Blockchain Technology Explained: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide About Blockchain Wallet, Mining, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Zcash, Monero, Ripple, Dash, IOTA and Smart Contracts
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?
If you’ve never heard of blockchain or you only have a vague idea of how this new technology works, this is the book for you. In this short guide I’ll walk you through the essentials of how blockchain technology works, using simple explanations and giving examples along the way. I’ve introduced many people to blockchain, so I know where beginners usually get confused and the main questions they have. All of the basic principles are addressed step-by-step in this book, You don’t need any special knowledge or understanding of technology to understand the concepts in this book.
Blockchain is a technology, like the internet or the personal computer, that’s intended for use by the masses. It holds the potential to revolutionize almost every interaction in our lives, Many readers will have heard of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. These are an important application of blockchain technology and the first application. However, blockchain is not restricted to use in finance and payment systems. While we’ll definitely cover Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in this book, we’ll also look at potential applications of blockchain across many different industries.
THIS IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT INVESTING IN BITCOIN OR OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Over the past few years, hundreds of new currencies have been created, all living online, on the blockchain. For newcomers to the
technology, it may come as a surprise that people are seriously investing in newly-invented digital currencies like Bitcoin, While these currencies are interesting and have potential to gain wide usage, this is not a book about cryptocurrency.
For those of you who are new to blockchain, the idea of investing in cryptocurrency might sound appealing. A word of warning: investing in cryptocurrency is a highly volatile market and extremely risky. Do your research before investing in a cryptocurrency to make sure it is legitimate, and don’t invest any more money than you can afford to lose. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are still in the early days, and anything could happen at any time.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS BOOK?
Instead of talking about investing, this book will focus on how blockchain technology works and how it might be used in the future. Topics
you can expect to see in this book include:
● What problem does blockchain solve?
● How can technology make our institutions faster and less expensive?
● Could technology replace our institutions (like governments, banks, etc) altogether?
● How does blockchain build trust between strangers?
● How does blockchain increase security for transactions and contracts?
● Can blockchain be used outside of finance?
● What is a block?
● What is the chain and why do we need it?
● What’s a technical explanation of what happens in the blockchain?
● What is mining and why do we need it?
● Are there alternatives to mining to create a blockchain?
● What’s the story of Bitcoin?
● Does Bitcoin have any problems?
● What is Ethereum, and what is a smart contract?
● Are there other blockchain technologies I should know about?
● How are companies adopting blockchain?
● What regulatory hurdles might slow blockchain adoption?
Whew, that’s a lot of questions. If you’re ready to tackle them, I’m ready.
Let’s get started.
