A Book About Blockchain

A Book About Blockchain

by Rajat Rajbhandari
Released December 2020
Publisher(s): Business Expert Press
ISBN: 9781953349392

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Book description

This book describes methods to transform existing business by using digitized trust that is industrialized at scale.

Executives, consultants, and strategists are wondering how to participate in the blockchain economy. They are wondering whether new business models that will emerge because of this novel technology will disrupt theirs or whether they will ignore their businesses and create completely different models. In this book I answer all those questions. By the time you finish, you will understand what blockchain economy is, how to participate in it, and avoid being disrupted or, even worse, ignored. Drawing from my own experiences as research scientist and entrepreneur, the book describes methods to transform existing business by using digitized trust that is industrialized at scale.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Chapter 1 Introduction
  8. Chapter 2 Evangelizing Blockchain
    1. How Should One Evangelize Blockchain?
    2. One Person’s Hype Is Another Person’s Headache
    3. Maximalist from the Inside, “Whatever Works” from the Outside
    4. Defending Cryptocurrencies
    5. Real Potential of Blockchain: Reduce Information Asymmetry?
  9. Chapter 3 Explaining Blockchain Fundamentals
    1. Ledger of Transactions
    2. Network of Nodes
    3. Cryptography
    4. Consensus and Mining
    5. Smart Contracts
    6. Cryptocurrencies and Tokens
    7. Merkle Trees
  10. Chapter 4 Protocols and Concepts to Watch for
    1. Zero-Knowledge Proofs
    2. Identity to Interact with Blockchain Applications
    3. Stable Cryptocurrencies
    4. Protocols to Implement NFTs
    5. Layer 2 Protocols and Scalability
    6. Smart Contracts are Judges; Oracles are Attorneys
    7. Cross-Chain Interoperability
    8. Game-Theoretic Network Incentives
  11. Chapter 5 Private versus Public versus Consortium Blockchains
    1. Private Blockchains
    2. Public versus Private Blockchains
    3. Debate about the Private Blockchain
    4. Here Comes Consortium Blockchain
  12. Chapter 6 Deconstructing Smart Contracts
    1. Self-Execution of Smart Contracts
    2. Create, Use, and Kill
    3. Interacting with Smart Contracts
    4. Multisignature Smart Contracts
    5. Handling Service Exceptions
    6. “Code Is Law”
    7. Contracts and Hold-Up Problem
    8. Absence of Legal Jurisprudence
    9. Wrapping It with a Ricardian Contract
  13. Chapter 7 Use of Decentralized Infrastructure for Businesses
    1. What Does Decentralized Infrastructure Mean?
    2. Censorship Resistance of Decentralized Infrastructure
    3. Traditional Businesses Using Decentralized Infrastructure
    4. Decentralized Applications Built on Public Blockchain
    5. Are Politically Decentralized Applications Feasible?
  14. Chapter 8 Know Blockchain’s Limits
    1. Garbage in Garbage Stays
    2. Last Mile Problem
    3. Blockchain Is Not a Very Good File Storage
    4. Vitalik Buterin’s Trilemma
    5. Throughput and Latency
  15. Chapter 9 Focus on Creating Value
    1. Proof of {X}
    2. Provenance of Decisions
    3. Chain of Custody of Assets
    4. Payments and Settlements
    5. Tokenization of Nonfungible Assets
    6. Less Verification Cost Means Reduced Transaction Cost
  16. Chapter 10 Transforming Current Business Models
    1. Cross-Jurisdictional Payments
    2. Decentralized Arbitration
    3. Rise of Token-Powered Platforms
    4. Smart Contract-Powered Data Renting
    5. Invoiceless Payments
    6. Traceability 2.0
    7. Smart Contract as Escrows
  17. Chapter 11 Creating Innovative Business Models
    1. Horizontal Resource Sharing
    2. Fractional Ownership of Physical Assets
    3. Collateralized Lending of Digital Assets
    4. Prediction Markets
    5. Machine-ro-Machine Micropayments
    6. Crypto-Enabled Automated Machines
    7. Crossover with AI and Machine Learning
    8. Complex Tokenized Systems
    9. Crypto Asset Staking as a Business
  18. Chapter 12 Rise of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
    1. What is a DAO?
    2. What Does Governance in a DAO Mean?
    3. On-Chain and Off-Chain Governance
    4. Sybil Attack During On-Chain Elections
    5. Low Participation Problems
    6. Kill Switch and Escape Hatch
    7. Can a DAO Exist in Its Truest Meaning?
    8. Misguided Push to DAOs
    9. DAO as a Public Utility Infrastructure
    10. Why Should Traditional Businesses Care?
  19. Chapter 13 Selling Blockchain as Other Than Blockchain
    1. Blockchain as an Evolution of Ledger
    2. Do Not Sell Blockchain, Sell Transparency
    3. Blockchain Is a Risk Management Tool
    4. Sharing Threats and Risks
    5. Outsource Risk and Trust to a Network
  20. Chapter 14 Overcoming FOMO and Nudging Companies
    1. Meet, Greet, and Understand Pain Points
    2. Push Back Against Familiarity Bias
    3. Calling Out the Saying “Blockchain Is Not Ready”
    4. Don Quixote Problem of Finding a Problem That Fits the Solution
    5. “Do You Need Blockchain?” Is That the Right Question?
  21. Chapter 15 Understanding Implementation Risks Early On
    1. Risks Associated with Public Blockchain Infrastructure
    2. Be Realistic About Transaction Speed
    3. Finding an Internal Champion
    4. Stakeholder Participation
    5. Identifying Pain Points Where Blockchain Can Impact Is Critical
    6. Dealing with Identity
  22. Chapter 16 The Gold Rush of Blockchain Standards
    1. Standardizing Blockchain Data Elements
    2. Industry Requirements from Blockchain Standards
    3. Standards Should Not Conflict
    4. Will Blockchain Compete with EDI Standards?
  23. Chapter 17 Engaging in Blockchain Implementation
    1. Joining the Web 3.0 Movement
    2. Monetizing and Sharing Data in Marketplaces
    3. Participating in Consortia and Alliances
    4. Prerequisites for Implementing Blockchain Projects
    5. Performing Proof of Concepts
    6. Anchoring Transactions to Public Blockchain
    7. Decentralized Application Architecture
    8. Hybrid Implementation Architecture
  24. Epilogue
  25. Glossary
  26. About the Author
  27. Index
  28. Back Cover

Product information

  • Title: A Book About Blockchain
  • Author(s): Rajat Rajbhandari
  • Release date: December 2020
  • Publisher(s): Business Expert Press
  • ISBN: 9781953349392