Week 1 - The Second Era of the Internet

The Internet connects billions of people around the world, and is great for communicating and collaborating online. However, because it was built for moving and storing information, and not value, it has done little to change the way we do business. Now, for the first time in human history, two or more parties anywhere in the world can transact and do business peer to peer using the blockchain. In this module we introduce blockchain as “the trust protocol,” and explain how it represents the second era of the Internet. We describe how blockchain technology establishes trust—not through powerful intermediaries, but rather through collaboration, cryptography and clever code.