Cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain Revolution: Bitcoin and Beyond

by Brendan January

Overview

In January 2009, a mysterious software developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, exchanged a specially designed code with another developer. The code was a digital currency that Nakamoto had proposed several months before in a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” This was the first Bitcoin transaction.

Since then, Bitcoin has become the face of a tech revolution in digital cryptocurrencies based on blockchain technology. Its success has sparked a tech revolution that could fundamentally change global economics. Author Brendan January delves into the world of coders, libertarians, criminals, financial regulators, and crypto-detectives to understand what digital cryptocurrencies have to offer, their limitations and potential pitfalls, security issues, and how they may affect government and financial regulations in the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541578777
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	639,630
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	11 - 18 Years

About the Author

Brendan January is an award-winning author of more than twenty nonfiction books for YA readers. He lives with his wife and two children in Maplewood, New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

"This primer provides a fuller understanding of cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) and the systems that make them possible, specifically blockchain technology. Bitcoin was introduced to the world not long after the economic recession of 2007–08; it was positioned as an alternative to government-backed currency and the challenges that surround it. The text breaks down the theories and specifics of how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies function, but some background knowledge of how computer networks operate is necessary in order to have a complete picture. Subsequent chapters take a closer look at the pros and cons of cryptocurrencies, describing both the utopian vision of a currency that has a decentralized system of support and the pitfalls that have occurred over the past 10 years or so of its existence. Blockchain technology is sufficiently explained in addition to how it has been put to use around the globe in ways that are not related to currencies. The writing is necessarily dense, but diagrams and occasional sidebars facilitate further understanding. VERDICT Like any book about current technologies, this one will become quickly outdated. However, this fascinating title presents a strong introduction to a complex topic. A serviceable purchase for those who are interested in the subject."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2020

Gr 8 Up—This primer provides a fuller understanding of cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) and the systems that make them possible, specifically blockchain technology. Bitcoin was introduced to the world not long after the economic recession of 2007–08; it was positioned as an alternative to government-backed currency and the challenges that surround it. The text breaks down the theories and specifics of how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies function, but some background knowledge of how computer networks operate is necessary in order to have a complete picture. Subsequent chapters take a closer look at the pros and cons of cryptocurrencies, describing both the utopian vision of a currency that has a decentralized system of support and the pitfalls that have occurred over the past 10 years or so of its existence. Blockchain technology is sufficiently explained in addition to how it has been put to use around the globe in ways that are not related to currencies. The writing is necessarily dense, but diagrams and occasional sidebars facilitate further understanding. VERDICT Like any book about current technologies, this one will become quickly outdated. However, this fascinating title presents a strong introduction to a complex topic. A serviceable purchase for those who are interested in the subject.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill Sch., Cambridge, MA

School Library Journal

2020-07-14
An introduction to the history, functionality, pitfalls, and potentials of internet-based currencies.

After explaining the basics—that bitcoin is the most well-known cryptocurrency, a digital asset used like money, that relies on blockchain (a decentralized online ledger that tracks and verifies ownership to validate transactions)—Wall Street financial writer January takes readers to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 to show the problems bitcoin was devised to solve (lack of trust in government and the banking industry as well as the weaknesses of human intermediaries). Blockchain’s complicated verification system is the answer to preventing online counterfeiting. Chapters cover cryptocurrency’s nuts and bolts as well as its struggles: its initial bad reputation for use by malefactors on the Silk Road Dark Web, the get-rich bubbles, and other vulnerabilities. The initial divide—old, White, rich establishment versus the cryptocurrency innovators—becomes blurred as banks start to use blockchain for their own ends. Despite the intriguing topic, the prose tends toward dry. Because the philosophies and motives of cryptocurrency founders and early players shaped the way the technology was used—and will be used—there are reoccurring themes of conflict between utopian and capitalistic ideals. These intriguing moments lay the groundwork for a speculative take that blockchain can disrupt present-day technological risks in the form of monopolies and data abuses from certain large companies.

A balanced, reputable reference. (timeline, glossary, source notes, further information, index, image credits) (Nonfiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews

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