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Title details for The Age of Cryptocurrency by Paul Vigna - Wait list

The Age of Cryptocurrency

How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order

by Paul Vigna
Michael J. Casey
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An in-depth explanation of how bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies work, their potential for good and bad, and how this is likely to affect you as a citizen, government, business, and global geopolitics.

Bitcoin became a buzzword overnight. A cyber-enigma with an enthusiastic following, it pops up in headlines and fuels endless media debate. You can apparently use it to buy almost anything from coffee to cars, yet few people seem to truly understand what it is. This raises the question: Why should anyone care about Bitcoin?
In THE AGE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY, Wall Street journalists Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey deliver the definitive answer to this question. Cybermoney is poised to launch a revolution, one that could entirely re-invent traditional financial and social structures while bringing the world's billions of "unbanked" individuals into a new global economy. Cryptocurrency represents the promise of a financial system without a middleman, one owned by the people who use it and one safeguarded from the devastation of a 2008-type crash.
But bitcoin, the most famous of the cybermonies, brings with it a reputation for instability, wild fluctuation, and illicit business; some fear it has the power to eliminate jobs and to upend the concept of a nation-state. It implies, above all, monumental and wide-reaching change—for better and for worse. But it is here to stay, and you ignore it at your peril.
Vigna and Casey demystify the concept of cryptocurrency, detailing its origins, its function, and what you need to know to navigate a cyber-economy. The digital currency world will look very different from the paper currency world; THE AGE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY will teach you how to be ready for it.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 27, 2015

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781466873063

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781466873063
      • File size: 2277 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 10, 2014
      While many readers understandably have a hard time wrapping their heads around the concept of non-government-backed currency, journalists Casey (Che’s Afterlife) and Vigna, who blog about
      cryptocurrency at the Wall Street Journal’s MoneyBeat blog, here use their considerable expertise to make the Bitcoin phenomenon accessible. They take a thorough, multidisciplinary approach to the topic, including a fascinating examination of the origin of money. The authors are appropriately cautious, warning that despite increased public awareness of Bitcoin, it remains a niche product, and the jury is still out on how far and how quickly it and other digital currency will spread. However, newcomers will gain a better understanding of the revolutionary potential of digital currency, especially for the “roughly 2.5 billion people from Afghanistan to Africa to even America who have been shut out of the modern finance system.” And the explication of the non-currency applications of the concepts behind Bitcoin—such as tamper-proof records of verified information—will be valuable to any reader. Agent: Gillian McKenzie, Gillian McKenzie Agency.

    • Booklist

      December 15, 2014
      Bitcoin was developed in 2008 and is used worldwide, but it's still a niche product that's not widely understood. There's debate about the use of bitcoin and similar digital money systems, and controversy over security and lack of regulation, although its use is increasing among merchants due to the cost savings over traditional financial-transaction fees. The authors here provide an objective viewpoint and an explanation of the history and workings of bitcoin. Well written in simple terms with effective examples, it is an excellent resource. It explains how bitcoin operates like a wire transfer without the bank in the middle, using digital cash to purchase products, including pizzas and other merchandise. It explains bitcoin mining and the pros and cons of bitcoin, including the cost savings it drives and the advantage of not having to share personal information, versus its security issues, price volatility, and potential impact on the banking industry. The authors take a neutral and journalistic approach and suggest digital currency may be the way of the future, whether it's bitcoin or something else.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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