The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust (Hardcover)

Kevin Werbach

ISBN 10: 0262038935 / ISBN 13: 9780262038935

Published by MIT Press Ltd, Cambridge, Mass., 2018

About this Item

Hardcover. How the blockchain-a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust-can become trustworthyThe blockchain entered the world on January 3, 2009, introducing an innovative new trust architecture- an environment in which users trust a system-for example, a shared ledger of information-without necessarily trusting any of its components. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is the most famous implementation of the blockchain, but hundreds of other companies have been founded and billions of dollars have been invested in similar applications since Bitcoin's launch. Some see the blockchain as offering more opportunities for criminal behavior than benefits to society. In this book, Kevin Werbach shows how a technology resting on foundations of mutual mistrust can become trustworthy.The blockchain, built on open software and decentralized foundations that allow anyone to participate, seems like a threat to any form of regulation. In fact, Werbach argues, law and the blockchain need each other. Blockchain systems that ignore law and governance are likely to fail, or to become outlaw technologies irrelevant to the mainstream economy. That, Werbach cautions, would be a tragic waste of potential. If, however, we recognize the blockchain as a kind of legal technology that shapes behavior in new ways, it can be harnessed to create tremendous business and social value. How the blockchaina system built on foundations of mutual mistrustcan become trustworthy. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780262038935

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust (Hardcover)
• Publisher: MIT Press Ltd, Cambridge, Mass.
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262038935
• ISBN 13: 9780262038935
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Why are the world's most powerful companies and governments excited about a technology beloved by criminals and radicals? And why do people invest their money--or their trust--in mysterious cryptocurrencies seemingly based on nothing?
 
In an era when trust in institutions of all kinds is collapsing, the blockchain offers a new hope: Shared ledgers of information that no one controls but everyone can believe. Since its emergence a decade ago with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, the blockchain has spawned hundreds of companies, billions of dollars of investment, and adoption by companies ranging from the New York Stock Exchange to Walmart. Yet it remains wildly misunderstood.
 
Wharton professor Kevin Werbach offers the first in-depth, balanced analysis of the blockchain's true potential, as well as its limitations and dangers. He maps the often-confusing landscape, and shows how a technology resting on foundations of mutual mistrust can become trustworthy. Surprisingly for a technology widely associated with illegality, fraud, and distrust of governments, the path to trusted blockchains runs through governance, regulation, and law.
 

About the Author

Kevin Werbach is Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Founder of the technology consulting firm Supernova Group, he has advised the FCC and Department of Commerce on communication policy. He is the coauthor of For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business.