Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World

by Don Tapscott, Alex Tapscott Narrated by Jeff Cummings

Overview

The technology likely to have the greatest impact on the future of the world economy has arrived, and it's not self-driving cars, solar energy, or artificial intelligence.
It's called the blockchain.

The first generation of the digital revolution brought us the Internet of information. The second generation-powered by blockchain technology-is bringing us the Internet of value: a new, distributed platform that can help us reshape the world of business and transform the old order of human affairs for the better.

Blockchain is the ingeniously simple, revolutionary protocol that allows transactions to be simultaneously anonymous and secure by maintaining a tamperproof public ledger of value. Though it's the technology that drives bitcoin and other digital currencies, the underlying framework has the potential to go far beyond these and record virtually everything of value to humankind, from birth and death certificates to insurance claims and even votes.

Why should you care? Maybe you're a music lover who wants artists to make a living off their art. Or a consumer who wants to know where that hamburger meat really came from. Perhaps you're an immigrant who's sick of paying big fees to send money home to loved ones. Or an entrepreneur looking for a new platform to build a business.

And those examples are barely the tip of the iceberg. This technology is public, encrypted, and readily available for anyone to use. It's already seeing widespread adoption in a number of areas. For example, forty-two (and counting) of the world's biggest financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Credit Suisse, have formed a consortium to investigate the blockchain for speedier and more secure transactions.

As with major paradigm shifts that preceded it, the blockchain will create winners and losers. And while opportunities abound, the risks of disruption and dislocation must not be ignored.

Don Tapscott, the bestselling author of Wikinomics, and his son, blockchain expert Alex Tapscott, bring us a brilliantly researched, highly readable, and utterly foundational book about the future of the modern economy. Blockchain Revolution is the business leaders' playbook for the next decade and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The blockchain is one of the most fundamental inventions in the history of computer science. Read Blockchain Revolution to understand its profound implications.”
—Marc Andreessen, cofounder, Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz
 
“The Tapscotts have written the book, literally, on how to survive and thrive in this next wave of technology-driven disruption. Likely to become one of the iconic books of our time.”
—Clay Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma
 
“Everywhere thoughtful people are trying to understand this revolutionary technology and how it might change the world. Team Tapscott has stepped up and written the book we’ve been waiting for.”
—Dan Schulman, CEO, Paypal
 
“Occasionally a book comes along that changes the global discourse. This is likely to be one of those books. Blockchains are at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution and the Tapscotts lucidly explain why and how to capture the opportunity and avoid the dangers.”
—Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman, World Economic Forum
 
“A carefully researched and beautifully written book. Blockchain Revolution argues that the ‘Internet of value’ will transform our lives. A must-read book for our disruptive times.”
—Dominic Barton, global managing director, McKinsey & Company
 
“Don and Alex brilliantly illuminate the technology that could profoundly impact the way we manage issues of trust, security, and privacy for years to come.”
—Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
 
“The great missing element in the Internet has been a ‘trust protocol,” a way of knowing that a transaction is verified and authentic. Blockchain technology could provide a foun­dation for that. It’s a revolutionary idea, and this lucid book explains why.”
—Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs
 
“What a spectacular book. Mind-blowing in its expansiveness and profundity. It makes me think we’re at one of those times in technological, economic, and social history where the sky is the limit.”
—Steve Wozniak, cofounder, Apple Computer and chief scientist, Prime Data

“The Tapscotts provide a thorough, balanced and enlightening guide to the next big thing.”
—Financial Times

“Father and son duo, Don and Alex Tapscott, have impeccable timing.”
– Forbes Magazine
 
“The Tapscotts’ make the bulls’ case in clear and compelling terms.” 
– Fortune Magazine
 
“Blockchain Revolution is a highly readable introduction to a bamboozling but increasingly important field.”
– The Guardian
 
“This is all very new and still unfolding but I recommend that you read Blockchain Revolution…it really is time to get with the global revolution.”
– The Huffington Post
 
“The Tapscotts have done a masterful job explaining why this is, truly, another revolution.”
– The National Post
 
“The Tapscotts present a mind-expanding perspective – and their enthusiasm makes you a believer in the revolution.” 
– Thomson Reuters
 
Editor’s Choice:  "The definitive, must-read book on a new revolution.”
– 800-CEO-READ
 
“This 368-page page-turner offers the first comprehensive look at the future of this emerging digital ecosystem.”
– Comstock’s Magazine
 
“Bitcoin is just the beginning. Imagine a personal-identity service that gives us control over selling our personal data.”
— The Wall Street Journal, Bookshelf
 
“In clear, engaging prose, they make blockchain intelligible to the rest of us…this richly sourced book overflows with entertaining examples of how blockchain could enhance our lives.”
– Oxford Economics

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172669361
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	05/10/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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