000			a
999			_c29622 _d29622
008			191209b xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9780262038935
082			_a332.178 _bWER
100			_aWerbach, Kevin
245			_aBlockchain and the new architecture of trust
260			_bThe MIT Press _c2018 _aCambridge
300			_axvi, 322 p. _bill. _c24 cm
365			_b27.95 _c75.10 _dUSD
490			_aInformation policy series
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aHow the blockchain-a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust-can become trustworthy.The blockchain entered the world on January 3, 2009, introducing an innovative new trust architecture: an environment in which users trust a system-for example, a shared ledger of information-without necessarily trusting any of its components. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is the most famous implementation of the blockchain, but hundreds of other companies have been founded and billions of dollars invested in similar applications since Bitcoin's launch. Some see the blockchain as offering more opportunities for criminal behavior than benefits to society. In this book, Kevin Werbach shows how a technology resting on foundations of mutual mistrust can become trustworthy. The blockchain, built on open software and decentralized foundations that allow anyone to participate, seems like a threat to any form of regulation. In fact, Werbach argues, law and the blockchain need each other. Blockchain systems that ignore law and governance are likely to fail, or to become outlaw technologies irrelevant to the mainstream economy. That, Werbach cautions, would be a tragic waste of potential. If, however, we recognize the blockchain as a kind of legal technology, which shapes behavior in new ways, it can be harnessed to create tremendous business and social value.
650			_aBlockchains
650			_aBitcoin
650			_aBusiness and Economics
650			_aElectronic funds transfers
650			_aFinance
650			_aTechnological innovations
650			_aTrust
942			_2ddc _cBK