"This terrific book lucidly explains the key components of Bitcoin and blockchain, including hashing, public key cryptography, and smart contracts, embedded in an excellent presentation of key concepts from monetary economics and discussion of recent challenges for cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies. If you are looking for one book on this topic, this is it." Harald Uhlig, Bruce Allen and Barbara Ritzenthaler Professor in Economics and the College, University of Chicago
"Bitcoin made a big splash in the financial world. This accessible book is an excellent introduction to both monetary theory and crypto technology." Markus K. Brunnermeier, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Economics, Princeton University
I Introduction 1 The Context of Monetary Theory 2 Bitcoin Overview II Technical Analysis 3 Transactional Capacity 4 Transactional Legitimacy 5 Transactional Consensus III Further Remarks 6 Bitcoin's Challenges 7 Further Applications 8 Practical Guidelines for Bitcoin References Index
Fabian Schär is Professor of Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology, and Fintech at the University of Basel and Director of the Center for Innovative Finance.
Aleksander Berentsen is Professor of Economic Theory at the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Basel and Chairman of the Board of the Center for Innovative Finance.