How to Read This Book

While some readers might have a good understanding of blockchain networks and similar distributed ledgers, it is assumed that many readers still need an introduction to the topic. Without an understanding of the fundamental building blocks of blockchains, smart contracts, and the Web3, it will be hard for readers to assess how, when, and why token use cases might be a game changer. This book provides a general overview of the underlying technology and resulting socio-economic implications thereof, before deep-diving into the topic of tokens.

Chronological reading is recommended, especially for readers who are new to the topic. However, the book also works in a modular way, allowing for cross-reading between chapters. Certain sub-chapters of the first part might be considered to have too much detail for some readers and can easily be skipped. Some basic information on the cryptoeconomic mechanisms behind blockchain networks, and Bitcoin in particular, might be repeated over several chapters. Assuming that many readers will cross-read and might skip some chapters, this minimal repetition is intentional, as a basic understanding of the consensus mechanism behind public distributed ledgers is essential to the understanding of many of the other chapters.

In some cases, complementary technologies or the names of start-ups will be briefly mentioned to make the technology and its use cases more tangible, without describing them in detail. Certain topics can only be briefly explained on a high level, as a more thorough explanation would be beyond the scope of this book. In such cases, the references at the end of each chapter can help to deep-dive into the respective sections of interest. Given the broad range and multidisciplinary nature of the topics discussed, it might be hard to please the needs of all readers, since not all specialist terms can be explained. It is assumed that the reader will conduct an independent Internet search in such cases.
The graphics in this book intend to visualize the core message of the topics discussed. They sometimes use metaphors or apply an intentional level of abstraction to allow for better understanding, especially for those who are new to the topic. Due to the emerging nature of token applications and their underlying Web3 networks, some details of the projects mentioned in this book might have become obsolete by the time of reading the book. The overall content of this book, however, is structured in a way that the general information will remain relevant.