Cryptocurrency All-in-One For Dummies

Cryptocurrency All-in-One For Dummies

by Kiana Danial, Tiana Laurence, Peter Kent, Tyler Bain, Michael G. Solomon
Released January 2022
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781119855804

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Book description

Learn the skills to get in on the crypto craze

The world of cryptocurrency includes some of the coolest technologies and most lucrative investments available today. And you can jump right into the middle of the action with Cryptocurrency All-in-One For Dummies, a collection of simple and straightforward resources that will get you up to speed on cryptocurrency investing and mining, blockchain, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.

Stop scouring a million different places on the web and settle in with this one-stop compilation of up-to-date and reliable info on what's been called the "21st century gold rush." So, whether you're just looking for some fundamental knowledge about how cryptocurrency works, or you're ready to put some money into the markets, you'll find what you need in one of the five specially curated resources included in this book.

Cryptocurrency All-in-One For Dummies will help you:

  • Gain an understanding of how cryptocurrency works and the blockchain technologies that power cryptocurrency
  • Find out if you're ready to invest in the cryptocurrency market and how to make smart decisions with your cash
  • Build a cryptocurrency mining rig out of optimized and specifically chosen computing hardware
  • Dive into the details of leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum

Perfect for anyone curious and excited about the potential that's been unlocked by the latest in cryptocurrency tech, this book will give you the foundation you need to become a savvy cryptocurrency consumer, investor, or miner before you know it.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go From Here
  5. Book 1: Cryptocurrency Basics
    1. Chapter 1: What Is a Cryptocurrency?
      1. Beginning with the Basics of Cryptocurrencies
      2. Gearing Up to Make Transactions
      3. Making a Plan Before You Jump In
    2. Chapter 2: How Cryptocurrencies Work
      1. Explaining Basic Terms in the Cryptocurrency Process
      2. Cruising through Other Important Crypto Concepts
      3. Stick a Fork in It: Digging into Cryptocurrency Forks
    3. Chapter 3: Introducing Cryptocurrency Wallets
      1. Defining Cryptocurrency Wallets
      2. Looking at Different Types of Wallets
      3. Choosing a Crypto Wallet
      4. Keeping Your Wallet Secure
    4. Chapter 4: Different Types of Cryptocurrencies
      1. Celebrating Celebrity Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap
      2. Cryptocurrencies by Category
  6. Book 2: Blockchain Basics
    1. Chapter 1: Introducing Blockchain
      1. Beginning at the Beginning: What Blockchains Are
      2. The Structure of Blockchains
      3. Blockchain Applications
      4. The Blockchain Life Cycle
      5. Consensus: The Driving Force of Blockchains
      6. Blockchains in Use
    2. Chapter 2: Picking a Blockchain
      1. Where Blockchains Add Substance
      2. Choosing a Solution
    3. Chapter 3: Getting Your Hands on Blockchain
      1. Diving into Blockchain Technology
      2. Building a Private Blockchain with Docker and Ethereum
    4. Chapter 4: Beholding the Bitcoin Blockchain
      1. Getting a Brief History of the Bitcoin Blockchain
      2. The New Bitcoin: Bitcoin Cash
      3. Debunking Some Common Bitcoin Misconceptions
      4. Bitcoin: The New Wild West
      5. Mining for Bitcoins
      6. Making Your First Paper Wallet
    5. Chapter 5: Encountering the Ethereum Blockchain
      1. Exploring the Brief History of Ethereum
      2. Ethereum: The Open-Source World Wide Computer
      3. Hacking a Blockchain
      4. Getting Up and Running on Ethereum
      5. Uncovering the Future of DAOs
      6. Creating Your Own ERC-20 Token
    6. Chapter 6: Getting Your Hands on Hyperledger
      1. Getting to Know Hyperledger
      2. Identifying Key Hyperledger Projects
      3. Building Your System in Fabric
      4. Building Asset Tracking with Hyperledger Composer
      5. Working with Smart Contracts on Hyperledger
    7. Chapter 7: Financial Technology
      1. Hauling Out Your Crystal Ball: Future Banking Trends
      2. Going International: Global Financial Products
      3. Squeezing Out Fraud
  7. Book 3: Bitcoin
    1. Chapter 1: Bitcoin Tech Explained
      1. Understanding That There Is No Bitcoin!
      2. Discovering the Bitcoin Ledger
      3. Looking at the Bitcoin Distributed, Peer-to-Peer Network
      4. Using the Bitcoin Blockchain’s Blocks of Business
      5. Finding Out How the Ledger Functions
    2. Chapter 2: Buying, Using, and Selling Bitcoin
      1. Finding the Price of Bitcoin
      2. Your Options for Acquiring Bitcoin
      3. “Bitcoin Back” on Credit and Debit Cards
      4. Earning Your Bitcoin
      5. Mining Bitcoin
      6. Finding Bitcoin Everywhere
      7. Selling Your Bitcoin
    3. Chapter 3: Taking Control of Your Wallet (and Hodling Your Bitcoin)
      1. What Is a Wallet?
      2. Exploring Wallet Hardware
      3. Finding a Wallet
      4. Setting Up a Bitcoin Wallet
      5. Using the Lightning Network
    4. Chapter 4: Keeping Your Bitcoin Safe
      1. Understanding How You Can Lose Control of Your Bitcoin
      2. Grasping the Goal: Private Key and Seed Protection
      3. Making a Choice: Custodial or Private Wallet?
      4. Devising Your Cryptocurrency Safety Plan
      5. Exploring More Ways to Protect Your Bitcoin (and Everything Else)
      6. Knowing What Happens When You Kick the Bucket
  8. Book 4: Ethereum
    1. Chapter 1: Getting to Know Ethereum
      1. Exploring Ethereum’s Consensus, Mining, and Smart Contracts
      2. Buying, Spending, and Trading Ether
      3. Getting Started with DAO and ICO
      4. Delving into Development Tools
    2. Chapter 2: Exploring Use Cases for Ethereum
      1. Diving into Ethereum Applications
      2. Exploring Financial Services
      3. Establishing Digital Identity Management
      4. Examining Industry Applications
      5. Enabling Effective Governance
    3. Chapter 3: Examining the Ethereum Ecosystem and Development Life cycle
      1. Exploring the Ethereum Blockchain Block Structure
      2. Describing Smart Contracts
      3. Introducing Solidity, the Language of Smart Contracts
      4. Working with the Ethereum Virtual Machine
      5. Fueling Your Code with Gas
      6. Surveying Tools for Developing, Testing, and Deploying Ethereum Apps
      7. Describing the Ethereum Development Life cycle
      8. Introducing Smart Contract Development Tools
    4. Chapter 4: Getting and Configuring Ethereum Development Tools
      1. Examining Why Multiple Ethereum Development Tools Are Available
      2. Downloading, Installing, and Configuring All the Pieces
    5. Chapter 5: Building Your First Ethereum Apps
      1. Validating Your Ethereum Development Environment
      2. Exploring the Ganache Test Environment
      3. Designing Simple Smart Contracts
      4. Coding Your First Smart Contract
      5. Running Your First Smart Contract
      6. Paying as You Go
    6. Chapter 6: Discovering Smart Contracts
      1. Introducing Supply Chain and Common Challenges
      2. Examining How Blockchain Can Help Resolve Supply Chain Problems
      3. Implementing a Blockchain Supply Chain Solution
      4. Digging into Solidity
      5. Describing Basic Smart Contract Syntax
      6. Handling Data in Solidity
      7. Finding Out about Computation and Gas
      8. Exploring Access Modes and Visibility of Smart Contract Functions and Data
      9. Controlling Execution Flow
      10. Handling Errors and Exceptions
    7. Chapter 7: Writing Your Own Smart Contracts with Solidity
      1. Reviewing Supply Chain Design Specification
      2. Creating New Smart Contracts
      3. Coding Primary Functions
      4. Using Events
      5. Introducing Ownership
      6. Designing for Security
      7. Implementing Minimal Functionality
    8. Chapter 8: Testing Ethereum Apps
      1. Understanding Ethereum dApp Testing
      2. Deploying a dApp to a Test Ethereum Blockchain
      3. Writing Tests for Ethereum dApps
      4. Logging and Handling Errors
      5. Fixing Bugs in a dApp
    9. Chapter 9: Deploying Ethereum Apps
      1. Test Blockchain Options versus Live Blockchains
      2. Anticipating Differences in Live Environments
      3. Preparing Your Configuration for Deploying to Different Networks
      4. Deploying a dApp
  9. Book 5: Cryptocurrency Investing
    1. Chapter 1: Why Invest in Cryptocurrencies?
      1. Diversifying from Traditional Investments
      2. Gaining Capital Appreciation
      3. Increasing Income Potential
      4. Fueling Ideological Empowerment
    2. Chapter 2: Recognizing the Risks of Cryptocurrencies
      1. Reviewing Cryptocurrency Returns
      2. Risk: Flipping the Other Side of the Coin
      3. Glimpsing Cryptocurrencies’ Reward versus Risk
      4. Digging into Different Kinds of Risk
      5. Exploring Risk Management Methods
    3. Chapter 3: Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Brokers
      1. Distinguishing Crypto Exchanges
      2. Considering Brokers
      3. Looking at Other Methods for Buying Cryptos
    4. Chapter 4: Identifying Top-Performing Cryptocurrencies
      1. Introducing the Invest Diva Diamond Analysis
      2. Using Fundamental Analysis to Pick Cryptocurrencies
      3. Choosing Cryptos with Sentimental Analysis
      4. Trying Technical Analysis to Select Cryptos
    5. Chapter 5: Diversification in Cryptocurrencies
      1. Breaking Down Some Basics on Diversification
      2. Using Cryptocurrencies in Long-Term Diversification
      3. Tackling Diversification in Short-Term Trades
    6. Chapter 6: Getting Ahead of the Crowd: Investing in ICOs
      1. Understanding the Basics of Initial Coin Offerings
      2. Investing in an ICO
      3. So You Want to Start an ICO: Launching an ICO Yourself
    7. Chapter 7: Stocks and Exchange-Traded Funds with Cryptocurrency Exposure
      1. Looking for Stocks with Exposure to Cryptos
      2. Considering Cryptocurrency and Blockchain ETFs
    8. Chapter 8: Cryptocurrency Futures and Options
      1. Focusing on the Fundamentals of Futures
      2. Introducing the Basics of Options
      3. Understanding Cryptocurrency Derivatives Trading
    9. Chapter 9: Dealing with the Dollar and Other Fiat Currencies
      1. Considering the World’s Reserve Currency: The U.S. Dollar
      2. Examining the Euro and Other Major Currencies
      3. Comparing the Forex Market and the Crypto Market
    10. Chapter 10: Using Technical Analysis
      1. Beginning with the Basics of Technical Analysis
      2. Spotting the Key Levels
      3. Picking Out Patterns on a Chart
      4. Smoothing Charts Out with Moving Averages
    11. Chapter 11: Short-Term Trading Strategies
      1. Distinguishing Three Short-Term Time Frames
      2. Trying Short-Term Analysis Methods
      3. Managing Short-Term Trading Risk
    12. Chapter 12: Long-Term Investing Strategies
      1. Time Is on Your Side: Getting Started with Long-Term Investing
      2. Creating Long-Term Strategies
      3. Considering Limit and Stop-Loss Orders
    13. Chapter 13: Minimizing Losses and Maximizing Gains
      1. Keeping the Losses Down
      2. Letting the Profits Rise
    14. Chapter 14: Using Ichimoku and Fibonacci Techniques
      1. Getting a Handle on Ichimoku Kinko Hyo
      2. Introducing Fibonacci Retracement Levels
      3. Combining Ichimoku and Fibonacci Techniques
    15. Chapter 15: Taxes and Cryptocurrencies
      1. Distinguishing Three Types of Crypto Taxes
      2. Minimizing Your Crypto Taxes
      3. Evaluating Taxable Income from Crypto Transactions
  10. Book 6: Cryptocurrency Mining
    1. Chapter 1: Understanding Cryptocurrency Mining
      1. Understanding Decentralized Currencies
      2. Exploring the Role of the Crypto Miner
      3. Making Cryptocurrency Trustworthy
      4. Reaching Agreement through Consensus Algorithms
      5. Looking at the Cryptocurrency Miner
      6. Making the Crypto World Go ’Round
    2. Chapter 2: Exploring the Different Forms of Mining
      1. Proof-of-Work Algorithms
      2. Proof-of-Stake Algorithms
      3. Hybrid Proof of Stake/Proof of Work
      4. Delegated Proof of Stake
      5. Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance
      6. Proof of Burn
      7. And MORE…
    3. Chapter 3: Mining Made Simple: Finding a Pool and Preparing an Account
      1. Understanding How Pool Mining Works
      2. Choosing a Pool
      3. Setting Up a Pool Account
      4. Researching Mining Pools
      5. Cloud Mining
    4. Chapter 4: Picking a Cryptocurrency to Mine
      1. Determining Your Goal
      2. Mineable? PoW? PoS?
      3. Researching Cryptocurrencies
      4. Going Deep
      5. Knowing That Decentralization Is a Good Thing
      6. Finding Out It’s an Iterative Process
    5. Chapter 5: Gathering Your Mining Gear
      1. Selecting the Correct Computational Mining Hardware
      2. Mining Equipment Manufacturers
      3. Finding a Wallet to Store and Protect Your Private Keys
      4. Where to Mine? Selecting a Viable Location
    6. Chapter 6: Setting Up Your Mining Hardware
      1. ASIC Mining Rigs
      2. GPU Mining Rigs
      3. CPU Mining
      4. Mining Software
    7. Chapter 7: Running the Numbers: Is It Worth It?
      1. Factors That Determine Mining Profitability
      2. Calculating Your ROI
    8. Chapter 8: Reducing Negatives and Gaining an Edge
      1. Profitability through Efficiency
      2. Knowledge Is Power
      3. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
      4. Evaluating Your Mining Resources
    9. Chapter 9: Running Your Cryptocurrency Business
      1. What to Do with Your Mined Cryptocurrency
      2. Determining When to Sell
      3. Dollar Cost Averaging
      4. Tax and Your Mining Business
      5. Scaling Up?
  11. Index
  12. About the Authors
  13. Connect with Dummies
  14. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Cryptocurrency All-in-One For Dummies
  • Author(s): Kiana Danial, Tiana Laurence, Peter Kent, Tyler Bain, Michael G. Solomon
  • Release date: January 2022
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119855804