Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction

by Arvind Narayanan, Joseph Bonneau, Edward Felten, Andrew Miller, Steven Goldfeder

Overview

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)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691171692
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/19/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	539,358
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 6.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Arvind Narayanan is assistant professor of computer science at Princeton University. Joseph Bonneau is a postdoctoral researcher at the Applied Cryptography Group at Stanford University. Edward Felten is director of Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy. Andrew Miller is a PhD student in computer science at the University of Maryland. Steven Goldfeder is a PhD student in computer science at Princeton.

Table of Contents

PREFACE vii

FOREWORD The Long Road to Bitcoin ix

Jeremy clark

1 Introduction to Cryptography and Cryptocurrencies 1

2 How Bitcoin Achieves Decentralization 27

3 Mechanics of Bitcoin 51

4 How to Store and Use Bitcoins 76

5 Bitcoin Mining 104

6 Bitcoin and Anonymity 138

7 Community, Politics, and Regulation 168

8 Alternative Mining Puzzles 190

9 Bitcoin as a Platform 213

10 Altcoins and the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem 242

11 Decentralized Institutions: The Future of Bitcoin? 272

CONCLUSION 286

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 287

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 289

INDEX 291

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Block chain technology is set to disrupt many different industries. If you want to get up to speed on this fast-moving technology, this book should be your first stop."—Campbell R. Harvey, Duke University

"Among this book's many features are lots of nice, concrete examples and pleasant anecdotes, as well as a highly readable and enjoyable history of cryptocurrencies. Strongly recommended."—Tyler Moore, University of Tulsa

Editorial Reviews

"For people interested in the inner workings of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies, this is an excellent book."

Choice

Honorable Mention for the 2017 PROSE Award in Computing and Information Sciences, Association of American Publishers

From the Publisher