The Future of Money: How the Theft of $55 Million of Ethereum Laid the Foundation for the Next Great Internet Revolution
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-08 13:59:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew Leising
- ISBN：1119602939
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The thrilling story of one of the largest digital heists in history， set in the world of cryptocurrencies
In 2016， $55 million was stolen as computer programmers all around the world sat at their screens watching helplessly。 It was one of the largest digital heists in history。 This daring theft played out in the world of blockchain， the technological breakthrough that enabled Bitcoin to go from an idea in 2008 to a $130 billion digital currency today。 The Future of Money takes an in-depth look at the most prominent successor to Bitcoin， a radically improved type of computer software invented by 19-year-old genius Vitalik Buterin。 Known as Ethereum， its shaky beginnings allowed for the incredible hack that led to the $55 million heist。 It's a real-life cryptocurrency thriller that's sure to capture your imagination， whether you're an investor， investment professional， or simply interested in learning more about blockchain innovation and cryptocurrencies。
The story of Ethereum begins with Buterin， from his earliest days in Russia to Canadian �migr� to wunderkind writer and coder。 After pulling off one of the largest crowd sales in history at the time， Buterin and his cohorts built the Ethereum blockchain to become a world computer。 But early on things went horribly astray。 A futuristic automated investment fund created using Ethereum received an astounding $250 million in investment cash， yet a bug was mistakenly inserted in the code on line 666， allowing a hacker to steal a fifth of that money。 Since there's no federal deposit insurance for digital currency， the theft created a crisis that only a group of good-guy hackers who had helped build Ethereum could combat。 Think of ninjas battling on the blockchain and you've only scratched the surface of this fascinating real life adventure。
In the end， Buterin advocated for an extremely controversial fix: reversing time to a point before the theft happened to erase it and reinstate the stolen money。 This controversial move sent a concerning message: cyber transactions could be wiped out after the fact。 In light of the Ethereum crisis and its founders' actions， stakeholders in the multibillion-dollar virtual economy were forced to re-examine digital currency's future。
This book goes behind the scenes of the Ethereum theft， making it a true page-turner。 You'll also discover the never-before told history of the Ethereum developers and the struggles and triumphs they endured。
Understand the background behind a historic theft of ether。 Dive into the Ethereum blockchain that hosts smart contracts。 Learn more about the team that established Ethereum and kept it alive。 Keep pace with what's happening in blockchain and what the financial future may hold。 The potential of blockchain to transform industries， from finance to healthcare， has garnered the attention of corporations and individuals all over the world。 A heist of millions demands evaluation， whether you're a blockchain investor or financial professional weighing the potential risks and opportunities waiting in the world of cryptocurrencies。
In 2016， $55 million was stolen as computer programmers all around the world sat at their screens watching helplessly。 It was one of the largest digital heists in history。 This daring theft played out in the world of blockchain， the technological breakthrough that enabled Bitcoin to go from an idea in 2008 to a $130 billion digital currency today。 The Future of Money takes an in-depth look at the most prominent successor to Bitcoin， a radically improved type of computer software invented by 19-year-old genius Vitalik Buterin。 Known as Ethereum， its shaky beginnings allowed for the incredible hack that led to the $55 million heist。 It's a real-life cryptocurrency thriller that's sure to capture your imagination， whether you're an investor， investment professional， or simply interested in learning more about blockchain innovation and cryptocurrencies。
The story of Ethereum begins with Buterin， from his earliest days in Russia to Canadian �migr� to wunderkind writer and coder。 After pulling off one of the largest crowd sales in history at the time， Buterin and his cohorts built the Ethereum blockchain to become a world computer。 But early on things went horribly astray。 A futuristic automated investment fund created using Ethereum received an astounding $250 million in investment cash， yet a bug was mistakenly inserted in the code on line 666， allowing a hacker to steal a fifth of that money。 Since there's no federal deposit insurance for digital currency， the theft created a crisis that only a group of good-guy hackers who had helped build Ethereum could combat。 Think of ninjas battling on the blockchain and you've only scratched the surface of this fascinating real life adventure。
In the end， Buterin advocated for an extremely controversial fix: reversing time to a point before the theft happened to erase it and reinstate the stolen money。 This controversial move sent a concerning message: cyber transactions could be wiped out after the fact。 In light of the Ethereum crisis and its founders' actions， stakeholders in the multibillion-dollar virtual economy were forced to re-examine digital currency's future。
This book goes behind the scenes of the Ethereum theft， making it a true page-turner。 You'll also discover the never-before told history of the Ethereum developers and the struggles and triumphs they endured。
Understand the background behind a historic theft of ether。 Dive into the Ethereum blockchain that hosts smart contracts。 Learn more about the team that established Ethereum and kept it alive。 Keep pace with what's happening in blockchain and what the financial future may hold。 The potential of blockchain to transform industries， from finance to healthcare， has garnered the attention of corporations and individuals all over the world。 A heist of millions demands evaluation， whether you're a blockchain investor or financial professional weighing the potential risks and opportunities waiting in the world of cryptocurrencies。
Reviews
Rootul Patel
，
This covers a lot of the same events as "The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum"。Takeaways from this book:- It seems likely that the author and other ppl in the Ethereum community know the actor behind the DAO attack yet haven't publicly filed accusations- Charles Hoskinson （co-founder of Ethereum and creator of Cardano） sounds like a serial liar- Vitalik lives frugally and donated a lot to his alma matter （Abelard School）- There were a fe This covers a lot of the same events as "The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum"。Takeaways from this book:- It seems likely that the author and other ppl in the Ethereum community know the actor behind the DAO attack yet haven't publicly filed accusations- Charles Hoskinson （co-founder of Ethereum and creator of Cardano） sounds like a serial liar- Vitalik lives frugally and donated a lot to his alma matter （Abelard School）- There were a few power dynamics at play amongst the early Etherum cofounders- Joe Lubin and Consensys have done a lot for EthereumTakeaways （not directly from this book but from recent Ethereum related podcasts）:- Read Vitalik's blog- Read about zero knowledge proofs- How to scale Ethereum: 1。 Layer 1 scaling: Eth 2 includes sharding and proof of stake。 Expect 10 - 100x improvement 2。 Layer 2 scaling: Optimistic roll-ups， zero knowledge roll-ups， payment channels。 Expect another 10 - 100x improvement。 - We need both strategies to be developed in parallel。 Roll-ups hit mainnet sooner。 They will have a multiplicative effective on ability to scale TPS。- EIP 1559 makes Ethereum deflationary。 As usage of the blockchain increases， the amount of ether burned increases。 More Eth burned means a reduction supply which will likely cause an increase the price。- The distribution of Uniswap via airdrop to any accounts that used their app seems egalitarian。 Note: airdrops are taxable events- Quadratic voting for funding public goods sounds like a promising mechanism for effective philanthropy 。。。more
Chuck
，
"Out of the Ether" is a must read for anyone that wants to learn about the world of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin and it is invaluable as well for those who are already students of these exciting technologies。 Leising has captured the heady idealism and dazzling technological advances that are driving what will be the financial underpinnings of the 21st century。 Part "Crypto for Dummies"， part historical record， and part noir mystery， "Out of the Ether" will stand as a seminal text "Out of the Ether" is a must read for anyone that wants to learn about the world of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin and it is invaluable as well for those who are already students of these exciting technologies。 Leising has captured the heady idealism and dazzling technological advances that are driving what will be the financial underpinnings of the 21st century。 Part "Crypto for Dummies"， part historical record， and part noir mystery， "Out of the Ether" will stand as a seminal text for the world of cryptoassets。 。。。more
Ryan
，
This book covers the formation of the Ethereum project -- Vitalik and the other founders， early moves to create entities like the Ethereum Foundation in Switzerland and ConsenSys， and a focus on the DAO hack。 The author isn't a technical expert， but a financial journalist， and so focuses more on personalities， but does a pretty reasonable job of covering things。 Unfortunately there was no actual conclusion on the DAO hack （one incorrect lead and one which was inconclusive）， and because the focus This book covers the formation of the Ethereum project -- Vitalik and the other founders， early moves to create entities like the Ethereum Foundation in Switzerland and ConsenSys， and a focus on the DAO hack。 The author isn't a technical expert， but a financial journalist， and so focuses more on personalities， but does a pretty reasonable job of covering things。 Unfortunately there was no actual conclusion on the DAO hack （one incorrect lead and one which was inconclusive）， and because the focus was split between the founding of Ethereum and the hack， doesn't really have enough information on either。 The other big flaw was the author's fairly uncritical acceptance of the utility of ethereum and smart contract systems -- there is potential， and it might work out， but nothing so far has been particularly useful， everything has been far slower than expected， and he didn't take a single example of a potential use case and really analyze it。 Still， a pretty good introduction to the founding times of ethereum for most readers。 。。。more
William Highton
，
I did enjoy the book as it gives a good background to cryptocurrency and blockchain development。 However I get that blockchain has a real value but the book made me just as determined to never invest in cryptocurrency。 If you think banks are full of crooks well cryptocurrency is the Wild West。 Sometimes we need middlemen， insurance and regulations。 I still cannot shake the feeling that cryptocurrency is a big con。
Tim Koehler
，
I have been involved in and following crypto since some time in 2014。 Fully vested in ethereum since 2017。 I am a layman who doesn’t understand the technicals behind the scenes and this book helped shed some light on the history/things going on over the years that I saw from the sidelines。 The story of the ether thief was grasping for unnecessary drama in my opinion that took away from what the crypto currency needs， an easy way for non tech people to be able to use it （not just trade it）。 I’m e I have been involved in and following crypto since some time in 2014。 Fully vested in ethereum since 2017。 I am a layman who doesn’t understand the technicals behind the scenes and this book helped shed some light on the history/things going on over the years that I saw from the sidelines。 The story of the ether thief was grasping for unnecessary drama in my opinion that took away from what the crypto currency needs， an easy way for non tech people to be able to use it （not just trade it）。 I’m excited about the future prospects and this book did help my understanding quite a bit！ 。。。more
Arthur
，
Gets you ramped up on the history of Ethereum。 Details of Ethereum's inception gives you a sense of how much it wasn't brought up like a typical software startup。 Vitalik is the man to bet on。 Gets you ramped up on the history of Ethereum。 Details of Ethereum's inception gives you a sense of how much it wasn't brought up like a typical software startup。 Vitalik is the man to bet on。 。。。more
Warren Mcpherson
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