectures. You'll then get to grips with the comprehensive five-step design strategy - explore, engage, experiment, experience, and influence. Next, you'll cover permissioned distributed autonomous organizations (pDAOs), along with the equation to quantify a blockchain solution for a given use case. As you progress, you'll learn how to model your blockchain business network by defining its assets, participants, transactions, and permissions with the help of examples. In the concluding chapters, you'll build on your knowledge as you explore Oracle Blockchain Platform (OBP) in depth and learn how to translate network topology on OBP. By the end of this book, you will be well-versed with OBP and have developed the skills required for infrastructure setup, access control, adding chaincode to a business network, and exposing chaincode to a DApp using REST configuration. What you will learnModel your blockchain-based business network by defining its components, transactions, integrations, and infrastructure through use casesDevelop, deploy, and test chaincode using shim and REST, and integrate it with client apps using SDK, REST, and eventsExplore accounting, blockchain, hyperledger fabric, and its components, features, qualifiers, architecture and structureUnderstand the importance of Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS)Experiment Hyperledger Fabric and delve into the underlying technologySet up a consortium network, nodes, channels, and privacy, and learn how to translate network topology on OBPWho this book is for If you are a blockchain developer, blockchain architect or just a cloud developer looking to get hands-on with Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service, then this book is for you. Some familiarity with the basic concepts of blockchain will be helpful to get the most out of this book

Distributed ledgers, decentralization and smart contracts explained About This Book Get to grips with the underlying technical principles and implementations of blockchain. Build powerful applications using Ethereum to secure transactions and create smart contracts. Explore cryptography, mine cryptocurrencies, and solve scalability issues with this comprehensive guide. Who This Book Is For This book appeals to those who wish to build fast, highly secure, transactional applications. This book is for those who are familiar with the concept of blockchain and are comfortable with a programming language. What You Will Learn Master the theoretical and technical foundations of blockchain technology Fully comprehend the concept of decentralization, its impact and relationship with blockchain technology Experience how cryptography is used to secure data with practical examples Grasp the inner workings of blockchain and relevant mechanisms behind Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies Understand theoretical foundations of smart contracts Identify and examine applications of blockchain technology outside of currencies Investigate alternate blockchain solutions including Hyperledger, Corda, and many more Explore research topics and future scope of blockchain technology In Detail Blockchain is a distributed database that enables permanent, transparent, and secure storage of data. The blockchain technology is the backbone of cryptocurrency – in fact, it's the shared public ledger upon which the entire Bitcoin network relies – and it's gaining popularity with people who work in finance, government, and the arts. Blockhchain technology uses cryptography to keep data secure. This book gives a detailed description of this leading technology and its implementation in the real world. This book begins with the technical foundations of blockchain, teaching you the fundamentals of cryptography and how it keeps data secure. You will learn about the mechanisms behind cryptocurrencies and how to develop applications using Ethereum, a decentralized virtual machine. You will explore different blockchain solutions and get an exclusive preview into Hyperledger, an upcoming blockchain solution from IBM and the Linux Foundation. You will also be shown how to implement blockchain beyond currencies, scability with blockchain, and the future scope of this fascinating and powerful technology. Style and approach This comprehensive guide allows you to build smart blockchain applications and explore the power of this database. The book will let you quickly brush up on the basics of the blockchain database, followed by advanced implementations of blockchain in currency, smart contracts, decentralization, and so on.