Blockchain Bubble or Revolution: The Future of Bitcoin, Blockchains, and Cryptocurrencies
<b>Some experts say that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are just a scam; others say they're "the most important invention since the internet." It's hard to tell who's right.</b><br /><b></b><br /><b>Authored by Silicon Valley leaders from Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, Bubble or Revolution cuts through the hype to offer a balanced, comprehensive, and accessible analysis of blockchains and cryptocurrencies.</b><br /><br />***Bubble or Revolution was updated in 2021 to <b>include over 40 pages of new content</b> to cover the latest developments in the world of blockchain.***<b> We highly recommend buying our book directly from Amazon rather than a third-party seller as it's the only way to ensure you get the latest version.</b><br /><br />You'll learn the core concepts of Bitcoin and blockchain technologies to understand their strengths and weaknesses from real-world case studies; dive deep into their technical, economic, political, and legal complexities; and gain insights about their future from exclusive interviews with dozens of tech industry leaders.<br /><br /><b>Are blockchains and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin a bubble or a revolution? We'll help you decide for yourself.</b><br />What's inside:<br /><br /><b>Bitcoin and the blockchain</b><br /><ul><li>How Bitcoin and blockchains work from a technical perspective with no assumed technical knowledge</li><li>Satoshi Nakamoto and the history of Bitcoin, the original blockchain</li><li>A thorough overview of crucial crypto concepts (eg. blocks, keys, mining, nodes, etc.)</li><li>Frameworks for understanding when it actually makes sense to use blockchain</li><li>Major application scenarios for blockchain and cryptocurrencies and where it'll fall flat</li></ul><b>Public blockchains and altcoins</b><br /><ul><li>Emerging trends in blockchain technology</li><li>What you should know before buying any cryptocurrency</li><li>An overview of Etherum and smart contracts</li><li>An overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the top altcoins and stable coins, including Monero (XMR), Tether (USDT), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH)</li><li>Alternatives to blockchain and cryptocurrencies</li><li>New kinds of decentralized ledger technology (DLT)</li><li>The economics of both traditional payment methods and cryptocurrencies</li><li>Cryptocurrency security best practices and major breach case studies</li></ul><b>Private blockchains</b><br /><ul><li>How blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and traditional banking and finance will interact with one another in the future</li><li>Public blockchains vs private blockchains</li><li>Limitations and shortcomings of public blockchains and cryptocurrencies</li><li>The role of blockchain in the strategy of top tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft</li><li>Case studies of how non-tech companies are effectively utilizing blockchain (eg. Walmart using it to prevent foodborne illness)</li><li>Business blockchain case studies ranging from gaming (e.g. Xbox) to cloud services (e.g. Microsoft Azure's blockchain-as-a-service and Amazon's AWS offering)</li><li>Blockchain's use for big data, internet of things (IoT), and machine learning (ML)</li></ul><b>Cryptocurrency regulation and policy</b><br /><ul><li>ICOs vs STOs vs IPOs</li><li>KYC and AML laws</li><li>The debate over whether cryptocurrencies are securities</li><li>The official stance of various countries on crypto</li><li>An overview of crypto policy and regula