Basic Blockchain (Paperback)

The only book you need to understand blockchain: what it is, how it works and how it will transform business, society and our everyday lives. Basic Blockchain is an accessible, non-technical introduction to a revolutionary technology.

'Makes it easy for the average business executive to understand blockchain' -- Chris Larsen, founder and chairman, Ripple

'An essential tool for those looking to distinguish information from noise' -- Eva Kaili, MEP and Chair of The Committee for the Future of Science and Technology

A revolution is under way across the globe, yet very few people understand it. Basic Blockchain will explain everything you need to know to understand the technology that will soon disrupt and revolutionise everything from financial and health services to the property market and how we vote.

Born of an obscure body of research on game theory developed by NASA, originally championed by drug dealers seeking to launder ill-gotten gains, accelerated by entrepreneurs seeking to improve financial access for the poor, funded by giant corporate interests attracted to the potential for billions of dollars of cost savings, blockchain heralds a new era of financial inclusion, legal inclusion for the dispossessed and lower prices for consumers. In short, it will enact radical change on our lives.

In this book, David L. Shrier, one of MIT and Oxford University's leading futurists, explains for the general reader:

- The history of blockchain, its apocryphal progenitor Satoshi Nakamoto and the socioeconomic context of its origins in the 2008 financial crisis.

- How blockchain works, including the core technologies that drive it such as cryptographic hashes and network theory, all described in simple, understandable terms.

- The potential of blockchain, including its impact on our jobs, industry and society as a whole.

Blockchain will disrupt and transform our world in profound ways. This accessible book, written by a global authority on blockchain, is the essential introduction to the next technological revolution.

David L. Shrier is a globally recognised expert on digital transformation. He is Professor of Practice, AI & Innovation at Imperial College Business School and co-Director of the Trusted AI Institute.

David helps public companies, private enterprise and more than 100 governments on creating ecosystems for new ventures in fields such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and financial technology.

He and MIT Professor Alex Pentland personally helped revolutionise how online classes are delivered by top universities, stimulating entrepreneurial action across more than 150 countries and empowering over 20,000 innovators. David has fostered new business models for academia that have generated over US$1 billion of financial support for Imperial College London, MIT, Harvard and Oxford University.

David spends considerable time translating academic theory into business practice, co-founding five MIT AI spinouts. His Visionary Future venture studio both works with established companies to generate new revenue, having advised on more than $10 billion of growth initiatives, and launches new enterprises. His portfolio of university-related startups spans artificial intelligence, new financial architectures and other disruptive technologies.

His eight books since 2016 include, with Little, Brown: Basic Metaverse (2023), Augmenting Your Career: How to Win at Work in the Age of AI (2021) and Basic Blockchain (2020). He also has published multiple books with MIT Press on advanced technology topics. David holds an Sc.B. from Brown University.