Digital Gold
The Untold Story of Bitcoin
Published on 21. May 2015
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-0-241-18061-7 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
A New York Times technology and business reporter charts the dramatic rise of Bitcoin and the fascinating personalities who are striving to create a new global money for the Internet age.
Digital Gold is New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper's brilliant and engrossing history of Bitcoin, the landmark digital money and financial technology that has spawned a global social movement.
The notion of a new currency, maintained by the computers of users around the world, has been the butt of many jokes, but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars, supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the Internet. Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments. More than just a tech industry fad, Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society's most basic institutions.
An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement's colorful central characters, including an Argentinian millionaire, a Chinese entrepreneur, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Bitcoin's elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Already, Bitcoin has led to untold riches for some, and prison terms for others.
A New York Times technology and business reporter charts the dramatic rise of Bitcoin and the fascinating personalities who are striving to create a new global money for the Internet age.
Digital Gold is New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper's brilliant and engrossing history of Bitcoin, the landmark digital money and financial technology that has spawned a global social movement.
The notion of a new currency, maintained by the computers of users around the world, has been the butt of many jokes, but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars, supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the Internet. Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments. More than just a tech industry fad, Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society's most basic institutions.
An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement's colorful central characters, including an Argentinian millionaire, a Chinese entrepreneur, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Bitcoin's elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Already, Bitcoin has led to untold riches for some, and prison terms for others.
Reviews / Votes
A highly readable and informative account of the early years of a technology-cryptocurrency-that may one day turn out to be almost as significant as the internet itself... a tech thriller -- John Naughton * Observer * Lively and thorough... a vivid guide to the characters who met online and built bitcoin -- John Gapper * Financial Times * Popper's book stands as necessary reading, and very intriguing at that, regardless of the eventual fate of his subject -- Bethany McLean * New York Times * Totally awesome -- Justin Fox * Bloomberg * Finally, the book so many of us have been waiting for -- Adam Davidson, co-founder of NPR's Planet Money An amazing story...that is crucial reading for anyone who wants to understand the future -- Walter Isaacson, author of The Innovators An elegant, thrilling tour-de-force, the fast-paced action never stops in the ongoing quest to create something the world has never seen before -- William D. Cohan, author of House of Cards A very human story...highly entertaining -- Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury of the USA Paints a vivid portrait of the economics and technology of Bitcoin as well as the people behind it -- Susan Athey, The Economics of Technology Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Winner of the John Bates Clark Medal in Economics If you want to understand the future of money, read this book -- Joshua Davis, author of Spare Parts Digital Gold is deeply-reported -- Felix Salmon, senior editor, FusionMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
685 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-18061-7 (9780241180617)
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
E-Book
05/2015
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Nathaniel Popper is a reporter at The New York Times. Before joining The Times, he worked at the Los Angeles Times and The Forward. Nathaniel grew up in Pittsburgh and is a graduate of Harvard College. He lives in Brooklyn with his family.