<P>Blockchain is an emerging platform for developing decentralized applications and data storage, over and beyond its role as a platform for cryptocurrencies. This reference text provides a comprehensive discussion on blockchain technology from research and application perspective. </P><P></P><UL><P><LI>Discusses different approaches for building distributed applications (DAPPS). </LI><P></P><P><LI>Provides detailed listing and discussion of blockchain technology applications in solving real life problems. </LI><P></P><P><LI>Covers proof of work (PoW) based blockchain consensus, and proof of stake (PoS) based blockchain consensus. </LI><P></P><P><LI>Discusses blockchain algorithms including practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) and simplified byzantine fault tolerance (SBFT). </LI><P></P></UL><P>It comprehensively covers important topics including blockchain consensus algorithms, Ethereum, Hyperledger, blockchain scalability, smart contracts with solidity, ERC20 standards, buildin