In the early days of cryptocurrency, it was challenging to find many books to soothe your thirst for more information. However, as cryptocurrency has grown into such a vibrant and thriving ecosystem of ideas and exploration, so have the options for good books on the topic. So, whatever you’re looking to learn about Bitcoin, blockchain, or cryptocurrency in general, you’ll find something on this list to add to your shelf.
Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain
One of the most well-known Bitcoin books is Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos, and for a good reason. It is designed to help you navigate the world of Bitcoin and understand everything you need to dive in headfirst and start embracing Bitcoin. It starts off with a broad introduction that is suitable for almost anyone and later delves into the more technical aspects of Bitcoin. So if you’re looking to increase your foundational knowledge or get a friend or family member excited about Bitcoin, this book is for you.
Author: Andreas Antonopoulos
The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains: An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies and the Technology That Powers Them
Cryptocurrency and blockchains can be intimidating to those beginning to learn for themselves, but books like The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains are a great place to start. Start with the history and the basics of Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies and move on to more advanced topics as you progress with what you’ve learned. Many topics are covered, including avoiding scams, risk mitigation, digital wallets, crypto regulations, and even the basics of using cryptocurrency exchanges.
Author: Antony Lewis
Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor’s Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond
The book Cryptoassets gives you a range of insights into investigating and valuing digital assets, improving your portfolio management techniques, managing risk, and providing practical guides on various parts of the industry. While focused on the investment side of cryptocurrency, it may be a helpful way to see the cryptocurrency space from an investment perspective.
Author: Chris Burniske, Jack Tatar
Blockchain Revolution
Blockchain is an incredible technology shaping the world, and with Blockchain Revolution, you can see how this game-changing technology could affect the global economy. Blockchain has the potential to change how we deal with finances, health-care records, voting, insurance claims, and so much more. It’s a book that is approachable while still providing valuable insights. So if you’re worried about getting left behind by the revolution, jump into Blockchain Revolution yourself and learn more.
Authors: Alex Tapscott, Don Tapscott
The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain Are Challenging the Global Economic Order
Bitcoin has grown from a niche project to something that is affecting the global economy. Yet, while you can use it to purchase a range of goods and services and exchange value with others around the world, few understand what it is and why they should genuinely care about it. The Age of Cryptocurrency helps you navigate a cyber-economy and think about what the world will look like as further adoption of cryptocurrency continues.
Authors: Paul Vigna, Michael J. Casey
The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking
When Bitcoin first came onto the scene after an announcement on a small mailing list in 2008, no one had any idea of what it would go on to become. However, it has grown to be an economic and technological force that is shaking up the world in incredibly interesting ways over the years. Explore how humanity’s most significant achievements have come to those with sound money and why Bitcoin helps to provide this security.
Author: Saifedean Ammous
The Book of Satoshi
The creator of Bitcoin is a mysterious figure, one that to this day has never been truly identified or proven to be any specific individual or group. The Book of Satoshi delves into the mystery surrounding this enigmatic character and helps piece together the available information about them. Satoshi Nakomoto launched the Bitcoin revolution and disappeared from the internet altogether. If you want to learn why this may have happened or just explore the mystery, this book may be an excellent fit for you.
Author: Phil Champagne
The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything
The world has moved to a digital standard for just about everything. However, relying on these aging systems has put us in a position where we are less in control of our data than ever before. As a result, many are looking to move away from the legacy systems that control our data and regularly leak our valuable personal information. The Truth Machine explores how self-empowerment and much more is possible with the help of blockchain technology.
Authors: Paul Vigna, Michael J. Casey
Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money
The concept of a new currency that didn’t follow the rules of traditional systems that existed before it started out as a bit of an oddity, yet it has grown into a technology that spans a multi-billion dollar industry. People of all kinds from around the world are throwing their support behind Bitcoin as it has shown the potential to free its users from the restrictions and roadblocks that can result from relying on the legacy financial system. Digital gold starts by following the rise and early growth of Bitcoin through the eyes of many of the eccentric members of the community that took to this technology in its early days.
Author: Nathaniel Popper
Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption
While many know of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss from their involvement in Facebook in the early days, many in the cryptocurrency space know them for their participation and support of Bitcoin. However, after diving into the venture capital space and soon discovering that their past at Facebook was a roadblock, they found themselves faced with a new proposition of a technology that could be the biggest thing to come or nothing at all, and they bet big that there would be something to it, and were rewarded for their gamble. Learn more about how these brothers found themselves at the forefront of the early Bitcoin boom.
Author: Ben Mezrich
The Internet of Money
Many books on Bitcoin approach it from the angle of how, but not as many focus on the why, which is just as crucial to understanding the actual value of Bitcoin. Bitcoin affects more than the financial world, and Andreas explains why this new evolution is more than a digital currency. There are massive implications for Bitcoin, and perhaps it can grow to be just as powerful a technology as the internet has been for recent generations. If you’re open to exploring the more significant value propositions of Bitcoin, The Internet of Money is a book you should definitely pick up.
Author: Andreas M. Antonopoulos
Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for our Wallets
Is cash being left behind due to the convenience of digital, or is there more to this push to remove cash from your wallet and have you filling your pockets with cards and phone with digital accounts that track every purchase? Cloudmoney tells the story of how cash has been under attack by big money lobbyists fed by tech and finance forces with an interest in moving the world to new forms of money. So what happens when we leave cash behind, is privacy doomed, and is the possible end goal of cloud money closer than we think?
Author: Brett Scott
Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency
While Bitcoin is often known as the first attempt at creating a digital currency, it’s actually only the first to catch on. However, behind this Bitcoin phenomenon, there is a range of exciting stories and even more interesting people who, through the years since the 1970s, have been exploring this concept in a range of curious ways. If you’re looking for something a little outside of the usual Bitcoin or blockchain books, this one might be worth a look.
Author: Finn Brunton
Blockchain Bubble Or Revolution: The Future of Bitcoin, Blockchains, and Cryptocurrencies
There are a lot of claims made when it comes to cryptocurrency, but the best way to discern for yourself where you stand is to look at both the strengths and weaknesses of this technology. By leveraging real-worth case studies, Blockchain Bubble or Revolution looks to cut through the hype and provide a more balanced and understandable analysis of what exactly is going on with cryptocurrency. Learn about everything from public to private blockchains and even what you should be prepared for as we move forward with blockchain into the future.
Authors: Parth Detroja, Neel Mehta, Aditya Agashe
The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze
In the early days of cryptocurrency, if you wanted to create your own, you usually had to create your own blockchain, and standing out when Bitcoin was a growing behemoth was challenging. However, with the launch of Ethereum, suddenly, things became a little more interesting. Tokens have become a standard part of the average crypto user’s vocabulary. This was made possible with Ethereum enabling developers to leverage an existing blockchain without having to bootstrap their own and attracting enough user base to sustain and secure itself. As a result, Ethereum pushed the cryptocurrency space into a new world where almost anyone could launch a token. This book attempts to show the struggles of the crypto market to adapt to the struggles for power, money, and culture.
Author: Laura Shin
The Crypto Book: How to Invest Safely in Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
If you’ve heard of cryptocurrency and want to learn more about the potential for investments in the crypto market, this book is for you. Find out what exactly all this crypto stuff is, why it exists, and where the industry might be moving in the near future. In addition, it covers many common mistakes made by new crypto investors and attempts to educate you on safely exploring investment opportunities in the crypto market.
Author: Siam Kidd
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction
Want an introduction to the often misunderstood world of crypto? This self-contained book might be a good starting point as it explores crypto and what some are calling the new global money for the internet age. As a newcomer to crypto, you’ll likely have many questions. This book covers a lot of areas that will hopefully help you better understand important aspects of crypto like decentralization, altcoins, Bitcoin, blockchain, and a lot more. It is supported by a website that enables you to take what you’ve learned to the next level by providing companion videos for each chapter and even problems for you to go off and solve as you learn.
Authors: Arvind Narayanan, Joseph Bonneau, Steven Goldfeder, Edward Felten, Andrew Miller
The Truth About Crypto: A Practical, Easy-to-Understand Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain, NFTs, and Other Digital Assets
If you’ve been looking for a fun and easy-to-follow introduction to digital assets across a broad spectrum of the blockchain ecosystem, you may find yourself being drawn to The Truth About Crypto. Explore the difference between cryptocurrency and other types of digital assets that provides a broader perspective on what precisely these assets can do and why they might be appealing to you as an investor in the space.
Authors: Ric Edelman
Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies
We often take money for granted regarding how it actually works. What Layered Money attempts to investigate is how money has evolved over time to become layered. From gold to digital currencies, the lines begin to blur as to what exactly money can mean. If you want to investigate for yourself how Bitcoin has started a massive shake-up of our international monetary systems to the stage where central banks are exploring creating their own blockchain assets and digital currencies.
Author: Nik Bhatia
Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps
Depending on how you learn, you may find that breaking down a concept like a blockchain technology into a series of digestible and approachable steps is a fantastic way to increase your knowledge. You can skip the jargon and complex math; instead, just work your way through this book which makes an effort to bridge the gap between highly-technical explanations and the business side of blockchain. Start with the core knowledge needed to understand what a blockchain is all the way through to major application scenarios that can have you well on your way to being an informed and active member of the crypto community.
Author: Daniel Drescher
The Blocksize War
Between 2015 and late 2017, there was a lot of commotion in the Bitcoin community, something that is now often referred to as the Blocksize War. While it was easy to look at this from the outside and assume it was simply a passionate debate about the amount of data that should be allowed in each Bitcoin block, it raised a lot of questions. With some prominent players throwing their weight around and conflict spilling out beyond the Bitcoin codebase, there is a lot to explore when it comes to who was making noise, their motivations, and where all this went in the end.
Author: Jonathan Bier
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies
While the “for Dummies” series of books has become somewhat of a meme, many of them provide easy-to-approach information that is easy to understand and digest. The book Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies allows you to go from a passing interest to have a grasp of some of the things you’ll need to navigate the cryptocurrency markets. Find out how to speculate on the top cryptocurrencies no matter the market conditions or sentiment and navigate the new thriving cryptocurrency markets that never sleep.
Author: Kiana Danial
The Book of Crypto: The Complete Guide to Understanding Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, and Digital Assets
If you want an introduction to crypto that takes you beyond the rudimentary and touches on interesting topics like DeFi, NFTs, and many other curious topics, The Book of Crypto could be your answer to scratching the surface. The crypto ecosystem is growing in complexity as new and experimental ideas are playing out on the center stage. It’s easy to feel like you’ve been left behind as the crypto space pushes forward, but you can get on top and start understanding the potential impact on the future of money and how cryptocurrency can take us there.
Author: Henri Arslanian
Mastering Ethereum: Building Smart Contracts and Dapps
Again Andreas enters the list with another high-quality offering that you shouldn’t miss. Start with learning the basics of running an Ethereum client and progress all the way through to building your own decentralized applications that leverage multiple P2P aspects. Companies worldwide are exploring Ethereum and EVM compatible blockchains, and now you can use Mastering Ethereum as your gateway to becoming a part of that yourself.
Author: Andreas Antonopoulos
Understanding Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency: Beginners Guide to the Crypto Revolution
Suppose you’re interested in gaining the information to make informed decisions about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. In that case, Understanding Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency may help you achieve more awareness and understanding of this new phenomenon. Furthermore, the blockchain scene is constantly growing, and if you decide to start checking out books like this, perhaps you can start growing your knowledge of blockchain.
Author: Martin May-Clingo
The Blockchain Developer
Blockchain development is becoming increasingly in demand. Suppose you are one of the few that understand how to build with blockchain technology and build your own scalable blockchain projects. In that case, you’ll be well-positioned to become an integral part of the blockchain community. Find out how you could use Bitcoin, Ethereum, NEO, EOS, and Hyperledger to begin your own projects and immerse yourself in what it is to be a blockchain developer.
Authors: Elad Elrom
The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum
While we’ve touched on many Bitcoin and blockchain books in this list, many intriguing books are jumping into Ethereum that are worth your time. One to consider is The Infinite Machine, as it starts with the creator Vitalik Buterin and follows the ideas as they unfold and the chaos that sometimes results. Step through the technology and innovation to see what was unleashed as Ethereum grew to the point where it now supports thousands of independent projects and is considered one of the biggest blockchain projects in the world.
Author: Camila Russo
The Business Blockchain
Many people become curious about the business potential of blockchain, and this book aims to quench that curiosity. Find out some of the new business models and possibilities that blockchain brings to the table, and perhaps inspire your own ideas for this innovative space. Then, progress through seven chapters to get a grasp on why blockchain matters for business and where it could take you.
Author: William Mougayar
Cryptocurrency Mining For Dummies
While this is the 2nd entry to this list from this range of books, it should be no surprise given how broad the topics this series strives to cover to see more than one about cryptocurrency. While many beginners to crypto are quick to jump in and start performing transactions, others find themselves enamored with this so-called “mining” used to generate new cryptocurrency on many blockchains. With this book, you can find out what this actually means, how you might be able to do it yourself, and whether or not you’ll need a pick and shovel to get started.
Authors: Peter Kent and Tyler Bain
Bitcoin Money: A Tale of Bitville Discovering Good Money
Have you wanted to broach the concept of Bitcoin with your children, or maybe you want a gift for a Bitcoin-crazy friend that has children? In either case, Bitcoin Money could fit the bill. Explore different kinds of money in a story suitable for all ages, and you never know, you might just learn something new yourself about this magical internet money.
Author: Michael Caras
