Digital Cash
The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency
Published on 13. October 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-691-20916-6 (ISBN)
Description
The fascinating untold story of digital cash and its creators-from experiments in the 1970s to the mania over Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin may appear to be a revolutionary form of digital cash without precedent or prehistory. In fact, it is only the best-known recent experiment in a long line of similar efforts going back to the 1970s. But the story behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and its blockchain technology has largely been untold-until now. In Digital Cash, Finn Brunton reveals how technological utopians and political radicals created experimental money to bring about their visions of the future: to protect privacy, bring down governments, prepare for apocalypse, or launch a civilization of innovation and abundance that would make its creators immortal. Filled with marvelous characters, stories, and ideas, Digital Cash is an engaging and accessible account of the strange origins and remarkable technologies behind today's cryptocurrency explosion.
Bitcoin may appear to be a revolutionary form of digital cash without precedent or prehistory. In fact, it is only the best-known recent experiment in a long line of similar efforts going back to the 1970s. But the story behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and its blockchain technology has largely been untold-until now. In Digital Cash, Finn Brunton reveals how technological utopians and political radicals created experimental money to bring about their visions of the future: to protect privacy, bring down governments, prepare for apocalypse, or launch a civilization of innovation and abundance that would make its creators immortal. Filled with marvelous characters, stories, and ideas, Digital Cash is an engaging and accessible account of the strange origins and remarkable technologies behind today's cryptocurrency explosion.
Reviews / Votes
"Winner of the Bronze Medal in Business Technology, Axiom Business Book Awards"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 143 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
275 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-20916-6 (9780691209166)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Finn Brunton
Digital Cash
The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency
E-Book
05/2019
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€79.95
Available for download
Person
Finn Brunton is associate professor in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University. He is the author of Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet.