Includes index.

Cover; Credits; About the Author; About the Reviewer; www.PacktPub.com; Customer Feedback; Table of Contents; Preface; Chapter 1: Blockchain 101; Distributed systems; CAP theorem; Byzantine Generals problem; Consensus; Consensus mechanisms; Types of consensus mechanism; The history of blockchain; Electronic cash; The concept of electronic cash; Introduction to blockchain; Various technical definitions of blockchains; Generic elements of a blockchain; Addresses; Transaction; Block; Peer-to-peer network; Scripting or programming language; Virtual machine; State machine; Nodes; Smart contracts. Features of a blockchainDistributed consensus; Transaction verification; Platforms for smart contracts; Transferring value between peers; Generating cryptocurrency; Smart property; Provider of security; Immutability; Uniqueness; Smart contracts; Applications of blockchain technology; How blockchains accumulate blocks; Tiers of blockchain technology; Blockchain 1.0; Blockchain 2.0; Blockchain 3.0; Generation X (Blockchain X); Types of blockchain; Public blockchains; Private blockchains; Semi-private blockchains; Sidechains; Permissioned ledger; Distributed ledger; Shared ledger. Fully private and proprietary blockchainsTokenized blockchains; Tokenless blockchains; Consensus in blockchain; Proof of Work; Proof of Stake; Delegated Proof of Stake; Proof of Elapsed Time; Deposit-based consensus; Proof of importance; Federated consensus or federated Byzantine consensus; Reputation-based mechanisms; Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance; CAP theorem and blockchain; Benefits and limitations of blockchain; Decentralization; Transparency and trust; Immutability; High availability; Highly secure; Simplification of current paradigms; Faster dealings; Cost saving. Challenges and limitations of blockchain technologySummary; Chapter 2: Decentralization; Decentralization using blockchain; Methods of decentralization; Disintermediation; Through competition; Routes to decentralization; How to decentralize; Examples; Blockchain and full ecosystem decentralization; Storage; Communication; Computation; Smart contract; Decentralized organizations; Decentralized autonomous organizations; Decentralized autonomous corporations; Decentralized autonomous societies; Decentralized applications; Requirements of a decentralized application; Operations of a DAPP. ExamplesKYC-Chain; OpenBazaar; Lazooz; Platforms for decentralization; Ethereum; Maidsafe; Lisk; Summary; Chapter 3: Cryptography and Technical Foundations; Introduction; Mathematics; Set; Group; Field; A finite field; Order; Prime fields; Ring; A cyclic group; An abelian group; Modular arithmetic; Cryptography; Confidentiality; Integrity; Authentication; Entity authentication; Data origin authentication; Non-repudiation; Accountability; Cryptographic primitives; Symmetric cryptography; Stream ciphers; Block ciphers; Block encryption mode; Keystream generation modes.