The Bitcoin Big Bang: How Alternative Currencies Are About to Change the World

Preface

Every so often I find myself with the insatiable desire to jump off a cliff and think about the consequences later. Some may call it curiosity, while others think I am just plain crazy. I typically relish the skepticism, as I have found that the best opportunities arise when everyone else thinks I am a little nuts. The Bitcoin Big Bang was one of these times—actually, truth be told, this time I was the one who was skeptical. Despite my fear, uncertainty, and doubt, I jumped anyway.

When I began writing The Bitcoin Big Bang, it was for selfish reasons: I had bought Bitcoin near the peak and now was in a losing trade and needed to know everything about this “investment.” I figured I could turn my research into a book and learn a few things in the process. I did not know that I had stumbled on one of the most fascinating and promising technological advances since the Internet. When I first heard of Bitcoin, it was through the currency markets, and that is where my journey to Bitcoin Enlightenment began.

I mistakenly assumed that Bitcoin was an interesting new currency that had held little promise. After all, was the U.S. government really going to allow an unregulated currency based on computer code to replace the dollar? What I now realize is that the currency is not the innovation; the blockchain technology is the game changer. The currency—bitcoin—is a fascinating alternative currency that has the potential to disrupt the global payment networks. However, it is the blockchain ...