Foundations of Blockchain: The pathway to cryptocurrencies and decentralized blockchain applications

Learning the Algorithms and Protocols underlying Blockchain before Undertaking Blockchain Projects

Key Features

• Explains all networking and cryptography inherent in Blockchain by creating simple applications
• Talks about the theory as well as the nuts and bolts of blockchain applications and cryptocurrencies
• Leads to the frontiers of Blockchain extensions and new application areas

Book Description

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have hogged the headlines for a long time. But after the hype and the money, there is a lot of technical work to be done, and developers in particular need to understand in some depth what foundations they are actually building their project on.

There is quite a bit of cryptography which we have to understand, and the general security in p2p networking demands of Blockchain, before diving into the first Blockchain project. All these concepts are explained by building simple applications from scratch. Cryptocurrencies and decentralized applications are extremely popular, but not well understood technically, which is why Koshik Raj is presenting two of the core chapters of the book dedicated to both topics.

Koshik Raj then compares the Blockchain application categories, which helps to choose a blockchain use case, followed by a chapter on how to optimize and enhance a Blockchain application. Security is always a concern in decentralized application, which is why a dedicated chapter will try to address all the visible concerns in the blockchain technology space and help to build a secure blockchain app.

Finally, Koshik Raj shows us how to branch out into new territory, and which rules and observations to take into account when doing your own Blockchain R&D.

What you will learn

• Cryptography and foundation for Blockchain 
• The role of cryptographic algorithms and decentralized computing in Blockchain
• Understanding the Blockchain, transactions and decentralization in cryptocurrency
• Architecting and implementing decentralized Blockchain application with few use cases
• Security, enhancement and optimization of Blockchain application
• Depth comparison of Blockchain application categories and how to choose a Blockchain use case

Who This Book Is For

Readers should be comfortable with general security terms, but no knowledge of cryptography or decentralized application is assumed. Although the book begins with all the basic concepts, a hands-on python programming, and theoretical networking knowledge, would speed up the reading process.