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Cover -- Half-title -- Title page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Figures and tables -- 1 Introducing blockchain -- 1.1 A transaction -- 1.2 Key characteristics -- 1.3 Categories -- 2 Blockchain's basic components -- 2.1 Technical components -- Peer-to-peer networks -- Client-server architecture -- Grid-architecture -- P2P architecture -- Virtual machines and smart contracts -- Technical summary -- 2.2 Mathematical components -- Hash algorithms -- Public-key cryptography -- Mathematical conclusions -- 2.3 Economic, political and social components -- Consensus -- Governance -- Incentive patterns -- Conclusions -- 3 Potential and actual socio-economic impacts of blockchain -- 3.1 Crypto knowledge and crypto usage -- 3.2 Perceived and actual use of cryptocurrencies -- 3.3 Dis-intermediation, localization and individualization -- 3.4 Censorship resistance and privacy -- 3.5 Property and the empowerment of the individual -- 3.6 New markets and marketplaces -- 3.7 Crypto-secession: the most disruptive potential of distributed ledger technology -- 4 Applications of blockchain technology in different domains -- 4.1 Central bank digital currency (CBDC) -- 4.2 Energy markets and infrastructure -- 4.3 Self-sovereign identity -- 4.4 Capital markets and security services -- Clearing and settlement -- Initial coin offerings -- 4.5 Supply chains and logistics -- 4.6 The Gambling industry -- 5 Conclusion: possible directions of blockchain -- References -- Index.

Bitcoin is the first digital medium to allow global, "purely peer-to-peer" exchange. At the height of the Great Recession, Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator introduced the electronic cash to sidestep political and economic institutions. Today, it is praised as an opportunity for the unbanked, a liberating force, and a pioneering technology. It is also infamously associated with volatility, illicit activities, and profligate energy consumption. Bitcoin has also flown under the radar of political science, whereas computer scientists, economists, and legal scholars have written extensively about it. To address the gap in the literature, I describe Bitcoin as an actor in global affairs, explain how Bitcoin and blockchain technology work, and discuss why Bitcoin is relevant to political science as the archetypal case of blockchain technology. I argue that Bitcoin is a form of contentious politics uniquely suited to the twenty-first century. Examining Bitcoin as a form of contentious politics sheds light on how a purportedly borderless technology has actually fared in subverting state authority: not entirely well. Nonetheless, Bitcoin has succeeded in at least two respects: it is an unprecedented form of untraceable electronic cash that coordinates unrivaled levels of computing resources from voluntary contributors and it has become a resilient, global social movement. As an archetype of blockchain technology, Bitcoin inspires research of blockchain's capacity to facilitate collective action, uses in international cooperation and competition, and prospects for human development. The thesis concludes with a set of implications for blockchain research and policy.

Facebook has proposed to integrate the cryptocurrency 'Libra' into its services, a plan which has been heavily discussed in science, business and politics. On Steemit.com one receives a tradable-token namend Steem in return for writing popular articles or post comments while at Wildspark.me one is rewarded for discovering the next big YouTube video. This shows that Blockchain technologies have an undeniable influence on the development of today's Social Media Networks. On the one hand, we have the technology hype around Blockchain and what kind of new applications are made possible, and on the other hand, the speculation hype around digital tokens (cryptocurrencies) and new forms of investment (ICO, STO), which have in turn resulted in a large number of start-ups in the Social Media and Blockchain sector. Start-ups and products, which quite often disappear from the market in a relatively short time. This paper provides a Snapshot, how Blockchain technologies could influence established Social Networks and gives an overview of known start-ups and their platforms which facilitate Blockchain technologies (like Steemit, Social X, Obsidian, Indorse, Sola, HyperSpace, Ardor.rocks a.s.o.). Finally, a discussion on how Blockchain technologies can be used beyond speculation is provided. ; peer-reviewed

Following the catastrophic events of the 2008 global financial crisis, an anonymous hacker released Bitcoin to claw back power from commercial and central banks. Its underlying architecture, blockchain, is now championed for delivering a decentralised global economy - a world free from hierarchy and control. This text shatters these emancipatory claims by revealing acute geographies of power that lie behind blockchain networks. Drawing on first-hand experience in cryptocurrency communities and start-up companies from Silicon Valley to London, Jack Parkin untangles the complex web of culture, politics, and economics that truly drive decentralisation.

Building the Future of Food Safety Technology: Blockchain and Beyond focuses on evaluating, developing, testing and predicting Blockchain's impact on the food industry, the types of regulatory compliance needed, and other topics important pertaining to consumers. Blockchain is a technology that can be used to record transactions from multiple entities across a complex network. A record on a blockchain cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all preceding blocks and the consensus of the network. Blockchain is often associated with cryptocurrency, but it is being looked at more and more as a solution to food-supply problems. --

This Article focuses on the manner in which blockchain technologies can be applied to the Maritime and Shipping industry, in particular taking a look at Malta's perspective. With the increase of the use of blockchain technologies across the globe, it is evident that it has the potential of impacting one's life in numerous ways. This Article seeks to identify how blockchain may be applied in the field of Shipping and Maritime Law, including logistical, contractual and traceability aspects. Its potential in this field of law is an extensive one, which could completely revolutionise the way in which things are currently being done. ; peer-reviewed

The product of a unique collaboration between academic scholars, legal practitioners, and technology experts, this Handbook is the first of its kind to analyze the ongoing evolution of smart contracts, based upon blockchain technology, from the perspective of existing legal frameworks - namely, contract law. The book's coverage ranges across many areas of smart contracts and electronic or digital platforms to illuminate the impact of new, and often disruptive, technologies on the law. With a mix of scholarly commentary and practical application, chapter authors provide expert insights on the core issues involving the use of smart contracts, concluding that smart contracts cannot supplant contract law and the courts, but leaving open the question of whether there is a need for specialized regulations to prevent abuse. This book should be read by anyone interested in the disruptive effect of new technologies on the law generally, and contract law in particular

Following the catastrophic events of the 2008 global financial crisis, an anonymous hacker released Bitcoin to claw back power from commercial and central banks. Its underlying architecture, blockchain, is now championed for delivering a decentralised global economy - a world free from hierarchy and control. This text shatters these emancipatory claims by revealing acute geographies of power that lie behind blockchain networks. Drawing on first-hand experience in cryptocurrency communities and start-up companies from Silicon Valley to London, Jack Parkin untangles the complex web of culture, politics, and economics that truly drive decentralisation.

Distributed ledgers -- Blockchain basics -- From finance to health : Way beyond bitcoin -- Data complexity -- Blockchain is people -- Good science -- Evidence based medicine -- Science crisis -- Open science -- Distributing science -- Better quality science -- Value-based research -- Faster medical miracles -- DAO of science -- The roadmap.

Blockchain is a distributed database which is cryptographically protected against malicious modifications. While promising for a wide range of applications, current blockchain platforms rely on digital signatures, which are vulnerable to attacks by means of quantum computers. The same, albeit to a lesser extent, applies to cryptographic hash functions that are used in preparing new blocks, so parties with access to quantum computation would have unfair advantage in procuring mining rewards. Here we propose a possible solution to the quantum era blockchain challenge and report an experimental realization of a quantum-safe blockchain platform that utilizes quantum key distribution across an urban fiber network for information-theoretically secure authentication. These results address important questions about realizability and scalability of quantum-safe blockchains for commercial and governmental applications.