About this book

Blockchain is the backbone of cryptocurrencies, with applications in finance, government, media, among other industries. With a legacy of providing technologists with executable insights, this new edition of Mastering Blockchain is thoroughly revised and updated according to the latest blockchain research. Thoroughly updated and with new chapters on Decentralized Finance and solving privacy, identity, and security issues, this is an unmissable read for everyone who wants to gain a deep understanding of blockchain.

Although this book covers the basics, including blockchain's technical underpinnings, cryptography, and consensus protocols, it doesn’t shy away from advanced topics and practical expertise, such as decentralized application (DApp) development using smart contracts and oracles. Throughout the book, you’ll explore blockchain solutions beyond cryptocurrencies, such as the Internet of Things with blockchain, enterprise blockchains, and tokenization, and gain insight into the future scope of this fascinating and disruptive technology.

By the end of this book, you will have gained a thorough comprehension of the various facets of blockchain and understand the potential of this technology in diverse real-world scenarios.

Publication date:: March 2023
Publisher: Packt
Pages: 1039
ISBN: 9781803241067

Mastering Blockchain, Fourth Edition: Deep dive into distributed ledgers, consensus protocols, smart contracts, DApps, cryptocurrencies, Ethereum, and more

Welcome to Packt Early Access. We’re giving you an exclusive preview of this book before it goes on sale. It can take many months to write a book, but our authors have cutting-edge information to share with you today. Early Access gives you an insight into the latest developments by making chapter drafts available. The chapters may be a little rough around the edges right now, but our authors will update them over time.

You can dip in and out of this book or follow along from start to finish; Early Access is designed to be flexible. We hope you enjoy getting to know more about the process of writing a Packt book.

Chapter 1: Blockchain 101
Chapter 2: Decentralization
Chapter 3: Symmetric Cryptography
Chapter 4: Public Key Cryptography
Chapter 5: Consensus Algorithms
Chapter 6: Introducing Bitcoin
Chapter 7: The Bitcoin Network and Payments
Chapter 8: Bitcoin Clients and APIs
Chapter 9: Alternative Coins
Chapter 10: Smart Contracts
Chapter 11: Ethereum
Chapter 12: Further Ethereum
Chapter 13: Ethereum Development Environment
Chapter 14: Development Tools and Frameworks
Chapter 15: Introducing Web3
Chapter 16: Serenity
Chapter 17: Hyperledger
Chapter 18: Tokenization
Chapter 19: Blockchain – Outside of Currencies
Chapter 20: Enterprise Blockchain
Chapter 21: Scalability and Security
Chapter 22: Privacy
Chapter 23: Identity
Chapter 24: Decentralized Finance
Chapter 25: Alternative Blockchain
Chapter 26: Current Landscape and What's Next!

About the Author

Imran Bashir

Imran Bashir has an M.Sc. in Information Security from Royal Holloway, University of London, and has a background in software development, solution architecture, infrastructure management, and IT service management. He is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the British Computer Society (BCS). Imran has extensive experience in both the public and financial sectors, having worked on large-scale IT projects in the public sector before moving to the financial services industry. Since then, he has worked in various technical roles for different financial companies in Europe's financial capital, London.
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