Damien Moore MP – Member of Parliament for Southport and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Blockchain.

“Before my election to Parliament in 2017, I must confess that my knowledge of Blockchain technology was underdeveloped. Of course, I knew of cryptocurrencies – who didn’t? Stories of people trading Bitcoin and making huge fortunes and losses were, and continue to be widely reported. I certainly had little appreciation of the enormous importance of the Blockchain technology behind crypto-currencies and how it has the potential to radically change our society. It may seem to be surprising therefore to find myself as the Chairman of an exciting and active APPG in the heart of UK politics.

The reason behind my decision to set up the APPG was simple – I wanted to make government more efficient, and believed that Blockchain was an opportunity to achieve this. A chance conversation with a colleague who was waxing lyrical about Blockchain technology got me intrigued, and I knew I had to act, thus the APPG for Blockchain was established.

In seeking to make a worthy contribution I wanted to establish a group that reached out to experts. Facilitated by the Big Innovation Centre our first meeting received an overwhelming attendance. It was at this meeting that I met the author of this book Antony Welfare, who became a board advisor to the APPG.

Antony’s enthusiasm for the possibilities of Blockchain technology on many areas from the economy, industry and society is profound. It is this enthusiasm and characteristically easy to understand style that makes this book such an invaluable resource.

In a world where there is much contention around data and who controls it, this book gives clearly asserts how this can work in favour of the consumer. Key to this are the constant themes of openness and transparency, and the persuasive argument that if we want to see the benefits of this technology then we must embrace change.

A leader in retail with a wide range of experience Antony takes the reader on a journey. This is made all the more vivid by his use of his fictional retailer the “Antony Stores Group” to illustrate the use cases. The ‘how’ and ‘why’ we would use Blockchain help the reader to visualise the real potential of this technology.

This in-depth, yet easy to understand, book is a must for those that want to gain a greater insight into practical, yet transformative potential of Blockchain.