The system that governs how money works, with its brokers and middlemen, has stayed roughly the same for centuries. Now theres an alternative, and it puts us on the cusp of a revolution that could reshape our world.

At the heart of this lie cryptocurrencies, a technology with the transformative potential of the printing press or the internet. They bypass the elites and cut out the gatekeepers. Unlike traditional money theyre peer-to-peer, they dont have a nationality, theyre digital and democratic. They are also lawless.

For the Afghani woman denied a bank account by a repressive society, or any of the worlds 2.5 billion unbanked individuals, cryptocurrencies open new possibilities. What would a world without banks or credit cards or even national currencies look like for all of us?

From Silicon Valley to the streets of Beijing, this is a book about a revolution in the making, a story of human invention, and a guide to the future.

Paul Vigna (Author) Paul Vignais a markets reporter forThe Wall Street Journal, covering equities and the economy. He writes for the popular MoneyBeat blog, and is the anchor of the daily, live show of the same name. Before that post, he wrote and edited the Market Talk column for Dow Jones Newswires.

Michael J. Casey (Author) Michael J. Caseyis a senior columnist atThe Wall Street Journal.Caseys work has appeared in publications as diverse asForeign Policy, TheHuffington Post,The Far Eastern Economic Review,The Financial Times,The Washington PostandThe Boston Globe. He is the author ofThe Unfair Trade: How Our Broken Financial System Destroys the Middle Class.