When trying to learn everything there is to know about a complex topic such as Bitcoin, it’s important to make sure that you’re getting all the facts from the right source. While reading Satoshi Nakamoto’s original Bitcoin white paper is always the best place to start, it doesn’t paint the whole picture when it comes to how Bitcoin works in the mind of someone who isn’t already an expert in computer science, cryptography, and other topics. There is more literature being released in the Bitcoin space with each passing day, and all of these books should make it easier for people to understand the power of Bitcoin and the blockchain.
Mastering Bitcoin
Although this book is still a work in progress, it will undoubtedly become the definitive book on all things Bitcoin. Whether you’re a technical guru or you’re looking at this new form of money from a different kind of background, you’ll find that this guide from Andreas Antonopoulos fills you in on everything you need to know about Bitcoin. Andreas has become the most well-known Bitcoin expert in the space, and he’s probably the best person to talk to when it comes to learning about the world’s most frictionless currency and payment system. Anyone who is interested in learning what makes Bitcoin secure or how to build the next killer app on top of the protocol should pick up this book as soon as it is released. You can already order an early release copy of Mastering Bitcoin from O’Reilly.
Secret Money: Living on Bitcoin in the Real World
Back in 2013, most people still only knew about Bitcoin as the Internet currency that allowed criminals to buy guns and drugs over the Internet. Although Satoshi wanted Bitcoin to be used for more than just online gambling and Silk Road, the reality is those types of use cases are what gave it value in the first place. Although we are not leaving the “Wild Wild West” phase of Bitcoin adoption, Forbes’s Kashmir Hill decided to see what it would be like to live on Bitcoin for an entire week when the cryptocurrency was still relatively new to the mainstream. If you’re already a fan of Bitcoin, then you can use the digital currency to purchase the book directly from the Forbes website.
More to Come
Although there are plenty of short guides and other types of Bitcoin-related ebooks available on places like Amazon right now, the reality is that these are the two most reputable books on the topic of cryptocurrency. There will definitely be more Bitcoin literature released in the future, but these two books should give anyone a good grasp on what Bitcoin means to the world as a whole right now. At the end of the day, we’re still in the early days of Bitcoin adoption, and most people are still trying to wrap their heads around how this new crypto-economy is going to work out for all of us.