Why Cryptocurrencies?: What they are, what they do and why they matter

by Jonas Hietala

Overview

Bitcoin is one of the most transformative technologies in history, but at the same time it's dismissed as useless or only seen as a speculative vehicle. Why Cryptocurrencies? will dispel that myth by exploring real use-cases and show how cryptocurrencies are uniquely positioned to revolutionize the way we use money today.

Can you afford to miss out?

What makes this book special?

• Gives you the important conceptual ideas. It's all too easy to get bogged down with technical details; the high-level concepts are what's truly important.
• Easy to read. The book is beginner-friendly and doesn't require any prior knowledge.
• Focused on utility. The focus is on concrete use-cases, instead of the more seductive speculative approach.
• It's bigger than Bitcoin. There are many more cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. The focus is on the general cryptocurrency concept and it's potential, instead of on a single implementation.
• Visits a wide variety of topics. This isn't only about cryptocurrencies. It's also about money, censorship, our financial system, and the dark secrets that Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden revealed.
• The order doesn't matter. Chapters are self-contained, so you can jump around and read the sections you're interested in.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789198676204
Publisher:	Jonas Hietala
Publication date:	05/31/2021
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Jonas Hietala is a software developer and a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He has been following the Bitcoin and Blockchain space since 2014 and is developing a self-hosted cryptocurrency payment processor.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

About the book

I. Why cryptocurrencies in five minutes

II. What is a cryptocurrency?

1. Properties of a cryptocurrency

2. How do cryptocurrencies work?

3. Look out for snake oil

4. What is money?

5. Are cryptocurrencies money?

III. Better digital payments

6. Cheaper & faster

7. "Undesirable" businesses

8. Freezing of merchant accounts

9. Uncensorable donations

10. For the unbanked

IV. A better currency

11. The financial crisis, bad loans and bailouts

12. The blind leading the blind

13. A defective system

14. Private money

15. A global currency

V. Brave new world

16. Darknet markets

17. A Swiss bank account in your pocket

18. The cashless dystopia

19. Protection against government confiscation

20. Separation of money and state

VI. Extensions

21. Timestamping service

22. Uncensorable Twitter

23. Provably fair gambling

24. Tokens

25. Improved voting

VII. Appendix

26. The Bitcoin white paper

27. Challenges for cryptocurrencies

28. A hitchhiker's guide to cryptography

29. Cryptocurrencies are antifragile

About me, the author

References

Editorial Reviews

Anyone who wishes to prepare for the future must learn about cryptocurrencies. This book is an excellent place to start.

- Roger Ver, the "Bitcoin Jesus"

This book is a well-written resource that should be easy to understand by everyone. From the flaws of the current financial system to the future implications, you'll see what a cryptocurrency is and why it's needed.

- SerHack, author of "Mastering Monero"

Very cool! I love the focus on utility instead of just speculation. That is what truly gives cryptocurrencies their value.

- Josh McIntyre

The information is correct and concise. Going with what we saw, quality work has been done.

- Guarda Wallet

Great book. I've been recommending it to everyone willing to learn about crypto.

- Michal Salaban, creator of the Monero Python module

Education is the most powerful tool which you can use to change the world and investing your time reading this book may give you the highest dividends of your life.

- /u/MobTwo

Had a skim read of a few chapters. Looks like a great project, very impressive. You seem to have struck a great balance between giving enough information to be of practical help, while still keeping things simple enough that it's not overwhelming for people new to the space.

- /u/fatalglory

This is very good, easy to read and nice illustrations!

- /u/n1ck9

From the Publisher