The End of Money: The story of bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain revolution

by New Scientist

Overview

Murder for hire. Drug trafficking. Embezzlement. Money laundering. Market manipulation. Governments overthrown. These might sound like plot lines of a conspiracy thriller, but they are true stories from the short history of "cryptocurrencies". Originally conceived by computer hackers and cryptographers, these digital currencies, represent a completely new sort of financial transaction - one that doesn't need banks. Yet it's the technology that underpins these cryptocurrencies that has financiers, lawmakers and governments sitting up and taking notice. Hailed as the greatest advancement since the invention of the internet, the blockchain is moving away from being the backbone for a digital currency and making inroads into other core concepts of society: identity, ownership and even the rule of law. The End of Money is an essential introduction to cryptocurrencies and the blockchain revolution. On this journey you'll discover how this staggering new technology has the potential to enable an ultra-libertarian society beyond government control.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781857889741
Publisher:	Quercus
Publication date:	05/16/2017
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Since the first magazine was published in 1956, New Scientist has established a world-beating reputation for exploring and uncovering the latest developments and discoveries in science and technology, placing them in context and exploring what they mean for the future. Each week through a variety of different channels, including print, online, social media and more, New Scientist reaches over four million highly engaged readers - over a million readers for the print magazine alone.

Table of Contents

Series introduction vii

About the author ix

Introduction xi

1 Bitcoin: The basics 1

2 The birth of bitcoin 7

3 How to create a currency, the crypto way 21

4 The blockchain 33

5 Mining gold the digital way 51

6 Assassins and drugs: Spending bitcoin in the early days 69

7 The school of hard Gox 83

8 Bitcoin comes of age 95

9 Is bitcoin really money? 113

10 The returns and departures of Satoshi Nakamoto 135

11 Revamping bitcoin - and the rise of altcoins 143

12 It's not about the money 161

13 From bitcoin to autonomous corporations 181

14 Conclusion 201

Fifty ideas 203

Glossary 213

Illustrations 221

Index 223