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The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum Hardcover – July 14, 2020

by Camila Russo (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 805 ratings
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Written with the verve of such works as The Big Short, The History of the Future, and The Spider Network, here is the fascinating, true story of the rise of Ethereum, the second-biggest digital asset in the world, the growth of cryptocurrency, and the future of the internet as we know it.

Everyone has heard of Bitcoin, but few know about the second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, which has been heralded as the "next internet."

The story of Ethereum begins with Vitalik Buterin, a supremely gifted nineteen-year-old autodidact who saw the promise of blockchain when the technology was in its earliest stages. He convinced a crack  group of coders to join him in his quest to make a super-charged, global computer.

The Infinite Machine introduces Vitalik’s ingenious idea and unfolds Ethereum’s chaotic beginnings. It then explores the brilliant innovation and reckless greed the platform―an infinitely adaptable foundation for experimentation and new applications―has unleashed and the consequences that resulted as the frenzy surrounding it grew: increased regulatory scrutiny, incipient Wall Street interest, and the founding team’s effort to get the Ethereum platform to scale so it can eventually be  accessible to the masses.

Financial journalist and cryptocurrency expert Camila Russo details the wild and often hapless adventures of a team of hippy-anarchists, reluctantly led by an ambivalent visionary, and lays out how this new foundation for the internet will spur both transformation and fraud―turning some into millionaires and others into felons―and revolutionize our ideas about money.
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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper Business
  4. Publication date
    July 14, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.13 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0062886142
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0062886149
  8. See all details
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  1. A DAO was the groundbreaking idea of creating a computer-run organization. The business’s rules would be set in a computer program and executed with as little human involvement as possible. Because the organization would be built on top of a public blockchain like Ethereum, decision making and flow of funds would be fully transparent, uncensorable, and immutable.
    Highlighted by 402 Kindle readers
  2. In Ethereum, there are two types of accounts: externally owned accounts, controlled by people’s private keys and containing no code, and contract accounts, controlled by their code.
    Highlighted by 369 Kindle readers
  3. When a transaction is executed, it is broadcast to all the computers in the network for them to update their ledgers. Transactions are bunched together to form a block of data, and once that block runs out of space (1 megabyte right now), computers race to solve a complex mathematical puzzle to verify the transactions, seal the block, and record it on their ledgers.
    Highlighted by 306 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Camila Russo has written the story of Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum—do I need to say more? Read it!" — Tyler Cowen, cofounder of Marginal Revolution

“Bitcoin’s origin story has been widely covered, and thankfully Camila Russo has now narrated the similarly profound genesis of Ethereum. As cryptocurrency and borderless digital finance sweep the world, every tech enthusiast and financial radicalist should dive deep into The Infinite Machine. This is the founding of our swiftly approaching future.” — Erik Voorhees, CEO of ShapeShift

“Camila Russo gives us a fascinating history on the birth and birthing pains of the Ethereum network, which has the potential to transform the way society functions. If Ethereum fulfills its promise, this book will be required reading at colleges, and if it doesn’t, it's still a great read.” — Michael Novogratz, cofounder of Galaxy Digital

The Infinite Machine is the most thorough account of Ethereum's past, present, and likely future that I've encountered. Russo's background as a Bloomberg News reporter combined with her immersion in Ethereum makes her uniquely qualified to tell Ethereum's story. Reminiscent of Nathaniel Popper's work in its storytelling, finesse, and dedication to detail, The Infinite Machine is slated to be Ethereum's Digital Gold. Russo's timing is good, as Ethereum is poised to rise in the mainstream as Bitcoin's younger, more capable sibling. — Chris Burniske, cofounder at Placeholder Ventures and coauthor of Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond

"This real story reads like a colorful, cypherpunk sci-fi. Still visceral for anyone who was there, Russo eloquently captures the origin story of the burgeoning Web 3.0 movement that is driving the next generation of internet platforms. It'll become a canonical text on the history of the space." — Jesse Walden, founder of venture fund Variant and former Andreessen Horowitz investor

"Russo—the ex-Bloomberg tech journalist who describes herself on Twitter as 'Chieftess at the Defiant'—has written a fast-paced, Michael Lewis-style history of crypto-currency which helps us sort out our Bitcoins from our Ethereums." — Literary Hub

"This will appeal to people fascinated with the possibilities of cryptocurrency, as well as those interested in the personalities involved and the business history of the concept." — Library Journal

“The Infinite Machine is well-organized, easy to follow, and serves as the best introduction to the world of Ethereum." — Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Camila Russo is one of the most prolific and dedicated cryptocurrency journalists, speaking frequently at industry events and appearing on major media outlets. She is the founder of crypto content platform The Defiant, and was a Bloomberg News reporter for eight years covering emerging markets, European stocks and digital assets from Buenos Aires, Madrid and New York City. She also worked at Chile’s largest national newspaper, El Mercurio and was awarded first place for online journalism by Brazil’s exchange operator BM&F Bovespa at the start of her career. She has a Master of Science degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. She lives in New York City.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Business (July 14, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062886142
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062886149
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.11 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.13 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 805 ratings

About the author

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Camila Russo

Camila Russo

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Camila Russo is a writer and financial journalist with experience across markets and continents. She is the founder of The Defiant, a content platform focusing on decentralized finance. Previously, she was markets reporter at Bloomberg News for eight years, based in Buenos Aires, Madrid and New York.

She studied journalism in Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, after which she worked in El Mercurio, the most widely read Chilean newspaper, as a contractor. After a year in the global news section, she started dreaming of working at a big US media company.

To do that, she decided to apply to a journalism school in the US, and was accepted at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism for a Master's degree. During the Master's she was surprised to discover she enjoyed business journalism and successfully applied to an internship at Bloomberg News, in New York.

She was hired after the internship, and went on to cover Argentine markets in Bloomberg's Buenos Aires bureau for almost five years, where she covered a debt default, the nationalization of a foreign oil company, currency controls, and (briefly) the rise of bitcoin. European stocks in Madrid for two years was her next stop. She then went back to New York, where she wrote about macro markets for Bloomberg Markets Live blog, a feed of live market analysis.

When she got back to NYC, in 2017, a cryptocurrency bubble started blowing up. She had remained interested in the space ever since she first wrote about it in Argentina, in 2013, and started covering this crazy market, until it gradually became her second job, together with blogger for Markets Live.

In 2018, she started writing the first book on the history of Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency, with HarperCollins. In 2019 she left Bloomberg News to finish The Infinite Machine and move on to pursue her own endeavors. On June 6th, she filed the first draft of the book. Five days later, she founded The Defiant, a content platform focusing on the open economy.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
805 global ratings
The Story Of How Ethereum Came To Be!
5 Stars
The Story Of How Ethereum Came To Be!
I read this book front to back in less than 4 days, so to say I enjoyed “The Infinite Machine” would be an understatement. Camila is the perfect person to tell the untold story of how Ethereum managed to overcome a roller coaster of events to get to where it is today. This book is a must read for anyone interested in blockchain technology. I truly can’t recommend it enough!
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Top reviews from the United States

Rychefan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story! Want more!!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
I read this from Amazon Unlimited.
I've read a few books on the history of the blockchain/cryptocurrencies and LOVE the stories! Most books are focused on bitcoin though. A search came up on, "The Infinite Machine", so I thought it'd be a good read on the history of Ethereum.
The author has a very good way of telling the stories in a manner that holds the reader's interest. Her research is very good, although I have to believe there's a ton more that hasn't been told...which I'd love to read about. That said, "The Infinite Machine", should leave the readers with more of an appreciation for what's gone into the creating, implementation and maintenance of Ethereum.
As a cryptocurrecy hodl'er, I get tired of hearing all these "I want to get rich quick" investors hammering on Vitalek and crew to get the PoS up and running. READ THIS BOOK so you can appreciate how tough on themselves they are to make sure everything is perfect!
I do believe that Buterin/Wood/et. al. are the pioneers of the future and have (and will continue to) change the world for the better.
Very good read if you want a good understanding of the history, the players and the decisions they had to make. It's really an incredible story!
8 people found this helpful
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Janine
4.0 out of 5 stars good history!
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
Great recap of Ethereums history. Really appreciate the details while making it an easy read and engaging. Good sharing of contextabs names to make research after the fact easy.
3 people found this helpful
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Nicolas MOREAU
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully documented and fluid story
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2021
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This is a very good, honest and well documented book on the story behind Ethereum. Very accessible. I really enjoyed reading this book on what is opening the web3 revolution.
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Axel2200
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent to understand cripto history!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2022
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Excellent book to understand cripto’ history!
Im pretty sure this book will be part of school program in some years .. excellent written and easy to read.
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mijael feldman
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing read!
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
I'm a fintech Founder helping people improve their financial lives. Reading this book is encouraging me to think twice about the best way to grow and making me question if the future of financial services is still going to look the same in 10 years.
While reading the last chapter on DeFi, I spent an hour in Mexico City at a bank branch opening a savings account. 5 minutes later I was moving ethereum from my wallet to buy DAI and save on Maker Dao.
After reading this book I'm completely sure financial services aren't going to be just digital, but decentralized.
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RB
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021
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The book is probably a 3 star read but the authors writing style is really good.
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Mikko Ikola
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story of Ethereum history
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021
Verified Purchase
Jumping to the bandwagon of cryptos is no easy task. Full of new terms, stories, references that you are expected to know before you fully understand what people talk about today.

Just like Saifadean’s book “Bitcoin Standard” is a good way to familiarize with fundamentals behind history of money and Bitcoin, Infinite Machine brings you up to speed how Ethereum has developed to this day.

This book covers all main events such as personal history of Vitalik Buterin, Bitcoin Magazine, early crypto projects such as Mastercoin, genesis of Ethereum yellow paper, key people involved and relationship issues inside the core team, Zug adventures and conversations with lawyers, creation of the “utility token” idea that later also boosted the ICO market, MakerDAO hack and hard fork episode, Shanghai attacks, and so on. This book is must-read to anyone professionally involved in the crypto field
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Sciencegirl
3.0 out of 5 stars Fails to interest lay person
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book starts off strong but devolves, getting stuck in the ICO weeds. The last half reads more like an encyclopedia, lacking analysis or voice. Russo misses the opportunity to convince us of her “expertise” especially in the last chapter which doesn’t so much end as stops. This will be a good reference for those in the industry but makes the compelling story of ethereum kind of boring.
14 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Jose Alfredo Sanchez Portillo
3.0 out of 5 stars Llego roto
Reviewed in Mexico on March 25, 2022
Verified Purchase
El libro llego un día antes de lo esperado pero llego con una hoja dañada.
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Jose Alfredo Sanchez Portillo
3.0 out of 5 stars Llego roto
Reviewed in Mexico on March 25, 2022
El libro llego un día antes de lo esperado pero llego con una hoja dañada.
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Ian Murdoch
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for anyone interested in web3
Reviewed in Canada on December 25, 2021
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Such a great read, couldn’t put it down. Camila Russo paints a vivid picture of Ethereum’s early days and it’s various crypto characters to 2019. Looking forward to a follow up to this!
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Papi Rob
5.0 out of 5 stars Tolles Buch über die Entstehungsgeschichte von Ethereum
Reviewed in Germany on September 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
Das Buch ist sehr verständlich geschrieben (Fachwörter werden erklärt - Leute mit wenig technischem Hintergrund können das Buch verstehen) und folgt einem chronologischem Ablauf. Ich kann dieses Buch jedem empfehlen, den die Gründungsgeschichte von Ethereum interessiert.
2 people found this helpful
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Luuk
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book on the rise of crypto
Reviewed in the Netherlands on March 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
The book is about the rise of crypto, and is obviously focused on Ethereum. It really reads like a novel, and you get a bit of a peak into this world of nerds, investors, visionaries and all other people involved. The successes, the failures and everything in-between.

Don't expect to learn anything on how crypto actually works. There's great other books on that. I do think it helps to be a bit familiar with some of the terminology, but I don't think you miss a lot if you don't.

One little aspect I liked a bit less: the story evolves around key figures in the industry. The book introduces a lot of names, and gets back to those later, but I had trouble keeping the names apart. A little help on the reader would have been appreciated (like "Then John Doe, the guy who did this or that...").
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MR S A BURKE
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, Brilliant piece of literature, I highly recomend. Worth every Penny!!!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
Having been a programmer back in the 80’s (using Turbo Pascal), and now being an investor in Cryptocurrencies, and more importantly. Having read “Bitcoin Billionaires”. I thought this book would be of interest to me as an Investor and provide me with some further knowledge.

I was shocked and super pleasantly surprised to find that it is an amazing book, super fluid and easy to read, full off all the pertinent information, and in many ways a literary master piece. It made “Bitcoin Billionaires” look like it was written by a child in comparison.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Cryptocurrencies, Finance in general, Blockchain Tech, or/and the Modern World!
6 people found this helpful
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