Awards

• Junior Library Guild Selection

Overview

In January 2009, a mysterious software developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, exchanged a specially designed code with another developer. The code was a digital currency that Nakamoto had proposed several months before in a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” This was the first Bitcoin transaction. Since then, Bitcoin has become the face of a tech revolution in digital cryptocurrencies based on blockchain technology. Its success has sparked a tech revolution that could fundamentally change global economics. Author Brendan January delves into the world of coders, libertarians, criminals, financial regulators, and crypto-detectives to understand what digital cryptocurrencies have to offer, their limitations and potential pitfalls, security issues, and how they may affect government and financial regulations in the future.

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9781541578777

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Reviews

An introduction to the history, functionality, pitfalls, and potentials of internet-based currencies. After explaining the basics--that bitcoin is the most well-known cryptocurrency, a digital asset used like money, that relies on blockchain (a decentralized online ledger that tracks and verifies ownership to validate transactions)--Wall Street financial writer January takes readers to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 to show the problems bitcoin was devised to solve (lack of trust in government and the banking industry as well as the weaknesses of human intermediaries). Blockchain's complicated verification system is the answer to preventing online counterfeiting. Chapters cover cryptocurrency's nuts and bolts as well as its struggles: its initial bad reputation for use by malefactors on the Silk Road Dark Web, the get-rich bubbles, and other vulnerabilities. The initial divide--old, White, rich establishment versus the cryptocurrency innovators--becomes blurred as banks start to use blockchain for their own ends. Despite the intriguing topic, the prose tends toward dry. Because the philosophies and motives of cryptocurrency founders and early players shaped the way the technology was used--and will be used--there are reoccurring themes of conflict between utopian and capitalistic ideals. These intriguing moments lay the groundwork for a speculative take that blockchain can disrupt present-day technological risks in the form of monopolies and data abuses from certain large companies. A balanced, reputable reference.--Kirkus Reviews -- Journal

An introduction to the history, functionality, pitfalls, and potentials of internet-based currencies. After explaining the basics--that bitcoin is the most well-known cryptocurrency, a digital asset used like money, that relies on blockchain (a decentralized online ledger that tracks and verifies ownership to validate transactions)--Wall Street financial writer January takes readers to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 to show the problems bitcoin was devised to solve (lack of trust in government and the banking industry as well as the weaknesses of human intermediaries). Blockchain's complicated verification system is the answer to preventing online counterfeiting. Chapters cover cryptocurrency's nuts and bolts as well as its struggles: its initial bad reputation for use by malefactors on the Silk Road Dark Web, the get-rich bubbles, and other vulnerabilities. The initial divide--old, White, rich establishment versus the cryptocurrency innovators--becomes blurred as banks start to use blockchain for their own ends. Despite the intriguing topic, the prose tends toward dry. Because the philosophies and motives of cryptocurrency founders and early players shaped the way the technology was used--and will be used--there are reoccurring themes of conflict between utopian and capitalistic ideals. These intriguing moments lay the groundwork for a speculative take that blockchain can disrupt present-day technological risks in the form of monopolies and data abuses from certain large companies. A balanced, reputable reference.--Kirkus Reviews -- Journal This book clearly explains what Bitcoin is, its advantages and disadvantages as a digital cryptocurrency, how it's being used, and its impact on financial and other institutions. Bitcoin uses a computer system called blockchain that eliminates the data to third parties in online transactions. Supporters say it 'takes control of the internet back from the tech companies, gatekeepers, and totalitarian governments.' Critics believe it's vulnerable to hackers and criminals selling illegal goods. This text recounts Bitcoin's rise and fall in value from 2017 to 2019 and relays the stories of those who got rich investing in it, including that of a boy who became a millionaire before age 18. Many companies now allow people to pay using Bitcoin and in the future it could be used to eliminate online voting fraud. Back matter includes a time line (that, without an explanation, states that the last Bitcoin will be mined in 2140), glossary, source notes, and further reading. There's a lack of information on this topic for young readers; this useful book fills a void.--Booklist -- Journal

Author Information

Brendan January is an award-winning author of more than twenty nonfiction books for YA readers. He lives with his wife and two children in Maplewood, New Jersey.

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