Chapter 2. A Bit of Coin Theory
Like anything in life, to gain an appreciation of how we got to where we are, it's helpful to understand the background and history of how it all started. To some people, blockchains and cryptocurrency are just a technology fad, but to the dedicated few, this is a movement of epic proportions, centered around trust and the decentralization of it.
Understanding some of the fundamental concepts of this technology will help to enable all of us to see the potential revolution that blockchains, the wider concept of distributed ledger technologies, smart contracts, and tokens will bring.
In this chapter, we will go back in time and look at:
- Bitcoin: In the beginning
- Altcoins: The alternative to bitcoin
- Blockchains: The immutable database
- Smart contracts: Are they that smart?
- ICOs: The peak of ICOs in 2017
Since bitcoin appeared on the scene in 2009, it has had its fair share of drama. It has become the "crypto gold standard" that everything...