The Promise Of Bitcoin The Future Of Money And How It Can Work For You

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The Promise of Bitcoin: The Future of Money and How It Can Work for You

Author : Bobby C. Lee
Publisher : McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN 13 : 1260468682
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (64 download)

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Book Synopsis The Promise of Bitcoin: The Future of Money and How It Can Work for You by : Bobby C. Lee

Download or read book The Promise of Bitcoin: The Future of Money and How It Can Work for You written by Bobby C. Lee and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER From the cofounder of the longest-running Bitcoin exchange comes a compelling argument for how this digital currency will transform the global economy—and how it can work for you. A financial revolution is materializing before our eyes. The way individuals, organizations, and governments conduct transactions—from purchasing a book online to acquiring major corporations to delivering billions in financial aid—will look vastly different in the near future. Bitcoin is spearheading this revolution and may be the best investment opportunity of our time, yet most people have yet to understand its promise. In this book, Bobby C. Lee, one of the earliest, most successful pioneers in the cryptocurrency space, debunks myths and dispels fears that surround Bitcoin, arguing that this rational, logical system is superior to traditional monetary systems. He cites signs of Bitcoin’s widening acceptance: a growing community of users worldwide and multiple initiatives for investing in and holding bitcoin among major financial services organizations and institutional investors who control trillions in assets. Lee offers a primer on the best strategies for investing in this digital currency, the value of which will only continue to grow. He discusses the pros and cons, and covers the complicated yet more profitable method of acquiring bitcoin, mining. He offers predictions for the future, including price, trajectory, use, and participation in the larger economy—as well as developments in regulation, technology, business, and society. Invest in the promise of Bitcoin today.

The Future of Money

Author : Eswar S. Prasad
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674258444
Total Pages : 497 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (742 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of Money by : Eswar S. Prasad

Download or read book The Future of Money written by Eswar S. Prasad and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cutting-edge look at how accelerating financial change, from the end of cash to the rise of cryptocurrencies, will transform economies for better and worse. We think weÕve seen financial innovation. We bank from laptops and buy coffee with the wave of a phone. But these are minor miracles compared with the dizzying experiments now underway around the globe, as businesses and governments alike embrace the possibilities of new financial technologies. As Eswar Prasad explains, the world of finance is at the threshold of major disruption that will affect corporations, bankers, states, and indeed all of us. The transformation of money will fundamentally rewrite how ordinary people live. Above all, Prasad foresees the end of physical cash. The driving force wonÕt be phones or credit cards but rather central banks, spurred by the emergence of cryptocurrencies to develop their own, more stable digital currencies. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies themselves will evolve unpredictably as global corporations like Facebook and Amazon join the game. The changes will be accompanied by snowballing innovations that are reshaping finance and have already begun to revolutionize how we invest, trade, insure, and manage risk. Prasad shows how these and other changes will redefine the very concept of money, unbundling its traditional functions as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. The promise lies in greater efficiency and flexibility, increased sensitivity to the needs of diverse consumers, and improved market access for the unbanked. The risk is instability, lack of accountability, and erosion of privacy. A lucid, visionary work, The Future of Money shows how to maximize the best and guard against the worst of what is to come.

Bitcoin

Author : Jose Pagliery
Publisher : Triumph Books
ISBN 13 : 1623689198
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (236 download)

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Book Synopsis Bitcoin by : Jose Pagliery

Download or read book Bitcoin written by Jose Pagliery and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2014-09-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bitcoin first appeared in 2009, and it's already challenging everything we've come to accept about money, financial institutions, and even government. The digital currency can be nearly anonymous. And it can be traded internationally—without the fees, government regulation, and bank oversight of paper money. But Bitcoin is still risky. Its value fluctuates wildly. More than $400 billion of it disappeared overnight with the fall of a single trading exchange. How is that possible? And why is it so popular? CNNMoney reporter Jose Pagliery explains it all. He details the digital currency's mysterious origins. He explores the dark side of Bitcoin: a world of drugs and assassins for hire. And he examines the economic impact of this revolutionary concept through interviews with pensive economists, wary bank regulators, and free market proponents such as Ron Paul. Bitcoin: And the Future of Money explains how it works and why it matters. The book is essential reading for anyone looking to understand a financial innovation that will forever change how we think about money.

Digital Cash

Author : Finn Brunton
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691209162
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Digital Cash by : Finn Brunton

Download or read book Digital Cash written by Finn Brunton and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-13 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating untold story of digital cash and its creators—from experiments in the 1970s to the mania over Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies Bitcoin may appear to be a revolutionary form of digital cash without precedent or prehistory. In fact, it is only the best-known recent experiment in a long line of similar efforts going back to the 1970s. But the story behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and its blockchain technology has largely been untold—until now. In Digital Cash, Finn Brunton reveals how technological utopians and political radicals created experimental money to bring about their visions of the future: to protect privacy, bring down governments, prepare for apocalypse, or launch a civilization of innovation and abundance that would make its creators immortal. Filled with marvelous characters, stories, and ideas, Digital Cash is an engaging and accessible account of the strange origins and remarkable technologies behind today's cryptocurrency explosion.

CryptoDad

Author : J. Christopher Giancarlo
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 111985508X
Total Pages : 431 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (198 download)

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Book Synopsis CryptoDad by : J. Christopher Giancarlo

Download or read book CryptoDad written by J. Christopher Giancarlo and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insider's account of the rise of digital money and cryptocurrencies Dubbed "CryptoDad" for his impassioned plea to Congress to acknowledge and respect cryptocurrencies as the inevitable product of a fast-growing technological wave and a free marketplace, Chris Giancarlo is considered one of "the most influential individuals in financial regulation." CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money describes Giancarlo’s own reckoning with the future of the global economy—at the intersection of markets, technology, and public policy—and lays out the fight for a Digital Dollar. CryptoDad is Giancarlo's own personal story, detailing his forays into the world of Wall Street to his tenure as the 13th Chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he pushed for the agency to recognize the digitization of markets. His growing fame as a Twitter presence in this essential debate has given Giancarlo a platform to makes a case for the future of cryptocurrencies as the natural successor to America’s current failing financial market infrastructure. CryptoDad provides readers with: A thorough exploration of digital change and how it affects the lives of everyone in a global economy A revolutionary consideration of regulatory responses to the rapid pace of technological innovation A call to update our aging financial organizations, particularly the infrastructure of money itself, and focus on renewed faith and confidence in free market innovation A foreword by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, two of the biggest names in cryptocurrencies CryptoDad argues that the next digital wave will be the coming Internet of Value, where cryptocurrencies will do the Internet of Information did to immaterial things: make them accessible, distributable, and movable instantly across the globe. This book is an ideal introduction to the importance of technology in the marketplace.

How Money Got Free

Author : Brian Patrick Eha
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1780746598
Total Pages : 496 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (87 download)

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Book Synopsis How Money Got Free by : Brian Patrick Eha

Download or read book How Money Got Free written by Brian Patrick Eha and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-04-06 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the space of a few years, Bitcoin has gone from an idea ignored or maligned by almost everyone to an asset with a market cap of more than $12 billion. Venture capital firms, Goldman Sachs, the New York Stock Exchange, and billionaires such as Richard Branson and Peter Thiel have invested more than $1 billion in companies built on this groundbreaking technology. Bill Gates has even declared it ‘better than currency’. The pioneers of Bitcoin were twenty-first-century outlaws – cryptographers, hackers, Free Staters, ex-cons and drug dealers, teenage futurists and self-taught entrepreneurs – armed with a renegade ideology and a grudge against big government and big banks. Now those same institutions are threatening to co-opt or curtail the impact of digital currency. But the pioneers, some of whom have become millionaires themselves, aren’t going down without a fight. Sweeping and provocative, How Money Got Free reveals how this disruptive technology is shaping the debate around competing ideas of money and liberty, and what that means for our future.

The Truth Machine

Author : Paul Vigna
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1250114608
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis The Truth Machine by : Paul Vigna

Download or read book The Truth Machine written by Paul Vigna and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2018-02-27 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Views differ on bitcoin, but few doubt the transformative potential of Blockchain technology. The Truth Machine is the best book so far on what has happened and what may come along. It demands the attention of anyone concerned with our economic future." —Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard, Former Treasury Secretary From Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna, the authors of The Age of Cryptocurrency, comes the definitive work on the Internet’s Next Big Thing: The Blockchain. Big banks have grown bigger and more entrenched. Privacy exists only until the next hack. Credit card fraud is a fact of life. Many of the “legacy systems” once designed to make our lives easier and our economy more efficient are no longer up to the task. Yet there is a way past all this—a new kind of operating system with the potential to revolutionize vast swaths of our economy: the blockchain. In The Truth Machine, Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna demystify the blockchain and explain why it can restore personal control over our data, assets, and identities; grant billions of excluded people access to the global economy; and shift the balance of power to revive society’s faith in itself. They reveal the disruption it promises for industries including finance, tech, legal, and shipping. Casey and Vigna expose the challenge of replacing trusted (and not-so-trusted) institutions on which we’ve relied for centuries with a radical model that bypasses them. The Truth Machine reveals the empowerment possible when self-interested middlemen give way to the transparency of the blockchain, while highlighting the job losses, assertion of special interests, and threat to social cohesion that will accompany this shift. With the same balanced perspective they brought to The Age of Cryptocurrency, Casey and Vigna show why we all must care about the path that blockchain technology takes—moving humanity forward, not backward.

The Truth About Crypto

Author : Ric Edelman
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1668002345
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (68 download)

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Book Synopsis The Truth About Crypto by : Ric Edelman

Download or read book The Truth About Crypto written by Ric Edelman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-05-10 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A straightforward, practical guide to the newest frontier in investment strategy—crypto—from #1 New York Times bestselling author and personal finance expert Ric Edelman. Blockchain and bitcoin are here to stay—and as the Bank of England stated, this new technology could “transform the global financial system.” No wonder PWC says blockchain technology will add $2 trillion to the world’s $80 trillion economy by 2030. Indeed, blockchain technology and the digital assets it makes possible are revolutionary, the most profound innovation for commerce since the invention of the internet. And yet, the average investor—and the investment advisors who manage two-thirds of all their money—aren’t aware of all this, or of the incredible investment opportunities now available. Fortunately, Ric Edelman, one of the most influential experts in the financial field, shows investors how they can engage and thrive in today’s new investment marketplace. Featuring the prophetic insights you’d expect from one of most acclaimed financial advisors, The Truth About Crypto is fun to read and easy to understand—and most importantly gives readers the sound, practical advice we all need to succeed with this new asset class. Best of all, Edelman shows how blockchain works, the difference between digital currency and digital assets, and a comprehensive look at every aspect of the field. This book is a must-read guide if you want to achieve investment success today.

Bitcoin

Author : Dominic Frisby
Publisher : Unbound Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1783520760
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (835 download)

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Book Synopsis Bitcoin by : Dominic Frisby

Download or read book Bitcoin written by Dominic Frisby and published by Unbound Publishing. This book was released on 2014-11-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the economic crisis of 2008, the website ‘bitcoin.org’ was registered by a mysterious computer programmer called Satoshi Nakamoto. A new form of money was born: electronic cash. Does Bitcoin have the potential to change how the world transacts financially? Or is it just a passing fad, even a major scam? In Bitcoin: The Future of Money?, MoneyWeek’s Dominic Frisby's explains this controversial new currency and how it came about, interviewing some of the key players in its development while casting light on its strange and murky origins, in particular the much-disputed identity of Nakamoto himself. Economic theory meets whodunnit mystery in this indispensable guide to one of the most divisive innovations of our time.

Beyond Bitcoin

Author : Simon Dingle
Publisher : Icon Books
ISBN 13 : 1785788310
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (857 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Bitcoin by : Simon Dingle

Download or read book Beyond Bitcoin written by Simon Dingle and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2022-01-06 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After over a decade of Bitcoin, which has now moved beyond lore and hype into an increasingly robust star in the firmament of global assets, a new and more important question has arisen. What happens beyond Bitcoin? The answer is decentralised finance - 'DeFi'. Tech and finance experts Steven Boykey Sidley and Simon Dingle argue that DeFi - which enables all manner of financial transactions to take place directly, person to person, without the involvement of financial institutions - will redesign the cogs and wheels in the engines of trust, and make the remarkable rise of Bitcoin look quaint by comparison. It will disrupt and displace fine and respectable companies, if not entire industries. Sidley and Dingle explain how DeFi works, introduce the organisations and individuals that comprise the new industry, and identify the likely winners and losers in the coming revolution.

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies

Author : Arvind Narayanan
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400884152
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by : Arvind Narayanan

Download or read book Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies written by Arvind Narayanan and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-07-19 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative introduction to the exciting new technologies of digital money Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies provides a comprehensive introduction to the revolutionary yet often misunderstood new technologies of digital currency. Whether you are a student, software developer, tech entrepreneur, or researcher in computer science, this authoritative and self-contained book tells you everything you need to know about the new global money for the Internet age. How do Bitcoin and its block chain actually work? How secure are your bitcoins? How anonymous are their users? Can cryptocurrencies be regulated? These are some of the many questions this book answers. It begins by tracing the history and development of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and then gives the conceptual and practical foundations you need to engineer secure software that interacts with the Bitcoin network as well as to integrate ideas from Bitcoin into your own projects. Topics include decentralization, mining, the politics of Bitcoin, altcoins and the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the future of Bitcoin, and more. An essential introduction to the new technologies of digital currency Covers the history and mechanics of Bitcoin and the block chain, security, decentralization, anonymity, politics and regulation, altcoins, and much more Features an accompanying website that includes instructional videos for each chapter, homework problems, programming assignments, and lecture slides Also suitable for use with the authors' Coursera online course Electronic solutions manual (available only to professors)

Satoshi's Vision

Author : Craig S Wright
Publisher : Kydala Publishing, Inc.
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 179 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Satoshi's Vision by : Craig S Wright

Download or read book Satoshi's Vision written by Craig S Wright and published by Kydala Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? In 2009, the world of finance changed forever with the publication of a White Paper; Bitcoin: A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System. Hard to believe, but bitcoin has been with us for a decade already. In that time, Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous author of the paper and creator of the bitcoin protocol, disappeared. In his absence, bitcoin underwent some drastic changes, resulting in hard forks in the code. Now, Craig Wright steps forward to explain why he chose to use a pseudonym, why he left, and why he returned. He outlines the issues facing bitcoin, and his plans for the future. Prepare for Satoshi's Vision: The Art of Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency will never be the same again.

The Bullish Case for Bitcoin

Author : Vijay Boyapati
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781737204107
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (41 download)

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Book Synopsis The Bullish Case for Bitcoin by : Vijay Boyapati

Download or read book The Bullish Case for Bitcoin written by Vijay Boyapati and published by . This book was released on 2021-05-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin is an informative and engaging read for the newcomer and long-time Bitcoin enthusiast alike. Boyapati makes a compelling case for Bitcoin via a fast-paced tour of the historical setting of money, the properties of different types of money, and why Bitcoin is the world's best form of money and store of value, potentially set to displace other forms.

Beyond Bitcoin

Author : Hanna Halaburda
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137506423
Total Pages : 186 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (375 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Bitcoin by : Hanna Halaburda

Download or read book Beyond Bitcoin written by Hanna Halaburda and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-29 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital currencies are a fairly new phenomenon brought about by the spectacular rise of the internet. While Bitcoin is the most famous, there are numerous other digital currencies—from Amazon Coin to Zetacoin. Beyond Bitcoin explores the economic forces underlying the design of their features and their potential. Halaburda and Sarvary argue that digital currencies are best understood by considering the economic incentives driving their creators and users. The authors present a framework that will allow systemic analysis of this dynamic environment and support further discussion of the design of digital currencies' features and the competition in the market.

Money Talks

Author : Nina Bandelj
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691202893
Total Pages : 286 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Money Talks by : Nina Bandelj

Download or read book Money Talks written by Nina Bandelj and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world of money is being transformed as households and organizations face changing economies, and new currencies and payment systems like Bitcoin and Apple Pay gain ground. What is money, and how do we make sense of it? Money Talks is the first book to offer a wide range of alternative and unexpected explanations of how social relations, emotions, moral concerns, and institutions shape how we create, mark, and use money. This collection brings together a stellar group of international experts from multiple disciplines—sociology, economics, history, law, anthropology, political science, and philosophy—to propose fresh explanations for money's origins, uses, effects, and future. Money Talks explores five key questions: How do social relationships, emotions, and morals shape how people account for and use their money? How do corporations infuse social meaning into their financing and investment practices? What are the historical, political, and social foundations of currencies? When does money become contested, and are there things money shouldn't buy? What is the impact of the new twenty-first-century currencies on our social relations? At a time of growing concern over financial inequality, Money Talks overturns conventional views about money by revealing its profound social potential.

Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond

Author : Chris Burniske
Publisher : McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN 13 : 126002668X
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond by : Chris Burniske

Download or read book Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond written by Chris Burniske and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2017-10-20 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The innovative investor’s guide to an entirely new asset class—from two experts on the cutting edge With the rise of bitcoin and blockchain technology, investors can capitalize on the greatest investment opportunity since the Internet. Bitcoin was the first cryptoasset, but today there are over 800 and counting, including ether, ripple, litecoin, monero, and more. This clear, concise, and accessible guide from two industry insiders shows you how to navigate this brave new blockchain world—and how to invest in these emerging assets to secure your financial future. Cryptoassets gives you all the tools you need: * An actionable framework for investigating and valuing cryptoassets * Portfolio management techniques to maximize returns while managing risk * Historical context and tips to navigate inevitable bubbles and manias * Practical guides to exchanges, wallets, capital market vehicles, and ICOs * Predictions on how blockchain technology may disrupt current portfolios In addition to offering smart investment strategies, this authoritative resource will help you understand how these assets were created, how they work, and how they are evolving amid the blockchain revolution. The authors define a clear and original cryptoasset taxonomy, composed of cryptocurrencies, cryptocommodities, and cryptotokens, with insights into how each subset is blending technology and markets. You’ll find a variety of methods to invest in these assets, whether through global exchanges trading 24/7 or initial cryptoasset offerings (ICOs). By sequentially building on the concepts of each prior chapter, the book will provide you with a full understanding of the cryptoasset economy and the opportunities that await the innovative investor. Cryptoassets represent the future of money and markets. This book is your guide to that future.

The Bitcoin Standard

Author : Saifedean Ammous
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119473918
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (194 download)

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Book Synopsis The Bitcoin Standard by : Saifedean Ammous

Download or read book The Bitcoin Standard written by Saifedean Ammous and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-03-23 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive and authoritative exploration of Bitcoin and its place in monetary history When a pseudonymous programmer introduced “a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party” to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few people paid attention. Ten years later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications. While Bitcoin is an invention of the digital age, the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Author Saifedean Ammous takes the reader on an engaging journey through the history of technologies performing the functions of money, from primitive systems of trading limestones and seashells, to metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern government debt. Exploring what gave these technologies their monetary role, and how most lost it, provides the reader with a good idea of what makes for sound money, and sets the stage for an economic discussion of its consequences for individual and societal future-orientation, capital accumulation, trade, peace, culture, and art. Compellingly, Ammous shows that it is no coincidence that the loftiest achievements of humanity have come in societies enjoying the benefits of sound monetary regimes, nor is it coincidental that monetary collapse has usually accompanied civilizational collapse. With this background in place, the book moves on to explain the operation of Bitcoin in a functional and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralized, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate records, thus allowing its users to utilize the Internet to perform the traditional functions of money without having to rely on, or trust, any authorities or infrastructure in the physical world. Bitcoin is thus best understood as the first successfully implemented form of digital cash and digital hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy, and the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin’s real competitive edge might just be as a store of value and network for the final settlement of large payments―a digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure. Ammous’ firm grasp of the technological possibilities as well as the historical realities of monetary evolution provides for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free market money. As it challenges the most sacred of government monopolies, Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments in favor of individuals, offering us the tantalizing possibility of a world where money is fully extricated from politics and unrestrained by borders. The final chapter of the book explores some of the most common questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they please? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what to make of all the thousands of Bitcoin knockoffs, and the many supposed applications of Bitcoin’s ‘block chain technology’? The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource for a clear understanding of the rise of the Internet’s decentralized, apolitical, free-market alternative to national central banks.