Murder for hire. Drug trafficking. Embezzlement. Money laundering. These might sound like plot lines of a thriller, but they are true stories from the short history of cryptocurrencies - digital currencies conceived by computer hackers and cryptographers that represent a completely new sort of financial transaction that could soon become mainstream. The most famous - or infamous - cryptocurrency is bitcoin. But look beyond its tarnished reputation and something much shinier emerges. The technology that underlies bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies - the blockchain - is hailed as the greatest advancement since the invention of the internet. It is now moving away from being the backbone for a digital currency and making inroads into other core concepts of society: identity, ownership and even the rule of law. " The End of Money" is your essential introduction to this transformative new technology that has governments, entrepreneurs and forward-thinking people from all walks of life sitting up and taking notice.

Bitcoin : The basics -- The birth of bitcoin -- How to create a currency, the crypto way -- The blockchain -- Mining gold the digital way -- Assassins and drugs : Spending bitcoin in the early days -- The school of hard Gox -- Bitcoin comes of age -- Is bitcoin really money? -- The returns and departures of Satoshi Nakamoto -- Revamping bitcoin - and the rise of altcoins -- It's not about the money -- From bitcoin to autonomous corporations -- Conclusion.