A Primer on Crypto-Assets and the Unavoidable Blockchain

Leon V. Schumacher ()

Chapter Chapter 9 in Decoding Digital Assets, 2024, pp 49-58 from Springer

Abstract: Summary This chapter provides an introduction to crypto-assets and blockchain technology, focusing specifically on payment tokens like cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). It explains Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), noting that while all blockchains are DLTs, not all DLTs are blockchains. The chapter highlights Bitcoin's role in popularizing crypto-assets and explains blockchain's ability to securely store transaction data in blocks linked by cryptographic hashes. It also briefly mentions utility tokens, security tokens, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but focuses on payment tokens for their relevance to the book's scope. Additionally, the chapter discusses public versus private blockchains and their respective applications in different industries, especially in banking and finance. The chapter concludes by contrasting account-based and UTXO-based blockchains, citing examples like Ethereum and Bitcoin, and noting that both models have their own advantages and limitations.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-54601-3_9

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783031546013

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-54601-3_9

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().