Chain Reaction: How Blockchain Will Transform the Developing World

This book focuses on the potential of blockchain technology to improve developing countries by creating reliable institutions of contract, ownership, and trust. It humanizes the technology by taking the reader on a global journey through a multitude of applications, from registering property to voting and delivering aid.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 110 pages
\n Publication date: 25 April 2021
\n Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG
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Amidst the constant stream of overly technical and excitable books heralding a blockchain revolution that is destined to be more disruptive than the Internet, this book stands apart for its more nuanced take, focusing on the potential for these new technologies to change developing countries for the better.

Chain Reaction divides the world into two: for some, blockchain seems a poor substitute for an efficient banking and regulatory system in which transactions are settled instantly and contracts are underpinned by solid institutions. For others, it will be truly life-changing – namely those living in countries where rule of law is weak, concepts of ownership are vague, and, consequently, trust in institutions is in scarce supply. With blockchain, we are about to witness a leapfrogging – one that will bring the next billion emerging consumers into the formal economy by creating reliable institutions of contract, ownership, and trust among people previously denied such luxuries.

The authors humanize the technology by taking the reader on a global journey through a multitude of applications – from registering property to voting and delivering aid. In place of the usual abstract lessons in complex technology, this book is instead filled with lively anecdotes of places where trust is so weak that a crisp dollar bill sells at a premium to a better-used version. The book's goal is to create the first truly approachable, entirely comprehensible, and enjoyable read on the wonders to come from blockchain.

\n Weight: 360g\n
Dimension: 162 x 243 x 17 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9783030517830\n
Edition number: 1st ed. 2021\n