Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology Applications

CHAPTER 8BLOCKCHAIN AND BITCOIN SECURITY

K. Murugeswari,¹ B. Balamurugan² and G. Ganesan³

¹ Kalasalingam University, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Srivilliputhur, Tamil Nadu, India

² Galgotias University, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Greater Noida, Delhi, India

³ Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

AbstractBitcoin is the world’s first virtual currency, which was introduced in 2008. After only 10 years, that is in January 2018, its value reached 18k. This slow progress is owing to security violations like hacking and theft, which happened in the past 10 years. This chapter aims to show the strength of Bitcoin value, despite its many security threats. With the help of a case study, the major contributing security breach which caused a drop in the value of Bitcoin is identified. Also, there is a focus on the prediction of future value of Bitcoin.

Keywords: Bitcoin, security, blockchain

8.1 Introduction

Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto [1]. Bitcoin was an enhanced version of cryptocurrency, which was introduced in 1999 by Wei Dai. It is a currency system without any central control. Bitcoin was launched after the financial crisis of 2007-2008, which was a motivating factor for its creation. Bitcoin transactions can be done internationally without any fees or low fees. It also needs no personal information and it is transparent to each user. Each party who participates has a copy of the ledger called ...