The Business Blockchain: Promise, Practice, and Application of the Next Internet Technology

The Business Blockchain by William Mougayar — My No‑Nonsense Review Guide (Everything You Need to Know + FAQ)

Thinking about picking up The Business Blockchain by William Mougayar but unsure if it’s still worth your time in 2025? Want the key ideas, what aged well, and whether it’s actually useful for your business or career?

I read crypto books so you don’t have to. In this guide on Cryptolinks News, I’ll show you what this book really offers, who should read it, where it shines, and where it feels dated. You’ll get clear takeaways, real-world context, and quick answers to the questions people keep asking.

The benefit for you: save hours, make a smarter choice, and walk away with a simple plan to apply the “business blockchain” mindset the right way—today.

The problems this review solves

Too many blockchain books promise the moon. This one came out early (2016), so it’s fair to ask if it’s outdated, too theory-heavy, or too enterprise-focused to be practical now. A lot has happened since—DeFi, NFTs, L2s, tokenized Treasuries, stablecoins used by real businesses—so you need a reality check, not another cheerleading session.

• Is it still relevant? You’ll get a straight answer—what held up and what didn’t after the rise of DeFi, NFTs, and rollups.


• Will it help at work? I’ll point to places where companies actually see results today (think stablecoin settlement or tokenized assets) so you can map ideas to your roadmap.


• Is it too theoretical? You’ll see where the strategy framing is useful—and where you’ll need fresher sources for tech specifics.


• Enterprise bias? I’ll separate “consortium talk” from things that actually ship. For context, projects like JPMorgan’s Onyx repo platform and Visa’s USDC settlement tests show where enterprise blockchain moved beyond slides.


• Signal vs. noise? The review trims the hype and focuses on what matters for decisions: incentives, governance, and business models.

Promise of this guide

I keep it practical, current, and honest. Here’s what you can expect:

• What the book covers—and what it doesn’t


• How well it aged after the biggest shifts in crypto


• Real business use cases that actually work in 2025


• Who should read it (and who shouldn’t)


• A simple way to turn its best ideas into action—without wasting time or budget

Why listen to me?

• I spend my days reviewing crypto products, protocols, and books, and I care about what helps readers—not hype.


• I talk with builders, compliance leads, and enterprise teams regularly, so the advice is grounded in what gets shipped, not just discussed.


• I’ve read this book end-to-end with a 2025 lens, so you’ll get context that reflects where the market really is now.

What you’ll get here

• Fast overview of the book’s core message


• Chapter-by-chapter snapshot you can scan in minutes


• What held up vs. what didn’t after DeFi, NFTs, L2s, and tokenization


• Practical business applications you can copy in 2025


• FAQs shaped around what people actually search for before buying the book

Bottom line: if you’re weighing whether to read it, this guide gives you the exact context you need—no fluff, no dated buzzwords.

Want the one-sentence summary, who it’s really for, and what you won’t find inside? Keep reading—next up, I’ll break that down clearly so you can decide in under two minutes.

What The Business Blockchain is really about

This book isn’t a how-to manual. It’s a lens. The core idea is simple and powerful: blockchain adds a new trust and value layer to the internet, and tokens are the engine that rewire incentives, ownership, and governance. That’s the heartbeat here—how networks, not just companies, can create and capture value when participants are rewarded to play fair and build together.

“Trust isn’t a buzzword. In open networks, trust is the product.”

Expect strategy, mental models, and language you can take into a boardroom or a product meeting. You won’t get trading tips or code. You will get a way to think about value flows that explains why things like stablecoin settlement, tokenized loyalty, and shared ledgers between competitors are finally practical.

If you want a quick reality anchor: even legacy giants are now testing pieces of this vision. Visa ran USDC settlement pilots, and institutions are leaning into tokenized assets on compliant rails. The “business blockchain” mindset isn’t theory anymore—it’s a way to structure incentives so ecosystems actually move.

Who wrote it and why it matters

William Mougayar was one of the earliest voices to frame blockchain in business terms. He invested, advised founders, and helped mainstream leaders name what tokens and decentralized networks could change. He also co-created the Token Summit series, where entrepreneurs and investors pressure-tested token models in the open. In 2016, that was rare—and it shaped how executives started to evaluate “Should this be a company, or a network?”

Who this book is for (and not for)

• For: executives, product leads, consultants, policy makers, and curious professionals who need a clear strategy lens.


• For: teams exploring tokenized loyalty, partner ecosystems, shared data/settlement rails, or network-governed marketplaces.


• Not for: people seeking hands-on development guides, trading strategies, or deep protocol cryptography.

Think scenarios like these:

• A CFO exploring stablecoin settlement to cut cross-border fees and T+2 delays.


• A head of partnerships planning a multi-party data network where participants need aligned incentives to contribute and verify.


• A product manager designing membership or loyalty that actually travels across brands—without surrendering user ownership.

If that sounds familiar, you’ll get a playbook for how to reason about tokens, governance, and value capture. If you need implementation recipes, you’ll want to pair the book with current resources. For context on enterprise sentiment, Deloitte’s recent research on digital assets shows a steady, cautious shift from “experimentation” to “targeted deployment”—a continuation of the exact trajectory this book anticipated (Deloitte Digital Assets Survey).

What you won’t find inside

• No step-by-step builds or code snippets.


• No up-to-date tech stacks or layer-2 walkthroughs.


• No DeFi/NFT coverage—the book predates those waves.


• No trading advice, token-picking heuristics, or protocol math.

That’s by design. The strength here is strategic clarity: why tokens matter, how governance shifts, and where businesses can participate without pretending to be blockchain core devs.

One-sentence summary

A strategic, plain-English look at how decentralized networks—and the tokens that power them—reshape incentives, governance, and value creation for real businesses.

Curious how the ideas map to each chapter—and which parts you can skim or skip? I’ve got a tight, scannable snapshot next that will save you time and help you zero in on exactly what you need.

Chapter-by-chapter snapshot (the scannable version)

I read this so you can get the essence fast. Here’s the book’s arc in a few crisp beats, plus real-world breadcrumbs so you can picture how it plays out when the rubber meets the road.

“Tokens don’t just pay users; they turn them into co-owners.”

Foundations: trust, decentralization, and tokens

The starting point is simple: blockchains reframe trust. Instead of trusting a company, you trust a shared ledger and clear rules. Tokens then become the coordination tool that gets everyone playing the same game.

• Trust without a traditional middleman: Bitcoin did it first for money, but the same pattern supports anything that needs tamper-resistance and auditability.


• Tokens as incentives: Good token design rewards early participants, aligns contributors, and punishes freeloading. Think of tokens as programmable carrots and sticks.


• Proof you can see: Public, timestamped records remove the “he said, she said” from multi-party workflows.

Real-world snapshot: Helium used token incentives to jumpstart a grassroots wireless network—hundreds of thousands of hotspots went live globally at its peak because the rewards made early participation worth it. Gitcoin used token-backed matching to fund public goods, channeling tens of millions of dollars to open-source builders with transparent rules anyone can audit.

Business models and value creation

The book’s core lens is that tokens reshape who captures value and how it’s distributed. Instead of a company extracting fees, a network can share upside with users, operators, and developers.

• From platform to protocol: Protocols can become the marketplace, and token holders share in growth.


• Bootstrapping with incentives: Early usage can be subsidized by token rewards until organic network effects kick in.


• New revenue rails: Fees, burns, staking yields, and membership-gated features create novel economic loops.

Real-world snapshot: Filecoin turned storage into an open market—capacity providers earn network tokens for offering verifiable storage. The result: an exabyte-scale marketplace where the rules live on-chain, not in a vendor’s closed database.

Governance and stakeholders

Traditional org charts don’t map cleanly to decentralized networks. You get tokenholders, users, builders, validators, and sometimes regulators, all with different incentives. The book frames governance as a living system, not a one-and-done blueprint.

• On-chain vs. off-chain: Voting, treasury spend, and upgrades can be automated on-chain, while research, forums, and community calls remain off-chain.


• Progressive decentralization: Many projects start centralized for speed, then hand off control as the network matures.


• Accountability through transparency: Proposals, vote histories, and treasury balances are visible to everyone.

Real-world snapshot:ENS (Ethereum Name Service) runs a public treasury and votes on grants and parameters via token-based governance. Optimism introduced a bicameral model—one house focused on token votes, the other on “citizenship”—to balance capital and contribution. This is what “stakeholder maps” look like when incentives are programmable.

Enterprise and industry lenses

Where do existing businesses plug in? The focus is on shared ledgers across partners and removing reconciliation pain.

• Supply chain: Shared, verifiable provenance beats siloed spreadsheets. Walmart’s food traceability initiative famously cut recall trace time from days to seconds by moving key attestations onto a tamper-evident ledger.


• Identity and credentials: Verifiable credentials let users prove facts (age, license, training) without exposing everything. That trims onboarding friction and compliance headaches.


• Payments and settlement: Always-on rails, instant reconciliation, and programmable rules (escrow, milestones) reduce working capital lockups.


• Inter-company ledgers: When multiple firms share the same “source of truth,” disputes and audits get cheaper and faster.

Real-world snapshot: Food safety traceability, education credentials, and B2B settlements are moving from pilots to production because the value story is concrete: lower fraud, faster resolution, and fewer emails asking “who has the latest version?”

Adoption challenges

It’s not all smooth. The book is candid about the frictions that stall promising ideas.

• Regulatory fit: Is your token a payment instrument, a security, or something else? Answers differ by jurisdiction and can change over time.


• Cultural inertia: If partners are used to gatekeeping data, “shared ledger” can feel threatening.


• Standards and interoperability: Without common schemas and tooling, integrations sprawl and cost rises.


• Network effects: No one wants to be first; everyone wants to be second. Bootstrapping participation is the hardest part.

Real-world snapshot: TradeLens—a high-profile shipping ledger backed by industry giants—shut down after struggling to hit critical mass. The lesson: even strong tech loses if governance, competitive dynamics, and incentives aren’t aligned.

Strategy and next steps

This part keeps you from chasing shiny objects. The guidance is: anchor on a pain point, then let the tech follow.

• Score use cases: Does the problem involve multiple parties, auditability, or costly reconciliation? That’s a yes-leaning signal.


• Design incentives: Who pays, who earns, and why do they show up today? If the rewards don’t beat the status quo, adoption stalls.


• Pilot in public (where it counts): Use testnets, sandboxes, and small cohorts so you can measure behavior, not just write whitepapers.


• Plan governance early: Decide how changes happen, who votes, and what transparency looks like. “We’ll figure it out later” is how later never arrives.

Real-world snapshot: Teams that ship 90-day pilots with clear success metrics and a simple wallet/custody experience learn faster and avoid sunk-cost traps. The winners think in tokens and user journeys at the same time.

So, which of these ideas stood the test of time—and which ones buckled under reality? I’ll show you exactly what aged well (and what didn’t) next.

Promise vs. practice: did the book age well?

I came to this book expecting a time capsule. What I found is more like a compass: the direction is right, even if the map has changed. The big promise—tokens reshape incentives and governance—landed. The practice—what actually happened in the market—has been louder, messier, and way more interesting than anyone in 2016 could model.

“Technology moves fast, but incentives move everything.”

What the book predicted well

Here’s where the thesis holds up in 2025:

• Tokens as incentive engines. From liquidity mining to points programs, tokens proved they can bootstrap and coordinate networks. Look at Uniswap (token-governed fees and grants) and Optimism (RetroPGF funding public goods). The idea that tokens align users, builders, and capital is not theory anymore.


• Network-first business models. Protocols and apps with strong communities now command real cash flows: DEX fees, L2 sequencer revenues, staking yields, and RWA admin fees. Value accrues to networks with aligned stakeholders, exactly as forecast.


• Industry collaboration is mandatory. Shared ledgers only make sense when partners participate. Even when some consortia failed (more on that below), the need for standards, data-sharing, and governance came true in areas like traceability and settlement.


• Governance is the moat. Projects that treat governance as a product—clear rules, transparency, and feedback loops—tend to outlast the hype cycles. You can see this in MakerDAO’s multi-year roadmap and Uniswap’s governance process managing treasury and fee switches.

What changed since 2016 (the reality check)

The market didn’t just evolve—it exploded into new categories the book couldn’t cover at the time:

• DeFi went from idea to infrastructure. Lending, DEXs, and restaking became system-level rails. By mid‑2024, restaking on EigenLayer surpassed $10B in total value per public dashboards like DeFiLlama, creating an entirely new security marketplace.


• NFTs matured beyond collectibles. After the 2021 mania, NFTs found steadier use in ticketing, brand loyalty, and gaming assets. The speculation cooled, the utility stuck.


• Stablecoins became the killer app. On-chain dollars (USDC, USDT) now settle trillions of dollars annually, per industry trackers like Coin Metrics and Chainalysis, powering cross-border payments, FX, and platform payouts. Even Stripe brought back crypto in 2024 using USDC.


• Ethereum scaling shifted the center of gravity. Rollups (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base) hold tens of billions in assets and most new user activity, as tracked by L2Beat. The book’s “shared ledgers” framing didn’t foresee the rollup/modular stack dominance.


• Tokenized real-world assets (RWA) went live. Tokenized Treasuries on public chains crossed $1B+ by 2024 (see rwa.xyz), and major asset managers launched on-chain funds, including BlackRock’s BUIDL.


• CBDCs and institutional rails are in pilot. Multi-CBDC experiments such as the BIS-led Project mBridge tested cross-border settlement with central banks, while private stablecoin rails quietly ate the utility layer.


• Enterprise blockchain: mixed verdict. Some flagships shut down—Maersk/IBM’s TradeLens—while targeted efforts like Walmart’s leafy greens traceability kept running. The lesson: if the network incentives are weak, the ledger won’t save it.

Where the book still shines

When I read back with 2025 eyes, a few chapters feel almost prophetic:

• Why tokens matter for strategy. Using tokens to coordinate value creation is the unlock. Whether you’re designing a rewards layer, a partner network, or a developer fund, the token-as-incentive toolkit still starts here.


• Governance as a design problem. The book’s insistence on stakeholder maps, rights, and decision-making templates is timeless. The best L2s and RWA platforms now publish governance charters, risk frameworks, and upgrade paths—exactly the kind of structure advocated.


• Thinking in ecosystems, not org charts. If you run product or strategy, this lens is gold. You’ll spot network effects sooner and avoid shipping “blockchain features” that nobody wants.

What feels dated or missing

No surprise: the frontier moved. Here’s what you won’t get from its 2016 vantage point:

• DeFi mechanics and risk. No coverage of liquidity bootstrapping, MEV, oracle risk, or restaking economics. Those are table stakes now.


• Rollups and modular architecture. The shift to L2s, shared sequencers, and data availability layers (e.g., Celestia, EigenDA) wasn’t on the radar.


• On-chain governance at scale. We’ve learned hard lessons from token voting, delegation markets, and plutocracy risks—think Uniswap, MakerDAO “Endgame,” and Optimism’s bicameral model.


• Smart-account wallets and UX. Account abstraction (ERC‑4337), session keys, and sponsor pays are changing onboarding, compliance, and recoverability—big deal for any consumer-facing app.


• AI + blockchain crossovers. Model provenance, synthetic data markets, and GPU coordination networks are new and important for 2025 builders.

Is it still worth reading in 2025?

Yes—as a strategy primer. If you want to understand why tokens, governance, and network design matter, it’s still a clear, motivating read. Just pair it with current resources:

• L2Beat for rollup adoption and security models


• DeFiLlama for protocol revenues and risk footprints


• rwa.xyz for tokenized Treasuries and RWA issuers


• BIS Innovation Hub for CBDC and settlement pilots

If the question on your mind is “Okay, what can I actually do with this in my business right now?”—good. That’s the right question. Next, I’m laying out concrete, 2025-ready use cases, an ROI checklist, and the exact team/tooling stack I’d start with. Curious which projects pass the sanity test in the real world? Keep going.

Practical applications for businesses today (inspired by the book)

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. If you’re evaluating blockchain in 2025, the smartest path is to ship small, pick a proven lane, and measure everything. I’m not handing you theory—I’m handing you plays I’ve seen work, with clear guardrails and examples you can point to in a board meeting.

“Speed wins demos. Trust wins deployments.”

Use cases that actually work now

• Stablecoin payments and cross-border settlement
  What works: Paying suppliers, contractors, or affiliates in USDC or similar, then settling to bank whenever needed. Faster settlement, fewer intermediaries, fewer chargebacks.
  Proof it’s real: Stripe re-enabled crypto payouts with USDC; Visa uses USDC for merchant settlement. Chainalysis’ recent reports show stablecoins dominate on-chain value transfer.
  Where to start: Pilot cross-border payouts under $100k/month with a stablecoin-friendly PSP, then compare effective FX, fees, and DSO vs. your current rails.


• Supply chain traceability with public proofs
  What works: Posting signed, tamper-evident “proof events” (origin, custody handoffs, quality checks) to a public chain while keeping sensitive data off-chain. It’s not about putting your entire ERP on-chain—it’s about auditable checkpoints.
  Proof it’s real: Walmart China’s food traceability on VeChain; Provenance helps brands publish open product claims using cryptographic receipts; Avery Dennison’s atma.io logs events to Hedera for item-level tracking.
  Where to start: Pick one SKU line and one claim (e.g., origin or temperature compliance). Post signed proofs and give buyers a scannable link. Track dispute rates and time-to-audit.


• Tokenized real‑world assets (RWAs)
  What works: Parking treasury cash in tokenized money-market funds or short-term Treasuries for near-instant settlement between wallets and counterparties.
  Proof it’s real: BlackRock’s BUIDL launched in 2024 and quickly gathered significant assets; Franklin Templeton’s on-chain fund runs on public chains. Analysts like 21.co and RWA.xyz have tracked billions in tokenized Treasuries by late 2024.
  Where to start: Work with a qualified custodian and a regulated RWA issuer. Run a 90-day test to settle B2B obligations wallet-to-wallet, then redeem to fiat to close the loop.


• Loyalty and membership tokens
  What works: Token-gated perks and interoperable loyalty that your partners can recognize. Think “points that actually travel.”
  Proof it’s real: Nike’s .SWOOSH experiments with tokenized fan experiences; Ticketmaster has used token-gated presales; Shopify supports token-gated commerce via partners.
  Where to start: Issue a free, non-transferable token to your top 1% customers. Gate early access and partner perks. Track repeat purchase rate vs. your standard program.


• Decentralized identity for KYC and credentials
  What works: Verifiable Credentials (VCs) so users prove “this fact is true” without re-uploading documents. Faster onboarding, less PII risk.
  Proof it’s real: The EU’s EUDI Wallet pilots VCs for citizens; Microsoft Entra Verified ID issues workplace credentials; financial compliance vendors are integrating VCs alongside Travel Rule tools.
  Where to start: Let B2B counterparties present a VC issued by a trusted KYC provider. Verify the credential on-chain, store only the proof, not the documents.

The ROI checklist

• Problem clarity: What’s the exact pain? (e.g., settlement delays, chargebacks, audit fights)


• Baseline metrics: Current costs, error rates, time-to-settle, user drop-offs. Write them down first.


• Real users: At least one internal sponsor and two external partners willing to test.


• Compliance path: Document your licensing assumptions and data flows before you code.


• Partner alignment: Who signs keys, who signs transactions, who holds custody, who supports reversals?


• 90‑day pilot plan: Start tiny. Define “go/no‑go” thresholds before the first commit.

Build vs. buy vs. partner

• Start with buy: Use existing rails for payments (stablecoin PSPs), custody, and analytics. Prove value in weeks, not quarters.


• Partner for trust: Work with regulated issuers/custodians for RWAs and stablecoins to reduce legal complexity.


• Build last: Custom smart contracts make sense only after you’ve validated demand and volume. When you build, reuse audited libraries.

Risk and compliance sanity check

• Licensing: Money transmitter/EMI, VASP, broker-dealer/AIFM depending on activity and region.


• Token classification: Security/commodity/payment instrument—document your reasoning and external counsel’s view.


• AML/KYC + Travel Rule: Screen wallets; collect what’s required, not everything. Maintain audit trails.


• Sanctions: OFAC screening on addresses, counterparties, and flows. Have a blocklist policy.


• Data privacy: GDPR/CCPA. Keep PII off-chain. Use hashes/VCs. Maintain a data deletion process.


• Disclosures: Clear risk, fees, refund/reversal policies. Especially vital for consumer touchpoints.


• Tax and reporting: Plan for 1099/GAAP/IFRS treatment. Track cost basis and on/off‑ramp events.


• Incident response: Key compromise, contract bugs, chain halts. Who pulls the plug and how?

Team and tooling

• People (minimum viable squad): Product owner (business-first), Web3-savvy engineer, security lead, compliance lead. Add a QA who understands wallets.


• Wallets & custody: MPC custodians (e.g., Fireblocks, BitGo, Coinbase Custody) or enterprise self-custody with HSM/KMS.


• Key management: AWS/GCP KMS or HashiCorp Vault; enforce hardware-backed keys for prod flows.


• Smart contracts: OpenZeppelin libraries; audits from firms like Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Certora, Halborn; set up pausable/upgradeable patterns with extreme caution.


• Monitoring & ops: Tenderly, OpenZeppelin Defender, Forta; on-chain analytics and risk tools (Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic).


• Nodes & infra: Infura, Alchemy, QuickNode; pinning via IPFS gateways or Arweave for proofs if needed.


• Identity: W3C VC/DID stacks (SpruceID, Veramo), WalletConnect, Passkeys for account abstraction flows.


• Networks: Pick L2s with liquidity and tooling (Base, Arbitrum, Optimism) and a neutral mainnet for public proofs if required.

Pro tip: Pilot in friendly jurisdictions or sandboxes (FCA, MAS, ADGM) and keep consumer exposure low until your compliance and ops muscle is real.

Want the quick yes/no answers people always ask—like which chains to trust, whether stablecoins are “safe,” and if you actually need a token at all? Keep going; the next section tackles those head-on in plain English.

People also ask: quick answers (FAQ‑style)

Is The Business Blockchain still relevant in 2025?

Yes—for strategy, incentives, and governance, it holds up. The book’s core idea (tokens as coordination and value engines) matches what we see now:

• Stablecoin settlement is mainstream: USDC and USDT handle trillions in on‑chain transfers annually, and pilots from Visa and merchants showed real merchant settlement benefits (speed, finality, and lower fees).


• Tokenized Treasuries and funds crossed the billion‑dollar mark in 2024 on public chains, led by products like BlackRock’s BUIDL, Franklin Templeton’s tokenized funds, and issuers like Ondo.


• Ethereum L2s process multiple times Ethereum L1’s daily transactions, which proves the “network-first” design the book pushes still matters.


• CBDC and wholesale rails continue through BIS pilots like mBridge, plus bank-issued tokens and deposit tokens in real tests.

Just know it won’t cover newer stacks (rollups, restaking, account abstraction)—you’ll want current sources for those.

Is this book about Bitcoin or enterprise blockchain?

Both—but it leans toward business and enterprise implications while keeping tokens and governance in focus. That lens explains why:

• Community-owned networks like Uniswap or Lido could grow faster than traditional firms thanks to token incentives.


• Industry collaborations (think supply chain, trade finance, identity) needed shared ledgers and clear rules of engagement—an idea many consortia tested, even if not all survived.

Will I learn how to build a blockchain app?

No, it’s not a how‑to manual. It helps you think clearly; it won’t teach you to ship code. If you’re itching to build, a simple path I’ve seen work:

• Pick your chain and asset: Ethereum or an L2 for compliance tooling; Solana for speed; stablecoins (USDC) for payments.


• Wallets/custody: enterprise custody (Fireblocks, BitGo) or a smart‑account wallet with policy controls.


• Contracts: audited templates (OpenZeppelin), multi‑sig or Safe for treasury, and controlled mint/burn logic for tokens.


• Compliance: KYB/KYC, travel‑rule providers if needed, and on‑chain monitoring (TRM, Chainalysis).


• Security: threat modeling, per‑tx limits, allowlists, and a clear incident plan.

Think of the book as the strategy layer; your stack is the execution layer.

Is it beginner-friendly?

Yes, for business readers. No heavy math, no protocol rabbit holes. If you understand incentives, platforms, and partnerships, you’ll be fine. I’ve had non‑technical execs finish it in a weekend and come away with a cleaner way to talk tokens and governance with their teams.

What’s the biggest takeaway?

Tokens let you reward, govern, and grow networks—not just companies. That means value can accrue to users, partners, and contributors, not only shareholders.

Practical picture: imagine a loyalty token shared by an airline, hotel group, and ride‑hailing partners. Partners fund rewards; smart contracts split revenue; members actually own transferable benefits. That’s network value creation, not just another siloed points program.

How does it compare to newer books?

It’s the strategy classic. For modern coverage, pair it with titles that focus on specific waves:

• Token design and governance: Shermin Voshmgir’s “Token Economy” (2nd ed.).


• DeFi: “DeFi and the Future of Finance” by Harvey, Ramachandran, Santoro.


• Money systems: “Layered Money” by Nik Bhatia.


• Community/sovereignty: “The Network State” by Balaji Srinivasan (provocative, but useful for governance angles).

Together, they cover what exploded after 2016: DeFi, RWAs, stablecoins, and L2s.

Who should skip it?

• Traders hunting for technical setups or market timing.


• Protocol engineers needing current specs on rollups, restaking, or account abstraction.


• Case‑study purists who only want 2023–2025 examples and nothing foundational.

If you’re building a new tokenized network, a partner ecosystem, or a compliance‑ready on‑chain product, you’ll still get a lot from it.

Want my fast, no‑fluff way to read it and turn the ideas into a 30‑day execution plan? That’s exactly what I’m sharing next—stick with me.

Final verdict and how to use this book the smart way

Short answer: read it for the mindset, execute with today’s playbook. The book is a crisp strategy lens on why tokens, incentives, and network-shaped thinking matter. It won’t teach you modern tooling or what to ship next quarter—so pair it with current case studies and platforms that are actually working in 2025.

Why I’m confident saying that: the real world caught up with many of its big ideas. Stablecoins are settling real commerce (Visa expanded USDC settlement and pilots with acquirers, and Stripe brought crypto payouts back with USDC), tokenized funds are live at major asset managers, and regulators are drawing clearer lines around custody, disclosures, and consumer protection.

• Visa stablecoin settlement expansion (2023): official announcement


• Stripe crypto payouts with USDC (2024): company blog


• BlackRock’s tokenized fund on Ethereum (2024): press release


• Remittance costs remain high (benchmark to beat): World Bank data


• Tokenization impact outlook: Citi GPS 2023 and the BIS blueprint

Bottom line: use the book to sharpen how you think about networks, value creation, and governance. Then apply that lens to stablecoin rails, tokenized assets, L2s, and compliance-first rollouts that exist today.

Who should read it right now

• Executive teams evaluating tokenized revenue lines, shared ledgers with partners, or faster settlement.


• Product leads shaping wallet experiences, loyalty/membership tokens, or on-chain access passes.


• Finance and treasury exploring stablecoin settlement to cut cross-border costs and delays.


• Ops and supply chain leaders who need shared proofs of origin, quality, and compliance.


• Policy, legal, and compliance teams tasked with setting internal guardrails before pilots scale.


• Consultants and advisors who need a clean mental model to brief boards and partner networks.

How to read it efficiently

Think of this as a 2-hour power read that feeds a one-page action plan:

• 20 minutes — Skim the basics: underline the parts that frame blockchain as a coordination and incentive system, not just a database.


• 40 minutes — Read the tokens and governance sections slowly: note where incentives, ownership, and participation could align with your KPIs (CAC, retention, partner activation, working-capital reduction).


• 30 minutes — Jump to business model patterns: sketch a simple map: who pays, who earns, who owns, who decides.


• 20 minutes — Note adoption blockers: write a quick “pre-mortem” for your use case: custody, fraud, data privacy, sanctions, disclosure duties, wallet UX.


• 10 minutes — Draft your one-pager: problem, users, value, rails (e.g., USDC or PYUSD), compliance path, partners, 90-day pilot goal.

After you finish: a simple action stack for 2025

You’ve got the mindset—now plug it into tools that work today.

• Pick a use case with clear pain (measurable and near-term). Examples:
  
  
  
  • Cross-border supplier payments with USDC to cut fees and settlement time. Benchmark against local wires and the World Bank’s remittance data.
  
  
  • Tokenized T-bill exposure for treasury cash management via regulated partners. BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have public references you can study.
  
  
  • Loyalty and membership tokens to improve repeat purchase or partner referrals, with off-chain KYC gating and on-chain perks.
  
  
  
  


• Choose rails and wallets that reduce friction:
  
  
  
  • Networks: Ethereum mainnet or an L2 for broad compatibility; Solana for high-throughput payments.
  
  
  • Wallets: smart accounts or MPC for passwordless recovery and role-based access.
  
  
  
  


• Work with trusted vendors:
  
  
  
  • Custody/KMS and policy controls for treasury and enterprise permissions.
  
  
  • Compliance tools (travel rule, sanctions, chain monitoring) before you go live.
  
  
  • Audited smart contracts and real-time on-chain analytics.
  
  
  
  


• Measure the right things:
  
  
  
  • Time-to-settle vs. baseline, effective FX/spread, ops hours saved, chargeback or fraud reduction, user retention or partner activation rate.
  
  
  
  


• Start with a controlled pilot:
  
  
  
  • Pick one corridor, one product line, or one partner program. Cap the budget, set a 90-day clock, and commit to a go/no-go decision.
  
  
  
  

“Read for mindset. Build with what’s working now.”

For payments, a practical pairing is USDC rails plus a smart-account wallet and a compliance layer. For tokenization, start with a regulated distributor or a fund that already runs on-chain. For loyalty, keep tokens utility-first, off-ramp friendly, and measurable against your existing program.

Conclusion

The Business Blockchain still earns a spot on your shelf—as a strategy guide. It helps you see why tokens and networks can shift value and governance. It won’t replace 2025’s implementation playbooks, and that’s fine. Read it, then execute with today’s tools: stablecoins for settlement, tokenized assets with real compliance, L2s for scale, and wallet UX that normal people can use.

If you want links to current case studies, tooling, and pilots that meet the bar right now, I’ll keep posting them on Cryptolinks News. And if you’re ready to grab the book, here’s the link: The Business Blockchain by William Mougayar.