Foundations of Blockchain: The pathway to cryptocurrencies and decentralized blockchain applications

What do you get with Print?

Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped

Paperback book shipped to your preferred address

Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want

AI Assistant (beta) to help accelerate your learning

A Bit of Cryptography

This chapter will cover all the basics of cryptography that are required for you to understand the vital role it plays in blockchain technology. We will delve deeply into all the aspects of cryptography that blockchain relies on. We will explain a few concepts in practical terms so that we can implement them with ease in later chapters. These include the following:

Cryptography in blockchain
Classical cryptography
Cryptographic primitives
Merkle trees
Encoding schemes

Modern cryptography is the study of private or secure communication. The fundamental objective of cryptography is to enable two people to communicate over an unsecure medium. This is achieved by encrypting a plaintext from the sender to form a ciphertext that can only be decrypted by the receiver, with whom the sender shares a secret. However, third parties can access the channel by which...

Key benefits

Learn the core concepts and foundations of the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Understand the protocols and algorithms behind decentralized applications

Master how to architect, build, and optimize blockchain applications

Description

Blockchain technology is a combination of three popular concepts: cryptography, peer-to-peer networking, and game theory. This book is for anyone who wants to dive into blockchain from first principles and learn how decentralized applications and cryptocurrencies really work. This book begins with an overview of blockchain technology, including key definitions, its purposes and characteristics, so you can assess the full potential of blockchain. All essential aspects of cryptography are then presented, as the backbone of blockchain. For readers who want to study the underlying algorithms of blockchain, you’ll see Python implementations throughout. You’ll then learn how blockchain architecture can create decentralized applications. You’ll see how blockchain achieves decentralization through peer-to-peer networking, and how a simple blockchain can be built in a P2P network. You’ll learn how these elements can implement a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, and the wider applications of blockchain work through smart contracts. Blockchain optimization techniques, and blockchain security strategies are then presented. To complete this foundation, we consider blockchain applications in the financial and non-financial sectors, and also analyze the future of blockchain. A study of blockchain use cases includes supply chains, payment systems, crowdfunding, and DAOs, which rounds out your foundation in blockchain technology.

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who wants to dive into blockchain technology from first principles and build a foundational knowledge of blockchain. Familiarity with Python will be helpful if you want to follow how the blockchain protocols are implemented. For readers who are blockchain application developers, most of the applications used in this book can be executed on any platform.

What you will learn

The core concepts and technical foundations of blockchain

The algorithmic principles and solutions that make up blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Blockchain cryptography explained in detail

How to realize blockchain projects with hands-on Python code

How to architect the blockchain and blockchain applications

Decentralized application development with MultiChain, NEO, and Ethereum

Optimizing and enhancing blockchain performance and security

Classical blockchain use cases and how to implement them

What do you get with Print?