Research

Handbook of Digital Currency: Bitcoin, Innovation, Financial Instruments, and Big Data

Year 2015
Author Lam Pak Nian and David LEE Kuo Chuen
Publisher In Handbook of Digital Currency, edited by David Lee Kuo Chuen, Academic Press, San Diego, 2015, Pages 5-30, ISBN 9780128021170, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802117-0.00001-1.
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Categories

Bitcoin / Cryptocurrencies / Society

This chapter considers the evolution of alternative digital currencies from DigiCash to Bitcoin, the very digital currency that has spurred the development of this book. Specifically, this chapter explores the general features of Bitcoin and its benefits and risks before suggesting some conditions for a successful cryptocurrency to thrive. The chapter then concludes with optimism about the future of cryptocurrency and its underlying technology.