Bitcoin is starting to come into its own as a digital currency, but the blockchain technology behind it could prove to be much more significant. This book takes you beyond the currency ("Blockchain 1.0") and smart contracts ("Blockchain 2.0") to demonstrate how the blockchain is in position to become the fifth disruptive computing paradigm after mainframes, PCs, the Internet, and mobile/social networking.Author Melanie Swan, Founder of the Institute for Blockchain Studies, explains that the blockchain is essentially a public ledger with potential as a worldwide, decentralized record for the registration, inventory, and transfer of all assets--not just finances, but property and intangible assets such as votes, software, health data, and ideas.Topics include:Concepts, features, and functionality of Bitcoin and the blockchainUsing the blockchain for automated tracking of all digital endeavorsEnabling censorship?resistant organizational modelsCreating a decentralized digital repository to verify identityPossibility of cheaper, more efficient services traditionally provided by nationsBlockchain for science: making better use of the data-mining networkPersonal health record storage, including access to one's own genomic dataOpen access academic publishing on the blockchainThis book is part of an ongoing O'Reilly series. Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Crypto-Currencies introduces Bitcoin and describes the technology behind Bitcoin and the blockchain. Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy considers theoretical, philosophical, and societal impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
