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Bitcoin: And the Future of Money
Bitcoin first appeared in 2009, and it's already challenging everything we've come to accept about money, financial institutions, and even government. The digital currency can be nearly anonymous. And it can be traded internationally—without the fees, government regulation, and bank oversight of paper money. But Bitcoin is still risky. Its value fluctuates wildly. More than $400 million of it disappeared overnight with the fall of a single trading exchange. How is that possible? And why is it so popular? CNNMoney reporter Jose Pagliery explains it all. He details the digital currency's mysterious origins. He explores the dark side of a world of drugs and assassins for hire. And he examines the economic impact of this revolutionary concept through interviews with pensive economists, wary bank regulators, and free market proponents such as Ron Paul. And the Future of Money explains how it works and why it matters. The book is essential reading for anyone looking to understand a financial innovation that will forever change how we think about money.
- GenresBusiness
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 27, 2014
The very best book on BitCoin I've read.
November 13, 2014
This book offered a balanced and lucid explanation of the history and mechanics of bitcoin. I haven't read other books on this subject, but would recommend it to others interested in learning more about crypto-currencies.
November 3, 2016
I was already familiar with the concept of altcoins and digital currency (also early adopter end of 2013),but this book gave me a better insight on the pro's and cons of digital money and the possible dangers moving forward . Very well documented yet pleasant to read!
April 24, 2022
I thought the author did a great job of introducing all of the merits and demerits of Bitcoin and the growing world of cryptocurrency. I'm reading it in 2022, the book is written in 2014, so I have more reading to do to fill in the last 8 years as I'm sure this information is outdated.
My lessons learnt and key points that I took away
It is crazy to think this is a peer to peer network which is open sourced. Yet it is one of the best things about it.
It is decentralized and non-regulated. So, unlike credit cards, it is great for micro-payments where transactions can occur between two people without any charges, service or handling fees. With a phone or app, the entire globe can carry digital wallets without a central bank. You can see the many great aspects of this and the flexibility it can provide. Flattens and equalizes opportunity for everyone.
It can provide banking for the unbanked.
It is a commodity, investment or currency? It is unclear.
Like commodities, there is a "finite" amount and value can fluctuate. Like investments, it can gain value and provide gains for the owners. Like currency, people can use it as transactional value.
Blockchain provides very detailed and permanent ledger where each transaction can be traced. perfect traceability is a good thing.
It can also provide a lot of anonymity for users. So data brokers and your personal information is free to be used by big data companies.
Naturally, anything with money and anonymity is very dangerous for the black market and hackers. There is a great chapter on how Bitcoin was used for Silk Road, a market place for anything illegal. Also a chapter on the rise and fall of Mt.Gox to hackers and a startup company that grew too quickly to get control on the situation and ultimately left clients with huge losses in investments.
Since the entire architecture is all volunteer based, there is no one really at fault if the system goes down or has some inherent weakness that later get exposed. Copycat coins and malware can also bring down the entire system.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto is an interesting exploration into the true identity of the person or group or people or organization.
Like any innovation, regulation and government policies are always lagging behind. How to allow freedom, how to tax, how to protect the users. It will likely be playing catchup for a few years.
My lessons learnt and key points that I took away
It is crazy to think this is a peer to peer network which is open sourced. Yet it is one of the best things about it.
It is decentralized and non-regulated. So, unlike credit cards, it is great for micro-payments where transactions can occur between two people without any charges, service or handling fees. With a phone or app, the entire globe can carry digital wallets without a central bank. You can see the many great aspects of this and the flexibility it can provide. Flattens and equalizes opportunity for everyone.
It can provide banking for the unbanked.
It is a commodity, investment or currency? It is unclear.
Like commodities, there is a "finite" amount and value can fluctuate. Like investments, it can gain value and provide gains for the owners. Like currency, people can use it as transactional value.
Blockchain provides very detailed and permanent ledger where each transaction can be traced. perfect traceability is a good thing.
It can also provide a lot of anonymity for users. So data brokers and your personal information is free to be used by big data companies.
Naturally, anything with money and anonymity is very dangerous for the black market and hackers. There is a great chapter on how Bitcoin was used for Silk Road, a market place for anything illegal. Also a chapter on the rise and fall of Mt.Gox to hackers and a startup company that grew too quickly to get control on the situation and ultimately left clients with huge losses in investments.
Since the entire architecture is all volunteer based, there is no one really at fault if the system goes down or has some inherent weakness that later get exposed. Copycat coins and malware can also bring down the entire system.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto is an interesting exploration into the true identity of the person or group or people or organization.
Like any innovation, regulation and government policies are always lagging behind. How to allow freedom, how to tax, how to protect the users. It will likely be playing catchup for a few years.
April 20, 2019
Perfect introduction to cryptocurrency, regardless if this was published 5 years ago. Explains what Bitcoin is, how it started, the pros and cons of treating Bitcoin as the newly accepted currency in the world's economy, and imagines a future with Bitcoin.
February 26, 2017
A good book for starters in Bitcoin. The book explains the structure of Bitcoin, Blockchains and their functioning.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews