Technology · Ebook

Blockchain: How Decentralized Ledgers Actually Work

by Shriira Press

A comprehensive, self-contained, and balanced guide to blockchain — the technology behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the wider world of cryptocurrencies and decentralized applications. A blockchain is, at its core, a clever combination of old ideas — cryptographic hashing, digital signatures, peer-to-peer networking, and distributed consensus — assembled to solve one hard problem: letting parties who don't trust each other agree on a shared, tamper-evident record without a central authority. This book explains how that actually works, from the math up: cryptographic foundations, the block-and-chain data structure, the network, consensus (proof of work and proof of stake), Bitcoin and Ethereum, smart contracts and tokens, scaling, and — crucially — an honest account of the risks, limitations, and criticisms. It blends intuition (the problem and the idea), concepts (the mechanisms and the math), and runnable/concrete examples (hashes, transactions, a smart contract).

Contents

1. 1Preface
2. 2Chapter 1 — What Is a Blockchain?
3. 3Chapter 2 — Cryptographic Foundations
4. 4Chapter 3 — Blocks, Chains, and the Ledger
5. 5Chapter 4 — The Network: Peer-to-Peer and Distributed State
6. 6Chapter 5 — Consensus: How Decentralized Agreement Works
7. 7Chapter 6 — Proof of Work and Mining
8. 8Chapter 7 — Proof of Stake and Other Consensus Mechanisms
9. 9Chapter 8 — Bitcoin: The First Blockchain
10. 10Chapter 9 — Ethereum and Smart Contracts
11. 11Chapter 10 — Tokens, DeFi, and Applications
12. 12Chapter 11 — Scaling: Layer 2, Sharding, and the Trilemma
13. 13Chapter 12 — Security, Risks, and Criticisms
14. 14Chapter 13 — Blockchain in Practice and the Profession
15. 15Appendix A — Glossary and Quick Reference
16. 16Appendix B — Further Reading and Resources