This book introduces all the technical features that make up blockchain technology today. It starts with a thorough explanation of all technological concepts necessary to understand any discussions related to distributed ledgers and a short history of earlier implementations. It then discusses in detail how the Bitcoin network looks and what changes are coming in the near future, together with a range of altcoins that were created on the same base code. To get an even better idea, the book shortly explores how Bitcoin might be forked before going into detail on the Ethereum network and cryptocurrencies running on top of the network, smart contracts, and more. The book introduces the Hyperledger foundation and the tools offered to create private blockchain solutions. For those willing, it investigates directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and several of its implementations, which could solve several of the problems other blockchain networks are still dealing with to this day. In Chapter 4, readers can find an overview of blockchain networks that can be used to build solutions of their own and the tools that can help them in the process.

Autorentext

Stijn Van Hijfte has been working at Howest Applied University College since 2017, where he teaches applied computer science and is active as an expert at Deloitte. He has a background in economics, IT, and data science and is often called in as a translator between business and IT departments. He started back in 2012 with some first investigations in the blockchain space and had his entire living room looking like a science experiment to connect to the Ethereum network in 2015. His continued interest in digital solutions has led to him studying many extra certifications and destroying equipment in the process. This is his second book on blockchain technology but the first one where he wants to share technical insights and knowledge.