Andreas Antonopoulos Book : The Internet of Money

Description

The Internet of Money is a three-volume book series written by Andreas M. Antonopoulos that explores the potential of bitcoin to alter the way we think about and utilize money. The books are a collection of Antonopoulos’ presentations and essays about bitcoin and its significance in the financial system as a whole.

Antonopoulos’ books explore the technical aspects of how bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies work, as well as its potential to enable a more decentralized and secure financial system. He also addresses the different challenges and debates that have surrounded bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, as well as their implications around the world.

At the end of the day, bitcoin is programmable money. When you have programmable money, the possibilities are truly endless. We can take many of the basic concepts of the current system that depend on legal contracts, and we can convert these into algorithmic contracts, into mathematical transactions that can be enforced on the bitcoin network. As I’ve said, there is no third party, there is no counterparty. If I choose to send value from one part of the network to another, it is peer-to-peer with no one in between. If I invent a new form of money, I can deploy it to the entire world and invite others to come and join me. Bitcoin is not just money for the internet. Yes, it’s perfect money for the internet. It’s instant, it’s safe, it’s free. Yes, it is money for the internet, but it’s so much more. Bitcoin is the internet of money. Currency is only the first application. If you grasp that, you can look beyond the price, you can look beyond the volatility, you can look beyond the fad. At its core, bitcoin is a revolutionary technology that will change the world forever. Join.

The Internet of Money is an insightful and thought-provoking look at how bitcoin has the potential to transform the way we think about and utilize money.

There are 2 billion people who have no bank accounts at all. There are another 4 billion people who have very limited access to banking. ​ Banking without international currencies, banking without international markets, banking without liquidity. Bitcoin isn’t about the 1 billion. Bitcoin is all about the other 6 1/2. The people who are currently cut off from international banking. What do you think happens when you suddenly are able to turn a simple text-messaging phone in the middle of a rural area in Nigeria, connected to a solar panel, into a bank terminal? Into a Western Union remittance terminal? ​Into an international loan-origination system? A stock market? An IPO engine? At first, nothing, but give it a few years.

What gives bitcoin the characteristics of immutability? ​ ​What is it that makes it unchangeable? The first answer that comes to mind for most people is “the blockchain.” The blockchain makes bitcoin immutable because every block depends on its predecessor, creating an unbreakable chain back to the genesis block, and if you change something it would be noticed. Therefore, it’s unchangeable. That is the wrong answer, because it’s not really “the blockchain” that gives bitcoin its immutability. That’s a really important nuance to understand. The blockchain makes sure that you can’t change something without anyone noticing. In security we call that “tamper-evident”: if you change it, it is evident. ​ ​ You cannot tamper with it without leaving evidence of your tampering. But there’s a higher standard in security. We call it “tamper-proof”: something that cannot be tampered with. ​ ​ Not just “will be visible if it’s tampered with,” but “cannot be tampered with.” Immutable. The characteristic that gives bitcoin its tamper-proof capability is not “the blockchain”; it’s proof-of-work.

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is also the author of Mastering Bitcoin.