The First Comprehensive Guide To Blockchain: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, and the Future of Blockchain

By Paul Williamson

Description

Blockchain: The First Comprehensive guide to Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, smart contacts, and the Future of Blockchain is your one-stop guide to everything that you need to know about the blockchain technology and the different cryptocurrencies. This book is your handy manual that will teach you:

• What a blockchain is
• How the blockchain works
• The different cryptocurrencies
• How to earn cryptocurrencies
• Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
• The present trend and possible future of blockchain

And so much more!

What's in the book?

Chapter 1 teaches the basics of blockchain, its characteristics, as well as the risks and benefits associated with it, among others.

Chapter 2 discusses the different cryptocurrencies with particular emphasis on bitcoin and Ethereum.

Chapter 3 talks about the present and possible future trend of the blockchain technology and why investing in cryptocurrency may be the best decision that you can make.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Max Cafaro
• Release date: Apr 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386219873

Book preview

Introduction

Congratulations on downloading this book and thank you for doing so.

The following chapters will teach you everything that you need to know about blockchain, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts.  

Chapter 1 teaches the basics of blockchain, its characteristics, as well as the risks and benefits associated with it, among others.

Chapter 2 discusses the different cryptocurrencies with particular emphasis on bitcoin and Ethereum.

Chapter 3 talks about the present and possible future trend of the blockchain technology and why investing in cryptocurrency may be the best decision that you can make.

May this book serve as a guiding light on your journey to success and financial freedom.

There are plenty of books on this subject on the market, thanks again for choosing this one! Every effort was made to ensure it is full of as much useful information as possible. Please enjoy!

Chapter 1: Blockchain

Blockchain is a decentralized and public digital ledger that is used to record different transactions across a wide network of computers to ensure that the records cannot be changed or altered without altering a majority of all the blocks in a given chain. This will allow users to be able to verify, as well as audit, transactions.

It creates a robust workflow that is authenticated through mass collaboration. It also confirms that an asset is transferred once which solves the problem of double spending. Many people consider the blockchain as a value-exchange protocol since it enables the exchange of value in a fast-paced environment. The blockchain record also shows the record of offer and acceptance between and among its users. 

Blockchain database

You will find two things when you view the blockchain database: blocks and transactions. A block refers to a valid transaction that is hashed and encoded. Take note that every block has the hash of the block before it. A link of blocks is referred to as a chain. As you can see, every block confirms the integrity of the block before it, and so on — up to the genesis block (first block). A blockchain can produce a block within a few seconds. It is also possible for separate blocks to be made concurrently, which creates a temporary fork.

Every blockchain also has a special algorithm which is used to score the various versions of a history, so that those with a higher value can be preferred over others. If a block is not selected to be included in a chain, then it is called an orphan block. The blockchain database follows a simple yet reliable structure. It is also this simplicity that makes it attractive.

Brief history

Back in 1991, Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta presented a work: a chain of blocks that was powered cryptographically. However, the very first distributed blockchain was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. It is worth noting that even up to now, nobody really knows who Satoshi Nakamoto really is. Some theories say that Satoshi