The Business Blockchain E-Book

William Mougayar

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 227

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

The definitive pioneering blueprint covering the what, why and how of the blockchain. 

Blockchains are new technology layers that rewire the Internet and threaten to side-step older legacy constructs and centrally served businesses. At its core, a blockchain injects trust into the network, cutting off some intermediaries from serving that function and creatively disrupting how they operate. Metaphorically, blockchains are the ultimate non-stop computers. Once launched, they never go down, and offer an incredible amount of resiliency, making them dependable and attractive for running a new generation of decentralized services and software applications. 

The Business Blockchain charts new territory in advancing our understanding of the blockchain by unpacking its elements like no other before. William Mougayar anticipates a future that consists of thousands, if not millions of blockchains that will enable not only frictionless value exchange, but also a new flow of value, redefining roles, relationships, power and governance. In this book, Mougayar makes two other strategic assertions. First, the blockchain has polymorphic characteristics; its application will result in a multiplicity of effects. Second, we shouldn’t ask ourselves what problems the blockchain solves, because that gives us a narrow view on its potential. Rather, we should imagine new opportunities, and tackle even more ambitious problems that cross organizational, regulatory and mental boundaries. 

Drawing on 34 years of technology industry experience as an executive, analyst, consultant, entrepreneur, startup mentor, author, blogger, educator, thought leader and investor, William Mougayar describes a future that is influenced by fundamental shifts brought by blockchain technology as the catalyst for change. William Mougayar has been described as the most sophisticated blockchain business thinker. He is a blockchain industry insider whose work has already shaped and influenced the understanding of blockchain for people around the world, via his generous blogging and rigorous research insights. He is a direct participant in the crypto-technology market, working alongside startups, entrepreneurs, pioneers, leaders, innovators, creators, enterprise executives and practitioners; in addition to being an investor, advisor, and board member in some of the leading organizations in this space, such as the Ethereum Foundation, OpenBazaar and Coin Center.

Just as the Internet created new possibilities that we didn’t foresee in its early years, the blockchain will give rise to new business models and ideas that may still be invisible. Following an engaging Foreword by Vitalik Buterin, this book is organized along these 7 chapters:

1. What is the Blockchain?

2. How Blockchain Trust Infiltrates

3. Obstacles, Challenges & Mental Blocks

4. Blockchain in Financial Services

5. Lighthouse Industries & New Intermediaries

6. Implementing Blockchain Technology

7. Decentralization as the Way Forward

The Business Blockchain is an invitation for technologists to better understand the business potential of the blockchain, and for business minded people to grasp the many facets of blockchain technology. This book teaches you how to think about the blockchain.

Leseprobe

THE BUSINESS BLOCKCHAIN

Promise, Practice, and Application of the Next Internet Technology

WILLIAM MOUGAYAR

FOREWORD BY VITALIK BUTERIN

Cover and book design: THE FRONTISPIECE

Copyright © 2016 by William Mougayar. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a cd or dvd that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com".

ISBN 978-1-119-30031-1 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-119-30032-8 (ePDF) ISBN 978-1-119-30033-5 (ePub)

For my parents, who continue to be by my side.

To Maureen, with whom everything is possible.

And to our beloved dog, Pasha, the brave little Bichon Frisé. You filled my heart forever.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

A Personal Preface

Notes

Introduction

1: What is the Blockchain?

Visiting Satoshi’s Paper

The Web, All Over Again

One or Several Blockchains?

Introduction to Blockchain Applications

The Blockchain’s Narrative is Strong

A Meta Technology

Software, Game Theory and Cryptography

The Database vs. The Ledger

Looking Back So We Can Look Forward

Unpacking the Blockchain

State Transitions and State Machines— What Are They?

The Consensus Algorithms

Key Ideas from Chapter One

Notes

2: How Blockchain Trust Infiltrates

A New Trust Layer

Decentralization of Trust—What Does it Mean?

How Airbnb Designed Trust for Strangers

A Spectrum of Trust Services Based on Proofs

The Blockchain Landscape

Benefits and Indirect Benefits

Explaining Some Basic Functions

What Does a Trusted Blockchain Enable?

Identity Ownerships & Representation

Decentralized Data Security

Anonymity & Untraceable Communication

Blockchain as Cloud

Getting to Millions of Blockchains

Key Ideas from Chapter Two

Notes

3: Obstacles, Challenges, & Mental Blocks

Attacking the Blockchain with a Framework Approach

Technical Challenges

Market/Business Challenges

Legal /Regulatory Barriers

Behavioral/Educational Challenges

Key Ideas from Chapter Three

Notes

4: Blockchain in Financial Services

Attacked by the Internet and Fintech

Why Can't There be a Global Bank?

Banks as Backends

Blockchain Inside Regulations Versus Permissionless Innovation

Landscape of Blockchain Companies in Financial Services

Blockchain Applications in Financial Services

Strategic Questions for Financial Services

Key Ideas from Chapter Four

Notes

5: Lighthouse Industries & New Intermediaries

The New Intermediaries

Lighthouse Industries

Key Ideas from Chapter Five

Notes

6: Implementing Blockchain Technology

Internal Strategies for Tackling the Blockchain

The Blockchain Czar

Organizational Models

A Blockchain Functional Architecture

Core & Protocol

Blockchain Software Development

Writing Decentralized Applications

12 Features of a Blockchain Platform

Decision-Making Framework

Key Ideas from Chapter Six

Notes

7: Decentralization as the Way Forward

What Happened to the Decentralized Internet?

It’s not Easy Being Decentralized

What Will Decentralization Look Like

The Crypto Economy

A New Flow of Value

How Technology Permeates

Peering Into 2025

Key Ideas from Chapter Seven

Notes

Epilogue

Selected Bibliography

Index

Additional Resources

About the Author

EULA

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Preface

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FOREWORD

THIS DECADE IS AN INTERESTING time for the development of decentralized technologies. Although cryptographers, mathematicians and coders have been working on increasingly specific and advanced protocols in order to get stronger and stronger privacy and authenticity guarantees out of various systems—from electronic cash to voting to file transfer—progress was slow for over 30 years. The innovation of the blockchain—or, more generally, the innovation of public economic consensus by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009—proved to be the one missing piece of the puzzle that single-handedly gave the industry its next giant leap forward.