Stones to Bitcoins

The need to record transactions among humans became necessary as inhabitants of early civilized villages transferred assets or services. Any transaction requires either a medium of exchange or a contract (or both). In the early days, these trades were fulfilled by an exchange of markers, stones or sticks in return for assets or services. The recording of transactions is now being transformed by blockchains technology that will disrupt commerce as we know it. The tiny island of Yap, in the South Pacific, is unique in its use of ancient stone money, called the fei, as their currency for trade since 1400AD. These huge limestone circular "coins", impossible to counterfeit, are still used on the island as a trusted currency. They can be exchanged without actually being moved. The trust in their intrinsic value is immutable. Bitcoin is "mined" on blockchain technology. The purose of this book is to enlighten you about why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are volatile and speculative while the technology upon which they are based, the blockchain, is a trusted and immutable distributed ledger. I will take you on a journey from stones as currency, through the evolution of computers, and into a world where blockchain technology is disrupting commerce.