Kickstart Blockchain and Cryptography Fundamentals

Master Blockchain, Cryptography, and Smart Contracts

Key Features
● Delves into core blockchain concepts, from cryptographic foundations to enterprise applications.
● Covers cutting-edge topics like smart contracts, Hyperledger, and blockchain interoperability, providing a future-focused perspective.
● Real-world examples of how blockchain can transform industries like finance, healthcare, and supply chain management.

Book Description
Unlock the true potential of blockchain technology with this essential guide, crafted for students and professionals looking to stay ahead in the fast-evolving digital landscape.

Beginning with the foundations of Blockchain, the book moves on to explain the basics of decentralized, distributed ledgers that secure digital assets. You will then explore the role of Cryptographic Hash Functions (CHF) in safeguarding blockchain transactions through fixed-length hash values. Next, you will discover applications of Blockchain in Cryptocurrency and how digital assets like Bitcoin operate without central authorities.

The book also covers Distributed Consensus in Open and Closed Environments, showing how blockchain ensures uniform agreement among nodes without a central server. You will then explore how blockchain is transforming industries by enabling secure, peer-to-peer transactions. The book introduces Hyperledger and Smart Contracts, highlighting how these tools automate and secure agreements without intermediaries.

Finally, you will learn about facilitating communication between different blockchain networks through Blockchain Interoperability, and Legal and Environmental Aspects, examining the legal and environmental challenges blockchain faces. This book is not just a resource — it's your roadmap to mastering blockchain technology and revolutionizing your business.

What you will learn
● Learn how cryptographic hash functions transform data into fixed-length values and their role in blockchain security.
● Explore how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin leverage blockchain technology for digital asset management.
● Understand how consensus mechanisms validate transactions and maintain ledgers in open blockchain networks.
● Discover how blockchain secures data transfers and eliminates intermediaries in enterprise settings.
● Examine blockchain use cases in enterprises, such as cross-border payments and supply chain management.
● Learn about Hyperledger Fabric and smart contracts, focusing on automating and securing transactions in permissioned blockchains.
● Transform blockchain networks to achieve communication through interoperability.
● Overcome the legal and environmental challenges of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, and achieve sustainability.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?
This book is tailored for undergraduates in Computer Science, IT, and MCA programs, as well as professionals and individuals in related fields. It assumes a foundational understanding of blockchain technology and cryptography, making it ideal for those seeking to deepen their knowledge in these areas.

1. Overview of Blockchain Technology
2. Cryptographic Hash Function
3. Understanding Blockchain with Cryptocurrency
4. Distributed Consensus in Open Environments
5. Understanding Blockchain for Enterprises
6. Distributed Consensus in Closed Environment
7. Enterprise Application of Blockchain
8. Hyperledger and Smart Contracts
9. Blockchain Interoperability
10. Legal and Environmental Aspects
11. Exercises for Practical
Index

Prof. V. K. Jain obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1966 from MACT (Maulana Azad College of Technology), Bhopal. He completed his M.Tech in 1968 From MACT and BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals), Bhopal, in the Design and Production of Heavy Electrical Equipments. This industry-oriented course was run under the sponsorship of UNESCO at Vikram University, Ujjain, in 1968. He was assigned to the Electronics Application Engineering Department at BHEL.

He presented a thesis on “Analysis of the Performance of Speed and Excitation Regulation System Using Fast-Acting Integrator Type AVR for a Large Hydro- -generator (15 MW)”. This focused on studying power systems from the viewpoint of electronic control systems (based on Nyquist Criteria) through both analog and digital computers at one of India’s premier institutions, IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Kanpur. He personally prepared a digital computer program in FORTRAN IV as early as 1968 at IIT Kanpur and compiled it on the IBM 7044 Main Frame Computer, the fastest computer in India at that time.

He joined CPWD as an Electrical Engineer on May 20, 1968, based on an All India Competitive Examination for Central Electrical Engineering Services (now known as IES) through the Union Public Service Commission of India and served CPWD for 35 years.