While there are many books on blockchains, this guide focuses on blockchain applications for business. The target audience is business students, professionals, and managers who want to learn about the overall blockchain landscape -- the investments, the size of markets, major players and the global reach -- as well as the potential business value of blockchain applications and the challenges that must be overcome to achieve that value. We present use cases and derive action principles for building enterprise blockchain capabilities. Readers will learn enough about the underlying technologies to speak intelligently to technology experts in the space, as the guide also covers the blockchain protocols, code bases and provides a glossary of terms. We use this guide as the textbook for our undergraduate and graduate Blockchain Fundamentals course at the University of Arkansas. Other professors interested in adopting this guide for instructional purposes are welcome to contact the author for supporting instructional materials.

Learn the foundations of blockchain technology - its core concepts and algorithmic solutions across cryptography, peer-to-peer technology, and game theory. Key FeaturesLearn the core concepts and foundations of the blockchain and cryptocurrenciesUnderstand the protocols and algorithms behind decentralized applicationsMaster how to architect, build, and optimize blockchain applicationsBook Description Blockchain technology is a combination of three popular concepts: cryptography, peer-to-peer networking, and game theory. This book is for anyone who wants to dive into blockchain from first principles and learn how decentralized applications and cryptocurrencies really work. This book begins with an overview of blockchain technology, including key definitions, its purposes and characteristics, so you can assess the full potential of blockchain. All essential aspects of cryptography are then presented, as the backbone of blockchain. For readers who want to study the underlying algorithms of blockchain, you’ll see Python implementations throughout. You’ll then learn how blockchain architecture can create decentralized applications. You’ll see how blockchain achieves decentralization through peer-to-peer networking, and how a simple blockchain can be built in a P2P network. You’ll learn how these elements can implement a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, and the wider applications of blockchain work through smart contracts. Blockchain optimization techniques, and blockchain security strategies are then presented. To complete this foundation, we consider blockchain applications in the financial and non-financial sectors, and also analyze the future of blockchain. A study of blockchain use cases includes supply chains, payment systems, crowdfunding, and DAOs, which rounds out your foundation in blockchain technology. What you will learnThe core concepts and technical foundations of blockchainThe algorithmic principles and solutions that make up blockchain and cryptocurrenciesBlockchain cryptography explained in detailHow to realize blockchain projects with hands-on Python codeHow to architect the blockchain and blockchain applicationsDecentralized application development with MultiChain, NEO, and EthereumOptimizing and enhancing blockchain performance and securityClassical blockchain use cases and how to implement themWho this book is for This book is for anyone who wants to dive into blockchain technology from first principles and build a foundational knowledge of blockchain. Familiarity with Python will be helpful if you want to follow how the blockchain protocols are implemented. For readers who are blockchain application developers, most of the applications used in this book can be executed on any platform.

This monograph provides a comprehensive and rigorous exposition of the basic concepts and most important modern research results concerning blockchain and its applications. The book includes the required cryptographic fundamentals underpinning the blockchain technology, since understanding of the concepts of cryptography involved in the design of blockchain is necessary for mastering the security guarantees furnished by blockchain. It also contains an introduction to cryptographic primitives, and separate chapters on bitcoin, ethereum and smart contracts, public blockchain, private blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain applications.This volume is of great interest to active researchers who are keen to develop novel applications of blockchain in the field of their investigatio. Further, it is also beneficial for industry practitioners as well as undergraduate students in computing and information technology.

Blockchain is the most disruptive technology to emerge in the last decade. The evolution of cryptocurrencies has carried with it a revolution in digital economics that has catapulted the application of blockchain technology to a new level across a variety of industries, including banking, security, networking, and more. Blockchain Technology and Computational Excellence for Society 5.0 closes the gap in existing literature by presenting a selection of chapters that not only shape the research domain, but also present supportive real-life problems and pragmatic solutions. This book presents a variety of highly relevant themes, concepts, and applications in blockchain, discussing topics such as cyber security, digital currencies, and intelligent networks, fueling awareness and interest. With its insight into various platforms, techniques, and tools, this book serves as a valuable resource for academicians, researchers, research scholars, postgraduates, professors, computer scientists, and technology enthusiasts.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of fundamental topics related to blockchain. Throughout, the authors explore different vital issues and specific areas of blockchain. For convenience, the authors present the elementary description, visualize the working procedure of blockchain paradigm, and highlight the areas it can be applied in real life. They explain the blockchain process from a diverse perspective i.e. distributed Internet of Things (IoT), interdependent networks, intelligent mining, etc. They also analyze the interconnection of a blockchain network and such novel research areas to show a pathway towards a new research direction. This book also holds the core challenges and open research issues of blockchain technology, considering existing applications. Chapters include consensus mechanisms of blockchain, blockchain applicability in centralized and decentralized internet of things, blockchain interoperability from the perspective of interdependent networks, and blockchain for resource-constrained devices. Specifies the importance of theoretical methods in dealing with problems in the context of blockchain for interdependent decision making; Provides a comprehensive investigation of blockchain algorithms and the recently developed methods based on this algorithm; Provides basics and mathematical foundations needed to learn and deploy blockchain.

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 have been 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.

Learn how to use Solidity and the Ethereum project – second only to Bitcoin in market capitalization. Blockchain protocols are taking the world by storm, and the Ethereum project, with its Turing-complete scripting language Solidity, has rapidly become a front-runner. This book presents the blockchain phenomenon in context; then situates Ethereum in a world pioneered by Bitcoin. See why professionals and non-professionals alike are honing their skills in smart contract patterns and distributed application development. You'll review the fundamentals of programming and networking, alongside its introduction to the new discipline of crypto-economics. You'll then deploy smart contracts of your own, and learn how they can serve as a back-end for JavaScript and HTML applications on the Web. Many Solidity tutorials out there today have the same flaw: they are written for “advanced” JavaScript developers who want to transfer their skills to a blockchain environment. Introducing Ethereum and Solidity is accessible to technology professionals and enthusiasts of all levels. You’ll find exciting sample code that can move forward real world assets in both the academic and the corporate arenas. Find out now why this book is a powerful gateway for creative technologists of all types, from concept to deployment. What You’ll Learn See how Ethereum (and other cryptocurrencies) work Compare distributed apps (dapps) to web apps Write Ethereum smart contracts in Solidity Connect Ethereum smart contracts to your HTML/CSS/JavaScript web applications Deploy your own dapp, coin, and blockchain Work with basic and intermediate smart contracts Who This Book Is For Anyone who is curious about Ethereum or has some familiarity with computer science Product managers, CTOs, and experienced JavaScript programmers Experts will find the advanced sample projects in this book rewarding because of the power of Solidity