Chapter 1, Blockchain in Financial Services, introduces you to enterprise blockchain solutions for the BFSI sector. It briefly discusses the opportunities for implementing blockchain in the domain and the challenges that you might face when introducing the concept of blockchain in your organization. There is a discussion of the various most common implementation strategies, including coverage of the architecture models that are relevant for each strategy. Brief walk-throughs are given of Ethereum, Stellar, and Hyperledger Fabric and their relevant use cases for the domain.
Chapter 2, Building a Blockchain Wallet for Fungible and Non-Fungible Assets, looks at the blockchain wallet, which is the most integral part of any enterprise blockchain application. It can take many shapes and forms, such as a payment wallet, a digital identity card, a land title portfolio, or a stock portfolio. This chapter focuses on creating a blockchain wallet suited for multiple enterprise applications. You will learn how to create and deploy a smart contract wallet for fungible (ERC20), and non-fungible assets (ERC721). You will also learn how to implement the Web3js library as part of your blockchain application. The end goal is to create a fully functional peer-to-peer wallet using HTML, Node.js, and Solidity that is suitable for use cases beyond payment.
Chapter 3, Designing a Payment Gateway for Online Merchants, focuses on creating a merchant solution for online retailers. The solution will enable users to accept payments on a blockchain network akin to the leading fiat payment networks today. Special focus is given to push/pull payments, reconciliation, payment confirmation, and settlement on a blockchain platform. The technologies used are HTML, Node.js, and Solidity.
Chapter 4, Corporate Remittances and Settlement, focuses on the Hyperledger Fabric platform and its application in financial systems. You are given a walk-through on configuring the plug-and-play modules that make up the Hyperledger Fabric ecosystem. You will then be taught how to leverage them to create a permissioned blockchain network that can be used for B2B payments.
Chapter 5, Enabling Cross-Border Remittances with Real-Time KYC/AML Verification, focuses on creating a multi-currency cross-border remittance network using Stellar. Special focus is given to real-time document exchange, KYC/AML verification, Nostro account visibility, and integration with legacy banking systems.
Chapter 6, Building a Letter of Credit Workflow Module Using Smart Contracts, looks at smart contracts, which provide us with a foundation to build faster and efficient enterprise workflows. This is possible through automation and an immutable ledger accessible to all the stakeholders. This chapter looks at using Solidity smart contracts to build a more efficient letter of credit workflow. This knowledge can then be leveraged to design similar financial products, such as bank guarantees and smart contract-based insurance products
Chapter 7, Building a Tamper-Proof Record-Keeping and Document Management System, introduces you to the Hyperledger Fabric framework. You will be deploying your own chaincode and using it to build an immutable record management system. This system employs the power of the SHA256 algorithm and blockchain consensus to ensure that all records are tamperproof and can be reverted to their original state in the case of a cyber attack.
Chapter 8, Building a Decentralized Trading Exchange on Blockchain, explores decentralized exchanges, which aim to bring more transparency to the trading of assets and commodities. They eliminate the middleman and can thus ensure faster settlements. They also help control fraudulent practices such as price manipulation. This project looks at creating a price-time priority matching engine using Solidity smart contracts. This matching engine can then operate on a decentralized orderbook that can accept orders from all the participants on the network.
Chapter 9, Developing a Currency Trading Exchange for Market Making, looks at leveraging the market maker module of the Stellar platform to create a currency swap exchange. This currency swap exchange operates in real time and can be used either as an asset trading platform or to provide liquidity for cross-currency cross-border remittances.
Chapter 10, Looking into the Future, provides a short summary of the skills you will have acquired in your journey through the book. It also talks briefly about how we see blockchain technology evolving and the new concepts on the horizon that you might want to look at.
Chapter 11, Appendix: Application Checklist, This chapter provides step-by-step instructions for setting up an Ethereum, Stellar, and Hyperledger Fabric development and production environment. This is a pre-requisite for the aforementioned projects. This chapter also focuses on enterprise security and scalability essentials for implementing a blockchain application in a live production scenario. A basic checklist is provided with respect to design, development, testing, and deployment.
