Introducing Blockchain and Ethereum

Once in several years, we see the birth of revolutionary technologies with the capability to disrupt a wide range of business models. In this chapter, the blockchain will be introduced with an insight into the technology and its business use cases. Blockchain is a concept that originated to avoid third-party involvement in any financial transaction in a whitepaper named Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, by Satoshi Nakamoto. We will also be discussing the types of blockchain-based business needs, cryptography, and consensus, which mitigate the risk of fraud.

You will learn about the following topics in this chapter:

• What blockchain is
• Internet versus blockchain
• How blockchain works
• The building blocks of blockchain
• Ethereum blockchain
• Private versus public blockchains
• Business adaptation