Description

The first, foundational book on blockchain technology, from the bestselling author of Wikinomics Don Tapscott and blockchain expert Alex Tapscott, now in paperback with a new preface and chapter explaining recent developments in the world of blockchain, including cryptoassets, ICOs, smart contracts, and more.

“This book has had an enormous impact on the evolution of blockchain in the world.”
—Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corporation

In this revelatory book, Don and Alex Tapscott bring us a brilliantly researched, highly readable, and essential book about the technology driving the future of the economy.

Blockchain is the ingeniously simple, revolution­ary protocol that allows transactions to be simultaneously anonymous and secure by maintaining a tamperproof public ledger of value. Though it’s best known as the technology that drives bitcoin and other digital cur­rencies, it also has the potential to go far beyond currency, to record virtually everything of value to humankind, from birth and death certifi­cates to insurance claims, land titles, and even votes.

As with major paradigm shifts that preceded it, blockchain technology will create winners and losers. This book shines a light on where it can lead us in the next decade and beyond.

Table of Contents

• Part I Say You Want a Revolution
  • Chapter 1 The Trust Protocol
    • In Search of the Trust Protocol
    • How This Worldwide Ledger Works
    • A Rational Exuberance for the Blockchain
    • Achieving Trust in the Digital Age
    • Return of the Internet
    • Your Personal Avatar and the Black Box of Identity
    • A Plan for Prosperity
    • Promise and Peril of the New Platform
  • Chapter 2 Bootstrapping the Future: Seven Design Principles of the Blockchain Economy
    • The Seven Design Principles
      • 1 Networked Integrity
      • 2 Distributed Power
      • 3 Value as Incentive
      • 4 Security
      • 5 Privacy
      • 6 Rights Preserved
      • 7 Inclusion
    • Designing the Future
• Part II Transformations
  • Chapter 3 Reinventing Financial Services
    • A New Look for the World’s Second-Oldest Profession
    • The Golden Eight: How the Financial Services Sector Will Change
    • From Stock Exchanges to Block Exchanges
    • Dr. Faust’s Blockchain Bargain
    • The Bank App: Who Will Win in Retail Banking
    • Google Translate for Business: New Frameworks for Accounting and Corporate Governance
    • Reputation: You Are Your Credit Score
    • The Blockchain IPO
    • The Market for Prediction Markets
    • Road Map for the Golden Eight
  • Chapter 4 Re-architecting the Firm: The Core and the Edges
    • Building ConsenSys
    • Changing the Boundaries of the Firm
    • Determining Corporate Boundaries
  • Chapter 5 New Business Models: Making It Rain on the Blockchain
    • bAirbnb Versus Airbnb
    • Global Computing: The Rise of Distributed Applications
    • The DApp Kings: Distributed Business Entities
    • Autonomous Agents
    • Distributed Autonomous Enterprises
    • The Big Seven: Open Networked Enterprise Business Models
    • Hacking Your Future: Business Model Innovation
  • Chapter 6 The Ledger of Things: Animating the Physical World
    • Power to the People
    • The Evolution of Computing: From Mainframes to Smart Pills
    • The Internet of Things Needs a Ledger of Things
    • The Twelve Disruptions: Animating Things
    • The Economic Payoff
    • The Future: From Uber to SUber
    • Hacking Your Future for a World of Smart Things
  • Chapter 7 Solving the Prosperity Paradox: Economic Inclusion and Entrepreneurship
    • A Pig Is Not a Piggy Bank
    • The New Prosperity Paradox
    • Road Map to Prosperity
    • Remittances: The Story of Analie Domingo
    • Blockchain Humanitarian Aid
    • Safe as Houses? The Road to Asset Ownership
    • Implementation Challenges and Leadership Opportunities
  • Chapter 8 Rebuilding Government and Democracy
    • Something Is Rotten in the State
    • High-Performance Government Services and Operations
    • Empowering People to Serve Selves and Others
    • The Second Era of Democracy
    • Blockchain Voting
    • Alternative Models of Politics and Justice
    • Engaging Citizens to Solve Big Problems
    • Wielding Tools of Twenty-first-Century Democracy
  • Chapter 9 Freeing Culture on the Blockchain: Music to Our Ears
    • Fair Trade Music: From Streaming Music to Metering Rights
    • Artlery for Art Lovers: Connecting Artists and Patrons
    • Privacy, Free Speech, and Free Press on the Blockchain
    • Getting the Word Out: The Critical Role of Education
    • Culture on the Blockchain and You
• Part III Promise and Peril
  • Chapter 10 Overcoming Showtoppers: Ten Implementation Challenges
    • 1 The Technology Is Not Ready for Prime Time
    • 2 The Energy Consumed Is Unsustainable
    • 3 Governments Will Stifle or Twist It
    • 4 Powerful Incumbents of the Old Paradigm Will Usurp It
    • 5 The Incentives Are Inadequate for Distributed Mass Collaboration
    • 6 The Blockchain Is a Job Killer
    • 7 Governing the Protocols Is Like Herding Cats
    • 8 Distributed Autonomous Agents Will Form Skynet
    • 9 Big Brother Is (Still) Watching You
    • 10 Criminals Will Use It
    • Reasons Blockchain Will Fail or Implementation Challenges?
  • Chapter 11 Leadership for the Next Era
    • Who Will Lead a Revolution?
    • The Blockchain Ecosystem: You Can’t Tell the Players Without a Roster
    • A Cautionary Tale of Blockchain Regulation
    • The Senator Who Would Change the World
    • Central Banks in a Decentralized Economy
    • Regulation Versus Governance
    • A New Framework for Blockchain Governance
    • A New Agenda for the Next Digital Age
    • The Trust Protocol and You