The future will be increasingly distributed. As the publicity surrounding Bitcoin and blockchain has shown, distributed technology and business models are gaining popularity. Yet the disruptive potential of this technology is often obscured by hype and misconception. This detailed guide distills the complex, fast moving ideas behind blockchain into an easily digestible reference manual, showing what’s really going on under the hood.
Finance and technology pros will learn how a blockchain works as they explore the evolution and current state of the technology, including the functions of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts. This book is for anyone evaluating whether to invest time in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Go beyond buzzwords and see what the technology really has to offer.
Learn why Bitcoin was fundamentally important in blockchain’s birthLearn how Ethereum has created a fertile ground for new innovations like Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Flash LoansDiscover the secrets behind cryptocurrency prices and different forces that affect the highly volatile cryptocurrency marketsLearn how cryptocurrencies are used by criminals to carry out nefarious activitiesDiscover how enterprise and governments are leveraging the blockchain including FacebookUnderstand the challenges of scaling and forking a blockchainLearn how different blockchains workLearn the language of blockchain as industry terms are explained
From the brand

Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
Explore finance resources
More from O’Reilly

Sharing the knowledge of experts
O’Reilly’s mission is to change the world by sharing the knowledge of innovators. For over 40 years, we’ve inspired companies and individuals to do new things (and do them better) by providing the skills and understanding that are necessary for success.
Our customers are hungry to build the innovations that propel the world forward. And we help them do just that.
Publisher : O’Reilly Media
Publication date : December 22, 2020
Edition : 1st
Language : English
Print length : 281 pages
ISBN-10 : 1492054704
ISBN-13 : 978-1492054702
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 7.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #309,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #41 in Computer Cryptography #47 in Web Encryption #80 in Bitcoin & Cryptocurrencies
Customer Reviews: 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (162) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
13 reviews for Mastering Blockchain: Unlocking the Power of Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, and Decentralized Applications
Add a review
Original price was: $79.99.$43.99Current price is: $43.99.


H.A. –
A newbie like me finally learning what Bitcoin is
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are everywhere in the news now, so I need to learn about it. Mastering Blockchain is like a bible on cryptocurrency. I finally understand what DeFi is, now I’m teaching my friends about it. I’m new to trading, but the chapter on cryptocurrency markets gave me a good starting point to understand how to invest wisely. A++.
Giorgi Gurashvili –
Very good book to get started but to master the blockchain you will need something more
The book provides very good overview of blockchain technology but in some cases does not provide much details and only summarises the topic.Very good book to get started but to master the blockchain you will need something more
SB –
Great book on the subject
Worth reading from front to back.
Logan McNulty –
Perfect Intro to Blockchain Technology
Just finished reading front-to-back. Very glad to have read this before moving on to developing. Have much better grasp of blockchain tech, history, use cases, and even basic development. Highly recommend
Sung H. Byun –
The Book Title is misleading
Mastering Block Chain – Unlocking the Power of Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, and Decentralized Applications: That is the book title. “Mastering”, “Unlocking”, etc, I was expecting more technical discussion with many smart contract examples. But there are only a few pages of program example, and the rest is general overview. The proper title would be “High Level Introduction to Blockchain”. Nonetheless, I picked up a few things here and there in the book.
ruben alcoba –
Information overload but a start to a new world
The book covered a universe of information, in the end, my mind was scrambled, yet that is not a bad thing.
Peter –
Generally fine
Book is fine, it was interesting but I wouldn’t call it “mastering blockchain”, it’s more like introduction and overview. I was expected more technical details about smart contracts and modern projects.
Scott –
Great overview!
Great resource for learning about blockchain!
Dry golfer –
About 80 pages in and I’ve lost patience with the very superficial and badly organized style. Rushed attempt to cover too many topics with only the slightest explanation. Reads like a Wikipedia timeline of important events in BC and a glossary list of keywords.Maybe it’ll get better but it’s very frustrating.
Amazon Customer –
Not a comprehensive book. But still readers will find it easy to follow.
Luiz Eduardo –
Um livro que cobre muitos dos conceitos essenciais para o entendimento do ecossistema do Blockchain e dos criptoativos.Uma leitura indicada para quem quer iniciar, pois a leitura é leve e simplificado para quem é leigo no assunto de blockchain e economia.Saber um pouco de programação ajuda mas não é essencial.
Truong Duy –
Bad quality and presentation
Amazon Customer –
It’s a high level timeline of crypto currencies. It does not provide any depth on mastering Blockchain.