Blockchain Bubble or Revolution: The Present and Future of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-13 09:54:27
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Neel Mehta
- ISBN：0578528150
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Some experts say that cryptocurrencies and blockchains are just a scam; others say they're "the most important invention since the internet。" It's hard to tell who's right。 Authored by Product Managers from Google， Microsoft， and Facebook， Bubble or Revolution cuts through the hype to offer a balanced， comprehensive， and accessible analysis of blockchains and cryptocurrencies。
You'll learn the core concepts of these technologies and 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。 No coding or math needed！
Are cryptocurrencies and blockchains a bubble or a revolution？ We'll help you decide for yourself。
What's inside:
Bitcoin and the blockchain
How Bitcoin and blockchains work from a technical perspective with no assumed technical knowledge
Satoshi Nakamoto and the history of Bitcoin， the original blockchain
A thorough overview of crucial crypto concepts （eg。 blocks， keys， mining， nodes， etc。）
Frameworks for understanding when it actually makes sense to use blockchain
Major application scenarios for blockchain and cryptocurrencies and where it'll fall flat
Public blockchains and altcoins
Emerging trends in blockchain technology
What you should know before buying any cryptocurrency
An overview of Etherum and smart contracts
An overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the top altcoins and stable coins， including Monero （XMR）， Tether （USDT）， and Bitcoin Cash （BCH）
Alternatives to blockchain and cryptocurrencies
New kinds of decentralized ledger technology （dlt）
The economics of both traditional payment methods and cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency security best practices and major breach case studies
Private blockchains
How blockchain， cryptocurrencies， and traditional banking and finance will interact with one another in the future
Public blockchains vs private blockchains
Limitations and shortcomings of public blockchains and cryptocurrencies
The role of blockchain in the strategy of top tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft
Case studies of how non-tech companies are effectively utilizing blockchain （eg。 Walmart using it to prevent foodborne illness）
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）
Blockchain's use for big data， internet of things （IoT）， and machine learning （ML）
Cryptocurrency regulation and policy
ICOs vs STOs vs IPOs
ICOs' status as securities
The SEC's STO rules and Reg A+/CF/D/S
KYC and AML laws
The debate over whether cryptocurrencies are securities
The official stance of various countries on crypto
An overview of crypto policy and regulatory hurdles
The role of crypto in emerging markets and China
Digital democracy and voting on the blockchain
The future of decentralized technology
If， how， and when the tokenization of national currencies will play out
Facebook and WhatsApp's upcoming cryptocurrencies
Currency tokenization and China's efforts to tokenize the yuan
Blockchain， IoT， and the tangle
Cryptocurrencies vs。 fiat vs。 the gold standard
Predictions about the future of money， business， and currency
Why blockchains would do better on Mars than Earth
You'll learn the core concepts of these technologies and 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。 No coding or math needed！
Are cryptocurrencies and blockchains a bubble or a revolution？ We'll help you decide for yourself。
What's inside:
Bitcoin and the blockchain
How Bitcoin and blockchains work from a technical perspective with no assumed technical knowledge
Satoshi Nakamoto and the history of Bitcoin， the original blockchain
A thorough overview of crucial crypto concepts （eg。 blocks， keys， mining， nodes， etc。）
Frameworks for understanding when it actually makes sense to use blockchain
Major application scenarios for blockchain and cryptocurrencies and where it'll fall flat
Public blockchains and altcoins
Emerging trends in blockchain technology
What you should know before buying any cryptocurrency
An overview of Etherum and smart contracts
An overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the top altcoins and stable coins， including Monero （XMR）， Tether （USDT）， and Bitcoin Cash （BCH）
Alternatives to blockchain and cryptocurrencies
New kinds of decentralized ledger technology （dlt）
The economics of both traditional payment methods and cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency security best practices and major breach case studies
Private blockchains
How blockchain， cryptocurrencies， and traditional banking and finance will interact with one another in the future
Public blockchains vs private blockchains
Limitations and shortcomings of public blockchains and cryptocurrencies
The role of blockchain in the strategy of top tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft
Case studies of how non-tech companies are effectively utilizing blockchain （eg。 Walmart using it to prevent foodborne illness）
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）
Blockchain's use for big data， internet of things （IoT）， and machine learning （ML）
Cryptocurrency regulation and policy
ICOs vs STOs vs IPOs
ICOs' status as securities
The SEC's STO rules and Reg A+/CF/D/S
KYC and AML laws
The debate over whether cryptocurrencies are securities
The official stance of various countries on crypto
An overview of crypto policy and regulatory hurdles
The role of crypto in emerging markets and China
Digital democracy and voting on the blockchain
The future of decentralized technology
If， how， and when the tokenization of national currencies will play out
Facebook and WhatsApp's upcoming cryptocurrencies
Currency tokenization and China's efforts to tokenize the yuan
Blockchain， IoT， and the tangle
Cryptocurrencies vs。 fiat vs。 the gold standard
Predictions about the future of money， business， and currency
Why blockchains would do better on Mars than Earth
Reviews
Mayur Detroja
，
It explains the big words like crypto and blockchain in simple words， at the end you may be able to decide for yourself whether to invest in crypto is good strategy in long term or how blockchain will affect your work area in near future。
Himanshu Sharma
，
Excellent book to get yourself acquainted with the basics of blockchain and cryptocurrencies。 Insightful to learn:- Non-currency usecases for blockchain technology。- Private blockchain already adopted by companies like WalMart & Microsoft。- that a terribly inefficient way to generate the 'winning' hash is the stepping stone for the technology- the curious approach from China where majority of mining is controlled by China but cryptocurrenncy investment is banned。- that governments' regulations， Excellent book to get yourself acquainted with the basics of blockchain and cryptocurrencies。 Insightful to learn:- Non-currency usecases for blockchain technology。- Private blockchain already adopted by companies like WalMart & Microsoft。- that a terribly inefficient way to generate the 'winning' hash is the stepping stone for the technology- the curious approach from China where majority of mining is controlled by China but cryptocurrenncy investment is banned。- that governments' regulations， absence of which is USP for crypt-currencies， are inevitable。With the knowledge gained from book， I can （or at least I think I can ） draw more informed predictions/conclusions about the future of cryptocurrencies。 。。。more
Vicente S。
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Definitely one of the best books I’ve read so far regarding Blockchain and bitcoin！
Brandon Makowski
，
This is a great book for someone with limited knowledge on all things crypto。 I believe this presents a very factual， unbiased view of Bitcoin。
Rama Ituarte
，
Great introduction to blockchain and cryptoI am the CTO of a fintech and wanted to validate some of my understandings of blockchain and crypto with this book and I was very pleasantly surprised how well the book flowed and the level of detail it gave in these technologies。
Ivan Tan
，
Amazing explanation on blockchainThis book provides a very clear explanation regarding cryptocurrency and blockchain technology。 Very interesting case studies were used to keep the content refreshing and it was definitely a very fun and valuable read。 Recommended to everyone， you need to read this if you are interested in the power of blockchain technology！
Mike Pineda
，
Excellent book ） Got into the dynamics of crypto and made ti easy to digest for a layman。 Additionally it takes a realist view on how crypto’s are effecting the world today and how they will effect tomorrows future。 Although toward end of the book the author takes a pessimistic view point saying cryptos won’t ve used what initially they were created for which is decentralization， I would have to disagree with that stance in saying that crypto will be used in the future as a hedge against fiat an Excellent book ） Got into the dynamics of crypto and made ti easy to digest for a layman。 Additionally it takes a realist view on how crypto’s are effecting the world today and how they will effect tomorrows future。 Although toward end of the book the author takes a pessimistic view point saying cryptos won’t ve used what initially they were created for which is decentralization， I would have to disagree with that stance in saying that crypto will be used in the future as a hedge against fiat and more decentralized platforms and apps will be released to cut the middleman from taking profits from smaller to medium sizes business who use public accessed blockchains。 But all in all great book 😊 。。。more
Sid Johnson
，
Excellent book that demonstrates where blockchain brings something to the party， where it does not， and why。 Not a lot of technical knowledge needed; the authors cover the topic from the perspective of actual uses that have succeeded and failed， and from the perspectives of politics and economics。 The book explains clearly what you can expect to happen with Bitcoin， Ethereum， and their siblings。
Ry。frizzellgmail。com
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Bubble or revolution？ They don’t know either。 Does a good job of scratching the surface of many crypto topics
Xuan Guo
，
A book about Blockchain and cypto from product managers' perpective A book about Blockchain and cypto from product managers' perpective 。。。more
JR Smith
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I'm not a crypto interested person， but this book came up in a book club I am in。 I'm not rating it this low because of my disinterest in crypto。 Instead， it's because when I checked the citations， too often I came away thinking "that's not what the cited piece said"。 Also， something rankles me about citing Medium blogs in a book， but maybe I'm just being a crusty grump in that regard。 It just felt。。。 kinda sloppy overall。 I'm not a crypto interested person， but this book came up in a book club I am in。 I'm not rating it this low because of my disinterest in crypto。 Instead， it's because when I checked the citations， too often I came away thinking "that's not what the cited piece said"。 Also， something rankles me about citing Medium blogs in a book， but maybe I'm just being a crusty grump in that regard。 It just felt。。。 kinda sloppy overall。 。。。more
Stephen Flanagan
，
This was a very good overview of the general history and principles of crypto and blockchain technology。 If you are interested in knowing more about this space， I recommend this book as a good starting point。
Ana Rsierra
，
This book is the best way I’ve found to really understand blockchains & cryptocurrencies and though at times it emphasizes it’s shortcomings it has very clear practical study cases of the implications and possible applications of this technology。 I must say the book has it all， the story of a secret super hero with a secret identity Batman would envy （Satoshi Nakamoto） the incredible story of a criminal enterprise （ silk roads ）。 An rupture on the original structure only compared to the one lead This book is the best way I’ve found to really understand blockchains & cryptocurrencies and though at times it emphasizes it’s shortcomings it has very clear practical study cases of the implications and possible applications of this technology。 I must say the book has it all， the story of a secret super hero with a secret identity Batman would envy （Satoshi Nakamoto） the incredible story of a criminal enterprise （ silk roads ）。 An rupture on the original structure only compared to the one lead by Luther and Christianism， （ Bitcoin cash） A quick curse dictatorship （petro）， the story of a 19 YO with a mind blowing mind （Vitalik Buterin） And cute photos of crypto kittens 🐱 Overall a really enjoyable read on the subject。 。。。more
Maxim Chervonny
，
This is a good book for amateurs like me。 It's not very detailed， but it's short， and shallowly covers most topics on cryptocurrencies。After reading I still have a lot of questions， but now I can ask them with the right questions。 This is a good book for amateurs like me。 It's not very detailed， but it's short， and shallowly covers most topics on cryptocurrencies。After reading I still have a lot of questions， but now I can ask them with the right questions。 。。。more
Kevin
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Amazing read on an amazing topic。 If you have no idea what Bitcoin or blockchain or anything about crypto， this is a very well written overview of it all。 Read the book！！！
Stanislas
，
A couple weeks ago I didn’t really understand cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology。 I read this book。 Now I understand these concepts very well。
Omar Venturi
，
Interessante testo che affronta l'evoluzione della tecnologia alla base di Bitcoin （DLT/Blockchain） e analizza anche i progetti che lo hanno seguito （altocoin）。Sono rimasto inizialmente un po' sorpreso rispetto allo spazio dedicato alla tematica public/private blockchain。 Alla fine credo sia sensato affrontare in maniera approfondita questo tema poichè， anche se nella fase attuale （iniziale。。。 maggio 2021） l'hype è tutto sulle blockchain pubbliche， non è da escludere che quelle "private" （permis Interessante testo che affronta l'evoluzione della tecnologia alla base di Bitcoin （DLT/Blockchain） e analizza anche i progetti che lo hanno seguito （altocoin）。Sono rimasto inizialmente un po' sorpreso rispetto allo spazio dedicato alla tematica public/private blockchain。 Alla fine credo sia sensato affrontare in maniera approfondita questo tema poichè， anche se nella fase attuale （iniziale。。。 maggio 2021） l'hype è tutto sulle blockchain pubbliche， non è da escludere che quelle "private" （permissioned） avranno un ruolo importante。Non passa inosservato che i tre autori lavorino per tre grandi big player del settore tech （Microsoft， Facebook e Google）， anche perchè nel testo si descrivono i progetti che stanno sviluppando queste aziende （forse， a mio modesto parere， in maniera un po' eccessiva）。Infine， la conclusione degli autori， proprio per la posizione che ricoprono， mi lascia qualche dubbio… è in effetti una nota un po' fuori dal coro rispetto alla molta altra documentazione che ho letto。 Non significa che sia sbagliata， però mi ha fatto riflettere。La conclusione la riporto qui sotto， ma ti avviso prima… non è un romanzo， quindi non lo considero uno SPOILER， ad ogni modo potresti non volerlo sapere quindi decidi tu se leggere quanto segue。。。。。。Gli autori concludono sostenendo che le blockchain private （come quelle che appunto stanno sviluppando Microsoft e Facebook） potrebbero essere il vero futuro di questa tecnologia。Attualmente， il progetto di Microsoft non sembra avere un grande seguito… e quello di Facebook sta incontrando qualche problema （anche se è ancora in sviluppo e con gli oltre 2 miliardi di utenti di Facebook potrebbe davvero avere degli impatti significativi）。A onor del vero， ho avuto modo di riflettere ulteriormente sul ruolo che le blockchain private potrebbero avere e， ribadisco， la conclusione degli autori potrebbe anche essere corretta （chi lo sa）。Condivido questo dubbio solo perchè potrebbe sorgere anche in altri （potenziali） lettori e potrebbe essere loro utile。。。 o potrebbe generare un confronto 。。。more
Sami Perkins
，
Very easy to read guide to understanding Bitcoin， blockchains， and cryptocurrency。
Carl
，
Was looking for a balanced review of blockchain， bitcoin + other applications。 This was excellent。 Good detailed explanation of how it works。 Doesn't hold back criticism but also is fair about potential future uses of the tech。 I came away with a much clearer understanding of how blockchain works and what are the （often more mundane and non-currency） foreseeable applications。 Was looking for a balanced review of blockchain， bitcoin + other applications。 This was excellent。 Good detailed explanation of how it works。 Doesn't hold back criticism but also is fair about potential future uses of the tech。 I came away with a much clearer understanding of how blockchain works and what are the （often more mundane and non-currency） foreseeable applications。 。。。more
Tim Kelley
，
This book does precisely what it sets out to do - I am no longer completely incompetent when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies。
José Rossi
，
Neutral， well-referenced， and a valuable big picture of the crypto worldThe book provides interesting insights and a valuable introduction to crypto without selling fake promises or being too negative。 It’s impartial， well-analyzed， and with several references。Worth a read for every crypto newcomer。
Stella
，
I highly recommend this book for bitcoin and crypto beginners。 I found it easy to digest， informative and a good amount of nerdy。 It's well written and pretty up to date， even though crypto innovation is changing daily。 I highly recommend this book for bitcoin and crypto beginners。 I found it easy to digest， informative and a good amount of nerdy。 It's well written and pretty up to date， even though crypto innovation is changing daily。 。。。more
Larry Guthrie
，
Cryptocurrency sparked my interest a few weeks back。 I decided on this book based on several reviews here and its ranking on Amazon。 This book was not extremely difficult to read。 The authors did a great job of explaining a complex and very technical application in simple terms。 I found it very educational and eye-opening to the possibilities of the technology。I think Bitcoin is a good investment for high-risk investors。 As a payment system， which is the original vision， it is way too volatile。 Cryptocurrency sparked my interest a few weeks back。 I decided on this book based on several reviews here and its ranking on Amazon。 This book was not extremely difficult to read。 The authors did a great job of explaining a complex and very technical application in simple terms。 I found it very educational and eye-opening to the possibilities of the technology。I think Bitcoin is a good investment for high-risk investors。 As a payment system， which is the original vision， it is way too volatile。 Some alt-coins are better fitted for that。This is a good， layman's primer into the world of crypto。 If it interests you at all， then this is a book you should read。 。。。more
Nathan Boardman
，
Easy enough read to get into what could otherwise be a quagmire of technical jargon
Miguel
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A balanced take on the evolving blockchain and crypto landscape。 The authors expertly walk the line between too-technical and not-technical-enough， with clear explanations of bitcoin and friends， public and private uses of blockchain， and lots of examples of successful and unsuccessful implementations。 I feel much more prepared to dive into white papers。 Above all though， this book is great because it was a page turner！
Farming Lord
，
The book itself is so simple and nice to read。 But I don't like the title。 The whole finance world is a bubble！ The banking system， DeFi， Obligations， Bonds， Stock Market， fiat， gold - everything！ So I would say a title is a bit of clickbait。 However， speaking of the book， well， I think this is a great introduction to the world of DeFi for all the newcomers。 So I would recommend it to read if you are not in crypto yet。 The book itself is so simple and nice to read。 But I don't like the title。 The whole finance world is a bubble！ The banking system， DeFi， Obligations， Bonds， Stock Market， fiat， gold - everything！ So I would say a title is a bit of clickbait。 However， speaking of the book， well， I think this is a great introduction to the world of DeFi for all the newcomers。 So I would recommend it to read if you are not in crypto yet。 。。。more
Deepak Deshpande
，
A very good introduction to blockchain technology with a detailed unbiased dive into the pros and cons as well as the future of financing。
Jose
，
Excelente libro para iniciar a comprender el mundo del blockchain y cryptomonedas。 Conceptos claros y fáciles de comprender digamos que para dummies en el tema。
Wiktor
，
Blockchain technology has been generating a lot of discussion lately， even of an ideological nature。 I reached for this title so that I could broaden my horizons on the subject a bit。 I was also keen not to get information skewed by the author's involvement in the technology。 An outsider's opinion on cryptocurrencies， written by technology industry professionals， has more value to me than one written by a wannabe billionaire with a sizable stake in its market。Criticism of cryptocurrencies will o Blockchain technology has been generating a lot of discussion lately， even of an ideological nature。 I reached for this title so that I could broaden my horizons on the subject a bit。 I was also keen not to get information skewed by the author's involvement in the technology。 An outsider's opinion on cryptocurrencies， written by technology industry professionals， has more value to me than one written by a wannabe billionaire with a sizable stake in its market。Criticism of cryptocurrencies will often be met with resistance in the form of libertarians， for whom decentralization of currency is a politically important issue。 But any technology should be socially beneficial first and foremost， and should be considered through the spectrum of pragmatism for the average citizen， rather than utility in matters of fulfilling certain political visions。 The line of defense for cryptocurrencies is often based on the scare of inflation。 It calls for a return to the mindset of the days when the gold standard was still in effect。 It is not without reason that graphics depicting cryptocurrencies not infrequently portray deposits full of gold coins。 Cryptocurrencies are painted as the new gold， a new way to protect yourself against inflation。 Methods of defense against inflation already exist， but are apparently unconvincing to people for whom inflation itself is like a harbinger of the end of the world。 Fear of inflation， combined with a lack of understanding of how it works and why deflation is just as （if not more） harmful， gives cryptocurrencies a large uncritical following in certain circles of people。As the authors rightly point out， blockchain technologies are "focusing too much on the technical problems without thinking about the people problems"。 Most of the current cryptocurrency market （circa 2021） is based on technologies that are environmentally harmful。 They are also unstable， reduce consumer benefits in favor of sellers， and are less useful to people with less capital。 In a word， the social cost of cryptocurrencies is greater than its social gain。 If there is one thing that libertarian thought and its inventions have proven over the years it is that downplaying the social cost has thrust us into large-scale social-structural crises that will take much more time to fix than it did to cause them。Nevertheless， cryptocurrencies are finding their uses as a new speculative financial instrument。 I am glad that the authors skillfully note the more useful uses of cryptocurrencies and， above all， of the blockchain technology。 Cryptocurrencies should be more than an outlet to get a taste of the financial world in your own backyard。 That's why blockchain technology itself is more exciting than its implementation in the form of cryptocurrencies。 The examples presented by the authors give an optimistic view of the technology and its possibilities。I think the book is worth reading。 It doesn't require extensive technical knowledge， but it also doesn't downplay the important information about the technology it presents。 By taking a critical look at the whole picture， the reader can effectively form an opinion without unnecessary political bias。 。。。more
Wesley Fox
，