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Book • 335 pages • 2 hours reading time

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies

By Arvind Narayanan, Joseph Bonneau, Andrew Miller, Edward Felten, Steven Goldfeder
4.5/5
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Computers

About this book

An authoritative introduction to the exciting new technologies of digital money Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies provides a comprehensive introduction to the revolutionary yet often misunderstood new technologies of digital currency. Whether you are a student, software developer, tech entrepreneur, or researcher in computer science, this authoritative and self-contained book tells you everything you need to know about the new global money for the Internet age. How do Bitcoin and its block chain actually work? How secure are your bitcoins? How anonymous are their users? Can cryptocurrencies be regulated? These are some of the many questions this book answers. It begins by tracing the history and development of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and then gives the conceptual and practical foundations you need to engineer secure software that interacts with the Bitcoin network as well as to integrate ideas from Bitcoin into your own projects. Topics include decentralization, mining, the politics of Bitcoin, altcoins and the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the future of Bitcoin, and more. An essential introduction to the new technologies of digital currency Covers the history and mechanics of Bitcoin and the block chain, security, decentralization, anonymity, politics and regulation, altcoins, and much more Features an accompanying website that includes instructional videos for each chapter, homework problems, programming assignments, and lecture slides Also suitable for use with the authors' Coursera online course Electronic solutions manual (available only to professors)
Computers
📘
Language
English
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Release date
July 19, 2016
Downloads
19

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A clearer way to understand Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies through themes, characters, and key ideas

This reading guide highlights what stands out in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies through 5 core themes. It is meant to help readers decide whether the book fits their taste and deepen the reading once they begin.

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About this book

A quick AI guide to “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies”

Get the shape of the book before you commit: what it is about, what mood it carries, and what ideas readers tend to stay with afterward.

~20h readintermediateacademicinformativerigorous

What the book is doing

This book provides an authoritative and comprehensive introduction to Bitcoin and the broader field of cryptocurrency technologies. It demystifies the underlying mechanics of digital currency, explaining concepts like decentralization, mining, and the blockchain in detail. Targeting a diverse audience from students to developers and entrepreneurs, the text covers the historical context, practical implementation, security considerations, and the socio-political implications of these revolutionary technologies. It serves as a foundational resource for understanding the principles and future trajectory of digital money in the internet age, offering both conceptual and practical insights.

Key Themes

Decentralization

The foundational principle of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, emphasizing the elimination of central authorities and intermediaries. The book meticulously explains how this is achieved through distributed consensus mechanisms (like Proof-of-Work), peer-to-peer networking, and cryptographic proofs, contrasting it with traditional centralized financial and data systems.

Security and Cryptography

The book thoroughly details how cryptographic primitives (hash functions, digital signatures, public-key cryptography) are used to secure transactions, link blocks immutably, and ensure the overall integrity and authenticity of the blockchain. It also covers network security, potential attack vectors (e.g., 51% attacks, Sybil attacks), and defensive measures inherent in the protocol design.

A line worth noting
“Bitcoin achieves decentralization through a peer-to-peer network, a distributed ledger (the blockchain), and a consensus mechanism (Proof-of-Work).”
A good discussion starter

How does Bitcoin's decentralized nature address the inherent trust issues present in traditional financial systems, and what new trust paradigms does it introduce?

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