Blockchain And Distributed Ledgers: Mathematics, Technology, And Economics

The nascent blockchain and distributed ledger (DL) technologies aim at solving old problems in the financial ecosystem (fast and secure financial transaction, accessibility of financial services, transparency and compliance, etc), using new methods ranging from cryptography and computer science to finance and economics. Yet it is a daunting task for everyone interested in the blockchain technologies , decentralized finance (DeFi), and crypto assets to navigate through the various applications of mathematics, technology.Alexander Lipton and Adrien Treccani make an extremely valuable contribution for linking different concepts together with technicalities and practicalities for everyone, either just starting or already involved in the DeFi and crypto space.In terms of the content the book covers the key concepts one needs to learn or to familiarize to have a working knowledge and understanding of DeFi and crypto: cryptographic tools, Bitcoin, Ethereum, digital currencies, wallets, privacy, etc. All topics have an in-depth analysis with a necessary mathematical background, which is very useful to understand the technicalities, however, which is not critical to understand the essentials for less technical readers.For a disclosure, I have known and been working with Alexander for many years. When I started my professional career as a quant, I perused Alexander’s book on the Mathematical Methods for Foreign Exchange, which I found extremely valuable for solving many practical problems. Having recently started to work in the DeFi and crypto industry, I find it very handy to have a new comprehensive treatise co-authored by Alexander on my desk while working on multiple aspects of digital finance.Kudos to authors and a boon to readers!

The content may be good, at least, one of my co-worker said lots of good things about the book. But i found the book is rather dry in its representation. I some how managed to go through first 5 to 7 pages may be, then i completely lost interest. I developed such a repulsion for the text, that so far i never tried it again. May be i shall try at some point in time and my review may change, but for now i cannot go beyond 2 stars (i trust my co-worker). May be it is just me, i am not sure. Note that i am not very great at math (i mostly forgot), so it may be just me.

Crypto world is very complex, there are a lot of "experts", who understand the topic from a narrow angle. However, to be a real expert, one needs to have deep knowledge in 3 fields (not only one of them as most have): Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics. The authors of the book are one of the few, who satisfy this criteria. Prof. Lipton is a professional mathematician and made a very successful career in finance, he has written hundreds of academic papers in mathematics and quantitative finance. This is a huge advantage of this book compared to the others.This book suits for everyone, from someone without any knowledge in blockchains and crypto to someone with extensive knowledge in the field. The authors started with the foundations such as the problems of the global financial system and main cryptographic tools. It helps the reader to get essential knowledge, and then continue with more advanced topics, which are impossible to understand without those foundations. As a result, the reader can get a broad picture of the field.I would highly recommend this book to everyone interested in crypto.

Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers by Lipton and Treccani has become an instant classic. The book covers an extensive range of topics at the level of technical details that makes it suitable to a wide audience: from undergraduate students to seasoned finance professionals. Each chapter starts with an introduction that provides motivation and historical context and ends with the summary and a collection of thoughtfully chosen exercises. The book is a treasury of historical anecdotes, interesting observations, unexpected connections, and informative examples. In other words, it is a textbook I wish I always had.

I loved the neutrality in each of the explanations. The book goes very deep into mathematics, but it's not a blocker for non technical readers. This is a great book to have a deeper understanding of the concepts, even for advanced blockchain engineers. If in doubt about a good book about this technology, this can be your best choice.

This is by far the best book on a distributed ledger, bitcoin, crypto, and related topics of fintech and money. This is a comprehensive book that ties all these things together, and gives the reader a comprehensive view of the various technologies that are involved and how these interact with each other. If one needs to get into the details of the various things, this is the book to have. A Must read and a great reference as well.

The authors have done a remarkable job in diving deep into all the aspects of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, wallets, stable coins and Alt coins. Concepts like Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, Double Spending etc. are explained very well. One more outstanding thing is the balanced view on cryptocurrencies and not taking hyperboles. Authors have talked about both pros and cons. Really thank the authors for enlightening so many people by writing this remarkable piece.

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in learning about blockchain and distributed ledgers. It is truly a resource worth owning. The end-of-chapter questions provide an opportunity to gain further insights into the concepts presented in each chapter in a very hands-on manner. The anecdotes too make it a fun read. Truly grateful to both authors!

Lying in the intersection of cryptography, computer science, and economics, cryptocurrencies, blockchains and DLT are fascinating, yet prohibitively difficult, subjects. Lipton and and Treccani have done a great service to students, researchers and practitioners alike by writing a definitive account of the topic.This book lives up to the title by providing a comprehensive treatment of the mathematics needed to understand the subject in detail, including in-depth explanations of cryptographic concepts such as encryption algorithms, elliptic curve digital signatures, and hash functions (with very precise strings as examples!). It also goes to great lengths to explain the technological aspects of implementation of all important examples, including the ubiquitous Bitcoin and Etherium, but also many other less explored ones.To me, however, it is the third part of the title - economics - that sets the book apart from all others available in a crowded market. Right from Chapter 2, the authors make use of their intimate knowledge of how the global financial system works to set the stage for cryptocurrencies and other DLTs as potential solutions to very real problems - not a techno-libertarian anti-government pipe dream.Throughout the book, a very nuanced and sophisticated view of the role of money in economics, rooted in a deep understanding of modern circuit theory of money, permeates the explanations about the different applications of blockchain technology to payment systems, finance, and beyond.As I mentioned in the headline for this review, this is not an easy read. The authors demand attention and hard work from their audience, but reward us with a wealth of knowledge and more than a few witticisms.

Just a derivation of previous original texts on the subject. Unnecessary graphs and images make it even worse. There is no practical value as there is no practical element in this book, just a regurgitation of previous theoretical works. The authors presented no newer ideas in this space either.