ALSO BY Don Tapscott Paradigm Shift: The New Promise of Information Technology (1993) Coauthor, Art Caston The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence (1995) Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation (1997) Who Knows: Safeguarding Your Privacy in a Networked World (1997) Coauthor, Ann Cavoukian Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs (2000) Coauthors, David Ticoll and Alex Lowy The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business (2003) Coauthor, David Ticoll Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (2006) Coauthor, Anthony D. Williams Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation Is Changing the World (2008) Macrowikinomics: New Solution s for a Connected Planet (2010) Coauthor, Anthony D. Williams An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 Copyright © 2016 by Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader. ISBN: 9781101980132 International edition ISBN: 9780399564062 ISBN: 9781101980156 (ebook) While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. Version_1 To Ana Lopes and Amy Welsman for enabling this book, and for understanding that “it’s all about the blockchain.” “A masterpiece. Gracefully dissects the potential of blockchain technology to take on today’s most pressing global challenges.” —Hernando De Soto, Economist and President, Institute for Liberty and Democracy, Peru “The blockchain is to trust as the Internet is to information. Like the original Internet, blockchain has potential to transform everything. Read this book and you will understand.” —Joichi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab “In this extraordinary journey to the frontiers of finance, the Tapscotts shed new light on the blockchain phenomenon and make a compelling case for why we all need to better understand its power and potential.” —Dave McKay, President and CEO, Royal Bank of Canada “Deconstructs the promise and peril of the blockchain in a way that is at once accessible and erudite. Blockchain Revolution gives readers a privileged sneak peak at the future.” —Alec Ross, author, The Industries of the Future “If ever there was a topic for demystification ...

1. ALSO BY
Don Tapscott
Paradigm Shift: The New Promise of Information Technology
(1993)
Coauthor, Art Caston
The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of
Networked Intelligence (1995)
Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation (1997)
Who Knows: Safeguarding Your Privacy in a Networked World
(1997)
Coauthor, Ann Cavoukian
Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs (2000)
Coauthors, David Ticoll and Alex Lowy
The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will
Revolutionize Business (2003)
Coauthor, David Ticoll
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
(2006)
Coauthor, Anthony D. Williams
Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation Is Changing the
World (2008)

2. Macrowikinomics: New
Solution
s for a Connected Planet (2010)
Coauthor, Anthony D. Williams
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2016 by Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity,
encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a
vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of
this book and for complying with copyright laws by not
reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form
without permission. You are supporting writers and

3. allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.
ISBN: 9781101980132
International edition ISBN: 9780399564062
ISBN: 9781101980156 (ebook)
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate
telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact
information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor
the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for
changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does
not have any control over and does not assume any
responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their
content.
Version_1
To Ana Lopes and Amy Welsman for enabling this book, and
for understanding that “it’s
all about the blockchain.”

4. “A masterpiece. Gracefully dissects the potential of blockchain
technology to take on today’s most pressing global
challenges.”
—Hernando De Soto, Economist and President, Institute for
Liberty and Democracy, Peru
“The blockchain is to trust as the Internet is to information.
Like the original Internet, blockchain has potential to
transform everything. Read this book and you will understand.”
—Joichi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab
“In this extraordinary journey to the frontiers of finance, the
Tapscotts shed new light on the blockchain
phenomenon and make a compelling case for why we all need to
better understand its power and potential.”
—Dave McKay, President and CEO, Royal Bank of Canada
“Deconstructs the promise and peril of the blockchain in a way
that is at once accessible and erudite. Blockchain

5. Revolution gives readers a privileged sneak peak at the future.”
—Alec Ross, author, The Industries of the Future
“If ever there was a topic for demystification, blockchain is it.
Together, the Tapscotts have achieved this
comprehensively and in doing so have captured the excitement,
the potential, and the importance of this topic to
everyone.”
—Blythe Masters, CEO, Digital Asset Holdings
“This is a book with the predictive quality of Orwell’s 1984 and
the vision of Elon Musk. Read it or become
extinct.”
—Tim Draper, Founder, Draper Associates, DFJ, and Draper
University
“Blockchain is a radical technological wave and, as he has done
so often, Tapscott is out there, now with son
Alex, surfing at dawn. It’s quite a ride.”
—Yochai Benkler, Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal
Studies, Harvard Law School

6. “If you work in business or government, you need to understand
the blockchain revolution. No one has written a
more thoroughly researched or engaging book on this topic than
Tapscott and Tapscott.”
—Erik Brynjolfsson, Professor at MIT; coauthor of The Second
Machine Age
“An indispensable and up-to-the-minute account of how the
technology underlying bitcoin could—and should—
unleash the true potential of a digital economy for distributed
prosperity.”
—Douglas Rushkoff, author of Present Shock and Throwing
Rocks at the Google Bus
“Technological change that used to develop over a generation
now hits us in a relative blink of the eye, and no one
tells this story better than the Tapscotts.”
—Eric Spiegel, President and CEO, Siemens USA
“Few leaders push us to look around corners the way Don
Tapscott does. With Blockchain Revolution he and his

7. son Alex teach us, challenge us, and show us an entirely new
way to think about the future.”
—Bill McDermott, CEO, SAP SE
“Blockchain Revolution is a brilliant mix of history,
technology, and sociology that covers all aspects of the
blockchain protocol—an invention that in time may prove as
momentous as the invention of printing.”
—James Rickards, author of Currency Wars and The Death of
Money
“Blockchain Revolution serves as an atlas to the world of
digital money, masterfully explaining the current
landscape while simultaneously illuminating a path forward
toward a more equitable, efficient, and connected
global financial system.”
—Jim Breyer, CEO, Breyer Capital
“Blockchain Revolution is the indispensable and definitive
guide to this world-changing technology.”
—Jerry Brito, Executive Director, Coin Center

8. “Incredible. Really incredible. The Tapscotts’ examination of
the blockchain as a model for inclusion in an
increasingly centralized world is both nuanced and
extraordinary.”
—Steve Luczo, Chairman and CEO, Seagate Technology
“Makes a powerful case for blockchain’s ability to increase
transparency but also ensure privacy. In the authors’
words, ‘The Internet of Things needs a Ledger of Things.’”
—Chandra Chandrasekaran, CEO and Managing Director, Tata
Consultancy Services
“The epicenter of trust is about to diffuse! The definitive
narrative on the revolutionary possibilities of a
decentralized trust system.”
—Frank D’Souza, CEO, Cognizant
“Identifies a profound new technology movement and connects
it to the deepest of human needs: trust.
Thoroughly researched and provocatively written. Every serious

9. businessperson and policy maker needs to read
Blockchain Revolution.”
—Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman and CEO, OgilvyOne
Worldwide
“Blockchain Revolution sets the table for a wave of
technological advancement that is only just beginning.”
—Frank Brown, Managing Director and Chief Operating Office,
General Atlantic
“A must read. You’ll gain a deep understanding of why the
blockchain is quickly becoming one of the most
important emerging technologies since the Internet.”
—Brian Forde, Director of Digital Currency Initiative, MIT
Media Lab
“Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize
industry, finance, and government—a must read for
anyone interested in the future of money and humanity.”
—Perianne Boring, Founder and President, Chamber of Digital
Commerce

10. “When generational technology changes the world in which we
live, we are truly fortunate to have cartographers
like Don Tapscott, and now his son Alex, to explain where
we’re going.”
—Ray Lane, Managing Partner, GreatPoint Ventures; Partner
Emeritus, Kleiner Perkins
“Don and Alex have written the definitive guidebook for those
trying to navigate this new and promising
frontier.”
—Benjamin Lawsky, Former Superintendent of Financial
Services, State of New York; CEO of The Lawsky Group
“Blockchain Revolution is an illuminating, critically important
manifesto for the next digital age.”
—Dan Pontefract, author of The Purpose Effect; Chief
Envisioner, TELUS
“The most well-researched, thorough, and insightful book on the
most exciting new technology since the Internet.
A work of exceptional clarity and astonishingly broad and deep
insight.”

11. —Andreas Antonopoulos, author of Mastering Bitcoin
“Blockchain Revolution beautifully captures and illuminates the
brave new world of decentralized, trustless
money.”
—Tyler Winklevoss, Cofounder, Gemini and Winklevoss
Capital
“A fascinating—and reassuring—insight into a technology with
the power to remake the global economy. What a
prize. What a book!”
—Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
CONTENTS
Also by Don Tapscott
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Praise for Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott
Acknowledgments

12. PART I: Say You Want a Revolution
CHAPTER 1: The Trust Protocol
In Search of the Trust Protocol
How This Worldwide Ledger Works
A Rational Exuberance for the Blockchain
Achieving Trust in the Digital Age
Return of the Internet
Your Personal Avatar and the Black Box of Identity
A Plan for Prosperity
Promise and Peril of the New Platform
CHAPTER 2: Bootstrapping the Future: Seven Design
Principles of the Blockchain
Economy
The Seven Design Principles
1. Networked Integrity
2. Distributed Power
3. Value as Incentive
4. Security
5. Privacy
6. Rights Preserved
7. Inclusion

13. Designing the Future
PART II: Transformations
CHAPTER 3: Reinventing Financial Services
A New Look for the World’s Second-Oldest Profession
The Golden Eight: How the Financial Services Sector Will
Change
From Stock Exchanges to Block Exchanges
Dr. Faust’s Blockchain Bargain
The Bank App: Who Will Win in Retail Banking
Google Translate for Business: New Frameworks for
Accounting and Corporate
Governance
Reputation: You Are Your Credit Score
The Blockchain IPO
The Market for Prediction Markets
Road Map for the Golden Eight
CHAPTER 4: Re-architecting the Firm: The Core and the Edges
Building ConsenSys
Changing the Boundaries of the Firm

14. Determining Corporate Boundaries
CHAPTER 5: New Business Models: Making It Rain on the
Blockchain
bAirbnb Versus Airbnb
Global Computing: The Rise of Distributed Applications
The DApp Kings: Distributed Business Entities
Autonomous Agents
Distributed Autonomous Enterprises
The Big Seven: Open Networked Enterprise Business Models
Hacking Your Future: Business Model Innovation
CHAPTER 6: The Ledger of Things: Animating the Physical
World
Power to the People
The Evolution of Computing: From Mainframes to Smart Pills
The Internet of Things Needs a Ledger of Things
The Twelve Disruptions: Animating Things
The Economic Payoff
The Future: From Uber to SUber
Hacking Your Future for a World of Smart Things
CHAPTER 7: Solving the Prosperity Paradox: Economic

15. Inclusion and
Entrepreneurship
A Pig Is Not a Piggy Bank
The New Prosperity Paradox
Road Map to Prosperity
Remittances: The Story of Analie Domingo
Blockchain Humanitarian Aid
Safe as Houses? The Road to Asset Ownership
Implementation Challenges and Leadership Opportunities
CHAPTER 8: Rebuilding Government and Democracy
Something Is Rotten in the State
High-Performance Government Services and Operations
Empowering People to Serve Selves and Others
The Second Era of Democracy
Blockchain Voting
Alternative Models of Politics and Justice
Engaging Citizens to Solve Big Problems
Wielding Tools of Twenty-first-Century Democracy
CHAPTER 9: Freeing Culture on the Blockchain: Music to Our
Ears
Fair Trade Music: From Streaming Music to Metering Rights
Artlery for Art Lovers: Connecting Artists and Patrons
Privacy, Free Speech, and Free Press on the Blockchain

16. Getting the Word Out: The Critical Role of Education
Culture on the Blockchain and You
PART III: Promise and Peril
CHAPTER 10: Overcoming Showstoppers: Ten Implementation
Challenges
1. The Technology Is Not Ready for Prime Time
2. The Energy Consumed Is Unsustainable
3. Governments Will Stifle or Twist It
4. Powerful Incumbents of the Old Paradigm Will Usurp It
5. The Incentives Are Inadequate for Distributed Mass
Collaboration
6. The Blockchain Is a Job Killer
7. Governing the Protocols Is Like Herding Cats
8. Distributed Autonomous Agents Will Form Skynet
9. Big Brother Is (Still) Watching You
10. Criminals Will Use It
Reasons Blockchain Will Fail or Implementation Challenges?
CHAPTER 11: Leadership for the Next Era
Who Will Lead a Revolution?

17. The Blockchain Ecosystem: You Can’t Tell the Players Without
a Roster
A Cautionary Tale of Blockchain Regulation
The Senator Who Would Change the World
Central Banks in a Decentralized Economy
Regulation Versus Governance
A New Framework for Blockchain Governance
A New Agenda for the Next Digital Age
The Trust Protocol and You
Notes
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book came from the meeting of two minds and two life
trajectories. Don had been leading a
$4 million syndicated research program called Global