The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain Are Challenging the Global Economic Order by Michael J. Casey, Paul Vigna

The world has entered a new Age of Cryptocurrency—an era where digital tokens and the technology that supports them, such as Bitcoin and the blockchain, are disrupting the existing economic order. Michael J. Casey's book The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain are Challenging the Global Economic Order provides an in-depth exploration of the cryptocurrency revolution and the socio-economic applications of the blockchain technology. It serves as a guide to understanding the inner workings of these new digital currencies and their implications for society as a whole.

At its core, the book argues that the emergence of digital currencies, enabled by blockchain technology, is ushering in a radical new form of economic system that is already shaking up the traditional financial sector. Casey extensively covers the background and history of the financial industry, offering a detailed explanation of the pre-cryptocurrency financial infrastructure and the problems associated with it. He then moves on to discuss the emergence of Bitcoin and other digital currencies, highlighting their potential to offer an alternative to the existing banking system.

The book outlines how blockchain technology and its associated digital currency protocols can provide people with a more secure, transparent, and decentralised ledger for making payments between individuals or organizations. It explains the full range of possibilities that blockchain-enabled payments may provide, from reducing the cost and speed of international transactions to allowing for anonymous transactions on a variety of platforms.

Furthermore, Casey describes how the blockchain might revolutionise business contracts such as those related to the intellectual property rights, wills, deeds, and other legal instruments by providing verification and authentication of the contracts via a shared and decentralized ledgers. In addition, he presents a range of new investment and fundraising opportunities, such as digital asset-backed securities and Initial Coin Offerings, which are generated through blockchain-driven digital assets.

Casey gives readers a comprehensive understanding of the cryptocurrency universe, and also shows how different stakeholders, from governments and central banks, to financial and technology start-ups, are responding to the digital currency revolution. He also explores how the cryptocurrency revolution might affect international law and regulation.

Ultimately, The Age of Cryptocurrency is an essential read for anyone looking to learn more about the emerging cryptocurrency universe and its implications for the global economy. By providing thorough, readable explanations of both the technology and the societal changes arising from it, Casey's book is an invaluable resource. It offers an insightful look into the ways in which digital currencies and blockchain technology are already challenging the status quo and what their application might mean for the future of the global economy.