Blockchain Platforms: A Look at the Underbelly of Distributed Platforms (Synthesis Lectures on Computer Science)

This book introduces all the technical features that make up blockchain technology today. It starts with a thorough explanation of all technological concepts necessary to understand any discussions related to distributed ledgers and a short history of earlier implementations. It then discusses in detail how the Bitcoin network looks and what changes are coming in the near future, together with a range of altcoins that were created on the same base code. To get an even better idea, the book shortly explores how Bitcoin might be forked before going into detail on the Ethereum network and cryptocurrencies running on top of the network, smart contracts, and more. The book introduces the Hyperledger foundation and the tools offered to create private blockchain solutions. For those willing, it investigates directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and several of its implementations, which could solve several of the problems other blockchain networks are still dealing with to this day. In Chapter 4, readers can find an overview of blockchain networks that can be used to build solutions of their own and the tools that can help them in the process.