Digital Gold
The Untold Story of Bitcoin
1st Edition
Published on 19. May 2015
416 pages
978-0-241-18100-3 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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
An amazing story. Bitcoin is about to transform both finance and how we use the internet, and this fascinating book chronicles its unlikely genesis. Popper has produced a riveting tale filled with colorful innovators that is crucial reading for anyone who wants to understand the future -- Walter Isaacson In the remarkable Digital Gold, Nathaniel Popper gives us a front-row seat on the origins of Bitcoin and its captivating cast of characters. Thanks to Popper's elegant, thrilling tour-de-force, the fast-paced action never stops in the ongoing quest to create something the world has never seen before: virtual money -- William D. Cohan, author of House of Cards Finally, the book so many of us have been waiting for: A riveting and smart account of the strange history of Bitcoin. You'll start knowing nothing about Bitcoin and finish with deep knowledge, but you won't realize you're learning along the way -- you'll just think it's a lot of fun -- Adam Davidson, co-founder of NPR's Planet Money Bitcoin may be a product of computer science, but it is a very human story. This highly entertaining history reminds us yet again that truth can be stranger than fiction and can be peopled with even more unusual and compelling characters -- Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury of the USA An engrossing introduction to one of the most transformative innovations in finance of the last few decades. Digital Gold 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 The most compelling and in-depth investigation into the world of Bitcoin and digital currency. Nathaniel Popper charts Bitcoin's fascinating transformation from fringe oddity to a truly global currency. If you want to understand the future of money, read this book -- Joshua Davis, author of Spare Parts Many believe that Bitcoin is all about the algorithm: that its magnetic personalities are less important than its mathematical principles. Digital Gold is deeply-reported disproof of any such theory. Whether Bitcoin succeeds or fails will be due to the actions of the people in this book -- Felix Salmon, senior editor, FusionMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
File size
3,68 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-241-18100-3 (9780241181003)
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
Book
05/2016
Penguin Books Ltd
€14.00
Available immediately
Book
05/2015
Allen Lane
€44.76
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
Nathaniel Popper
