Awesome Blockchain

Curated list of resources for the development and applications of block chain.

The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value (by Don Tapscott).

This is not a simple collection of Internet resources, but verified and organized data ensuring it's really suitable for your learning process and useful for your development and application.

Contents

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• Awesome Blockchain
• Contents
• Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.s) & Answers
• Basic Introduction
  • Encryption knowledge
  • Consensus
  • Account and transaction model
  • Exchange
  • Applications
  • Governance
  • Digital currency ranking
• Development Tutorial
  • BitCoin
  • Ethereum
  • Consortium Blockchain
  • Fabric
  • FISCO-BCOS
• Releated Tools
  • Solidity
  • truffle
  • web3.js
• Projects and Applications
  • Monero
  • IOTA
  • EOS
  • IFPS
• Further Extension
  • Books
  • Applications
  • Identity Applications
    • Public Blockchain Identity
    • Blockchain as a collateral
    • Unclear
    • Guidance
  • Internet of Things Applications
  • Energy Applications
  • Media and Journalism
• Contribute

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.s) & Answers

Q: What's a Blockchain?

A: A blockchain is a distributed database with a list (that is, chain) of records (that is, blocks) linked and secured by digital fingerprints (that is, crypto hashes). Example from blockchain.rb:

[#<Block:0x1eed2a0
    @timestamp     = 1637-09-15 20:52:38,
    @data          = "Genesis",
    @previous_hash = "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
    @hash          = "edbd4e11e69bc399a9ccd8faaea44fb27410fe8e3023bb9462450a0a9c4caa1b">,
    #<Block:0x1eec9a0
    @timestamp     = 1637-09-15 21:02:38,
    @data          = "Transaction Data...",
    @previous_hash = "edbd4e11e69bc399a9ccd8faaea44fb27410fe8e3023bb9462450a0a9c4caa1b",
    @hash          = "eb8ecbf6d5870763ae246e37539d82e37052cb32f88bb8c59971f9978e437743">,
    #<Block:0x1eec838
    @timestamp     = 1637-09-15 21:12:38,
    @data          = "Transaction Data......",
    @previous_hash = "eb8ecbf6d5870763ae246e37539d82e37052cb32f88bb8c59971f9978e437743",
    @hash          = "be50017ee4bbcb33844b3dc2b7c4e476d46569b5df5762d14ceba9355f0a85f4">,
    ...

Q: What's a Hash? What's a (One-Way) Crypto(graphic) Hash Digest Checksum?

A: A hash e.g. eb8ecbf6d5870763ae246e37539d82e37052cb32f88bb8c59971f9978e437743 is a small digest checksum calculated with a one-way crypto(graphic) hash digest checksum function e.g. SHA256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256 Bits) from the data. Example from blockchain.rb:

def calc_hash
  sha = Digest::SHA256.new
  sha.update( @timestamp.to_s + @previous_hash + @data )
  sha.hexdigest   ## returns "eb8ecbf6d5870763ae246e37539d82e37052cb32f88bb8c59971f9978e437743"
end

A blockchain uses

• the block timestamp (e.g. 1637-09-15 20:52:38) and
• the hash from the previous block (e.g. edbd4e11e69bc399a9ccd8faaea44fb27410fe8e3023bb9462450a0a9c4caa1b) and finally
• the block data (e.g. Transaction Data...)

to calculate the new hash digest checksum, that is, the hash e.g. be50017ee4bbcb33844b3dc2b7c4e476d46569b5df5762d14ceba9355f0a85f4.

Q: What's a Merkle Tree?

A: A Merkle tree is a hash tree named after Ralph Merkle who patented the concept in 1979 (the patent expired in 2002). A hash tree is a generalization of hash lists or hash chains where every leaf node (in the tree) is labelled with a data block and every non-leaf node (in the tree) is labelled with the crypto(graphic) hash of the labels of its child nodes. For more see the Merkle tree Wikipedia Article.

Note: By adding crypto(graphic) hash functions you can "merkelize" any data structure.

Q: What's a Merkelized DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph)?

A: It's a blockchain secured by crypto(graphic) hashes that uses a directed acyclic graph data structure (instead of linear "classic" linked list).

Note: Git uses merkelized dag (directed acyclic graph)s for its blockchains.

Q: Is the Git Repo a Blockchain?

A: Yes, every branch in the git repo is a blockchain. The "classic" Satoshi-blockchain is like a git repo with a single master branch (only).

More Q&A - Blockchain Interview Questions - 10 Essential Blockchain Interview Questions - Top 36 Blockchain Job Interview Questions & Answers

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Basic Introduction

• Encryption knowledge

  • Basic concepts - Asymmetric encryption, Digital signature, Certificate
  • Digital signature extension - Multi-signature, Blind signature, Group signature, Ring signature
  • Merkle tree
  • Merkle tree in blockchain
  • Merkle DAG
  • CryptoNote v2.0 - Untraceable Transactions and Egalitarian Proof-of-work

• Consensus

  • Proof of Stake FAQs / Chinese version

• Account and transaction model

• Exchange

• Applications

  • Do You Need a Blockchain?
  • What can't blockchain do?
  • More

• Governance

  • Blockchains should not be democracies

• Digital currency ranking

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Development Tutorial

BitCoin

Bitcoin is an experimental digital currency that enables instant payments to anyone, anywhere in the world. Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority: managing transactions and issuing money are carried out collectively by the network.

• BitCoin white paper: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System / Chinese version
• Mastering BitCoin / Chinese version / pdf download

• Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs)

• Mining visualization

• Wallets
• Explorers
• Libraries - C++, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, .Net
• Web services
• Full nodes
• More

Ethereum

Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third-party interference.

These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property.

• Ethereum white paper / Chinese version
• Mastering Ethereum / Chinese version
• Ethereum wiki
  • Ethereum problems
  • Sharding roadmap
  • Ethereum flavored WebAssembly (ewasm)

• Accounts, Transactions, Gas, and Block Gas Limits in Ethereum

• Ethereum Blockchain Explorer

• Eth Gas Station
• Eth Network Status

Consortium Blockchain

• Theory

  • The Byzantine Generals Problem
  • Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance
  • Is consortium blockchain better?
  • 5 consortium blockchain comparison / quick version
  • FISCO BCOS vs Fabric

• Implement a consortium blockchain using ethereum

  • Building a Private Ethereum Consortium
  • Deploying a private Ethereum blockchain to Microsoft Azure Cloud
  • Ethereum Consortium Network Deployments Made Easy
  • How to Set Up a Private Ethereum Blockchain in 20 Minutes

Fabric

FISCO-BCOS

Releated Tools

Solidity

truffle

web3.js

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Projects and Applications

Monero

Monero is a private, secure, untraceable, decentralised digital currency. You are your bank, you control your funds, and nobody can trace your transfers unless you allow them to do so.

Privacy: Monero uses a cryptographically sound system to allow you to send and receive funds without your transactions being easily revealed on the blockchain (the ledger of transactions that everyone has). This ensures that your purchases, receipts, and all transfers remain absolutely private by default.

Security: Using the power of a distributed peer-to-peer consensus network, every transaction on the network is cryptographically secured. Individual wallets have a 25 word mnemonic seed that is only displayed once, and can be written down to backup the wallet. Wallet files are encrypted with a passphrase to ensure they are useless if stolen.

Untraceability: By taking advantage of ring signatures, a special property of a certain type of cryptography, Monero is able to ensure that transactions are not only untraceable, but have an optional measure of ambiguity that ensures that transactions cannot easily be tied back to an individual user or computer.

• Getmonero.org - The official Monero website
• Lab.getmonero.org - The official research group of Monero
• RPC documentation - RPC documentation of the Monero daemon
• [Wallet documentation](https://getmonero.org/resources/developer-guides/wallet-rpc