Month: September 2015

A gentle introduction to digital tokens

~ antonylewis2015 ~ 5 Comments

Digital tokens have come to the fore recently, firstly with excitement about cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, then with digital tokens being used to represent different assets on a blockchain.  What are they?  How can you digitise a token?  Why is it important?

When I hear the word ‘token’ I think of round plastic things like a casino chip, or something which I can use to exchange for a beer under a specific system or in a specific marketplace.

tokens
My idea of tokens.

We will explore the original usage of the phrase ‘digital token’, then take a look into the world of cryptocurrency tokens, differentiating between blockchain-native tokens like BTC on Bitcoin or ETH on Ethereum, and asset-backed tokens like IOUs on Ripple.

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Inside Bitcoin’s blockchain

~ antonylewis2015 ~ 3 Comments

I’m often asked what’s in a blockchain, so I put this infographic together as an aide memoire using bitcoin’s blockchain as the example.

Although other blockchains will have differences, the overall structures should be similar.

bitcoin_blockchain_infographicInfographic designed by fractalphia.com

This is also available in French produced by BitConseil.

Print a poster

Click here for a higher resolution version that is a great size and shape to print out on A3 and stick on your wall as a quick reference!

A Gentle Introduction to Blockchain Technology

~ antonylewis2015 ~ 18 Comments

This article is a gentle introduction to blockchain technology and assumes minimal technical knowledge.  It attempts to describe what it is rather than why should I care, which is described in other posts.

Shorter companion pieces to this are:

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A gentle introduction to bitcoin

~ antonylewis2015 ~ 8 Comments

This article is a gentle introduction to bitcoin and assumes minimal technical knowledge.

Shorter companion pieces to this are:

In the popular media, you will often read comments like “Bitcoins are stored in a digital wallet”, or “You can send money using blockchain technology”.  These comments can be misleading and can confuse.  By the end of this you should understand enough to participate in a dinnertime conversation about bitcoin, and not be mystified by the topic.

Continue reading “A gentle introduction to bitcoin” →