Blockchain’s influence on the economy, both national and global, is already so pronounced that it is beginning to shape its own rules and laws. Blockchain is establishing its presence in today’s economy, and we see distributed applications appearing in almost every industry sector. A business can benefit from blockchain if it adapts quickly to the changing market and leverages the technology ahead of the competition. On the other hand, a business can be ruined by blockchain if the competitors are the first to use it.
We have put together a short list of the best-known books on the blockchain in the current economy and on the way it affects how the business is to be done. We do recommend that entrepreneurs read these books as well as other books by blockchain experts, as blockchain is going to affect even the industries that seem to be as far away from it as you may think – such as agriculture or education.
Don Tapscott is an expert in business strategy and studies the role technology plays in today’s business and economy.
He wrote his book, Blockchain Revolution, together with his son, Alex Tapscott, a financial analyst. Blockchain Revolution shows that the possibilities of blockchain are much wider than just a platform for cryptocurrencies, and that, in fact, it is rather a system of logging everything that matters to us.
The book is full of examples of blockchain use cases that show its potential as an enterprise platform, a ledger allowing to trace the origin and verify the authenticity of any product, a network protecting the intellectual property rights.
Blockchain Revolution is a great non-technical read for those who want to understand how blockchain works and what it is going to bring us in the nearest future.
The Business Blockchain: Promise, Practice, and Application of the Next Internet Technology
by William Mougayar
Amazon: The Business Blockchain
The author of The Business Blockchain book, William Mougayar, is an entrepreneur, investor and advisor who has been focusing on blockchain since 2013. What is also worth noting about this book, is that the foreword is written by none other than Vitalik Buterin.
In his book, William Mougayar urges the reader to consider blockchain not from the point of view of problems it can solve but from the point of view of opportunities it brings. Such angle gives a much broader view of the blockchain potential and shows its disruptive power.
The Business Blockchain book includes the introduction to the technology and the challenges it faces. The book continues with the analysis of possible blockchain applications in different industries the new business models it can create.
The book is aimed at entrepreneurs who wish to understand blockchain and its business potential and various areas of application.
The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain Are Challenging the Global Economic Order
by Paul Vigna, Michael J. Casey
Amazon: The Age of Cryptocurrency.
The Age of Cryptocurrency is a joint work of two Wall Street Journal reporters, Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey. In addition, Michael Casey is also Chairman of the Advisory Board for CoinDesk. Both authors are focusing on cryptocurrencies and the related technology in their reports.
In their book, Paul Vigna and Michael Casey show the influence that cryptocurrencies have on today’s economy. They believe that blockchain can transform the current financial industry dramatically bringing in even those who are now outside the banking service reach.
The book describes how cryptocurrencies work and how they lay the ground for the cyber-economy of the nearest future. The world running on cryptocurrency is going to be nothing like the world using traditional money. In their book, Paul Vigna and Michael Casey help us to get prepared for this change.
Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy
by George Gilder
Amazon: Life after Google
George Gilder, an investor and economist, wrote his book, Life After Google, in 2018, when it became clear that blockchain is switching from the Wild West of cryptocoins and ICOs to a technology capable of transforming the global economy. The book received a favorable review of The Wall Street Journal, and became a Financial Times book of the month.
Strictly speaking, Life after Google is not a book on blockchain per se. It discusses the idea that today’s economy is too dependent on the Internet and its search engines which, in turn, depend on big data and computer intelligence.
The future is in the complete revamping of the existing networks. It is achievable through the global adoption of blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other related technologies. The blockchain-based economy will be supported by a new architecture creating a more secure and transparent environment. The global computing resources, rather than being accumulated in the hands of a dozen Silicon Valley companies, will be distributed more or less evenly, transforming the way the Internet operates.
The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking
by Saifedean Ammous
Amazon: The Bitcoin Standard
In The Bitcoin Standard, Saifedean Ammous, an economist and Bitcoin enthusiast, takes the reader back to the origins of Bitcoin and, on a larger scale, to the origins of the problem it solves – serving as the medium of exchange, just like the traditional money we are used to.
Saifedean Ammous believes that Bitcoin is capable of performing all monetary functions that are required today without the need of any approving entities or government infrastructures. For its decentralized nature, Bitcoin can become an individual-centered alternative to the current monetary system based on the government monopoly.
The Bitcoin Standard is preparing the reader to the eventual disruption of the traditional monetary system and its transformation into an economy where money is free of borders, politics, and government regulations.
Take a look at our new article “5 cases how blockchain can cut costs of your business”