1 Blockchain 101

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The growth of blockchain technology
Progress towards maturity
Rising interest
Distributed systems
The history of blockchain and Bitcoin
The events that led to blockchain
Electronic cash
Blockchain
Blockchain defined
Blockchain architecture
Generic elements of a blockchain
Benefits and features of blockchain
Limitations of blockchain technology
Types of blockchain
Consensus
CAP theorem and blockchain
Summary

2 Decentralization

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Decentralization using blockchain
Methods of decentralization
Disintermediation
Contest-driven decentralization
Routes to decentralization
How to decentralize
Decentralization framework example
Blockchain and full ecosystem decentralization
Storage
Communication
Computing power and decentralization
Pertinent terminology
Smart contracts
Autonomous agents
Decentralized organizations
Decentralized autonomous organizations
Decentralized autonomous corporations
Decentralized autonomous societies
Decentralized applications
Criteria for a DApp
Platforms for decentralization
Innovative trends
Decentralized web
Summary

3 Symmetric Cryptography

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Working with the OpenSSL command line
Introduction
Cryptography
Cryptographic primitives
Keyless primitives
Symmetric cryptography
Data Encryption Standard (DES)
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
How AES works
An OpenSSL example of how to encrypt and decrypt using AES
Summary

4 Public Key Cryptography

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Mathematics
Modular arithmetic
Sets
Fields
Finite fields
Prime fields
Groups
Abelian groups
Rings
Cyclic groups
Order
Asymmetric cryptography
Integer factorization
Discrete logarithm
Elliptic curves
Public and private keys
RSA
Elliptic curve cryptography
Integrated Encryption scheme
Verifiable random functions
Digital signatures
Cryptographic constructs and blockchain technology
Homomorphic encryption
Secret sharing
Commitment schemes
Zero-knowledge proofs
Different types of digital signatures
Encoding schemes
Applications of cryptographic hash functions
Summary

5 Consensus Algorithms

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Introducing the consensus problem
The Byzantine generals problem
Fault tolerance
State machine replication
FLP impossibility
Lower bounds on the number of processors to solve consensus
Analysis and design
Model
Processes
Timing assumptions
Classification
Algorithms
CFT algorithms
BFT algorithms
Choosing an algorithm
Finality
Speed, performance, and scalability
Summary

6 Introducing Bitcoin

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Bitcoin—an overview
The beginnings of Bitcoin
Egalitarianism versus authoritarianism
Bitcoin definition
Bitcoin—A user's perspective
Cryptographic keys
Private keys in Bitcoin
Public keys in Bitcoin
Addresses in Bitcoin
Transactions
The transaction lifecycle
The transaction data structure
Types of scripts
Coinbase transactions
Transaction validation
Transaction bugs
Blockchain
The genesis block
Mining
Tasks of the miners
Mining rewards
Proof of Work
The mining algorithm
The hash rate
Mining systems
Mining pools
Summary

7 The Bitcoin Network and Payments

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The Bitcoin Network
Full client and SPV client
Bloom filters
Wallets
Non-deterministic wallets
Deterministic wallets
Hierarchical deterministic wallets
Brain wallets
Paper wallets
Hardware wallets
Online wallets
Mobile wallets
Bitcoin payments
Innovation in Bitcoin
Bitcoin Improvement Proposals
Advanced protocols
Segregated Witness
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Unlimited
Bitcoin Gold
Summary