Blockchain Consensus

This book is an introduction to distributed consensus and its use in the blockchain. It covers classical protocols, blockchain age protocols that emerged after Bitcoin, and quantum protocols. Many enthusiasts have come from different backgrounds into the blockchain world and may not have traditional distributed systems experience. This book fills that knowledge gap. It introduces classical protocols and foundations of distributed consensus so that a solid foundation is built to understand the research on blockchain consensus. Many other people have come from traditional distributed systems backgrounds, either developers or theorists. Still, they may lack the understanding of blockchain and relevant concepts such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. This book will fill that gap too. Moreover, as quantum computing will impact almost everything in the future, I have also covered how quantum computing can help build quantum consensus algorithms. A clear advantage can be realized in the efficiency and security of consensus algorithms by using quantum computing. Therefore, an entire chapter is dedicated to quantum consensus. This book is for everyone who wants to understand this fascinating world of blockchain consensus and distributed consensus in general. A basic understanding of computer science is all that's required to fully benefit from this book. This book can also serve as a study resource for a one-semester course on blockchain and distributed consensus.