7 Bitcoiner books you can buy with Bitcoin
Bitcoin.
What comes to mind when you hear this term? It is merely a word that elicits various emotions depending on the particular social echo chamber we tune ourselves into. Forgetting the noise, we can agree that Bitcoin is an ideological movement more than anything, and what better way to understand the ideology than by reading?
Below I have compiled the three phases of learning about Bitcoin and mentioned seven must-read books if you want to understand this revolutionary creation.
Every single book mentioned you can buy with Bitcoin via Purse.io.
Enjoy.
Phase 1: Understanding our economic reality
Bitcoin was created to be a peer-to-peer cash system free from centralized entities. If you understand why this is needed, you will understand what is the future of Bitcoin. Here are some books that help you in this purpose:
#1 The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
Eloquently written by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg, this book explores the fallacy of central entities ultimately causing financial disaster and the potential of prosperity as we move into the next century living with radical changes in our lives.
The book's main theme is how we are moving from an industrial to an information-based society. In their view, this will bring about structural change, “Liberating individuals like never before.”
As they had previously predicted the circumstances following the fall of Gorbachov, the rise of nationalism, and post-modernism, it would be wise to hear about their perspective on the future economy and society.
Interestingly enough, the authors also foresaw the emergence of cryptocurrencies and hence are bullish on Bitcoin.
#2 The Fiat Standard by Saifedean Ammous
In The Fiat Standard, world-renowned economist Saifedean Ammous applies his unique analytical lens to the fiat monetary system, explaining it as a feat of engineering and technology just as he did for Bitcoin in his global bestseller, The Bitcoin Standard.
This book delves into the world's shift from gold-backed currency to today's fiat monetary system. Outlining the fiat standard’s purposes and failures; deriving the wider economic, political, and social implications of its use; and examining how Bitcoin will affect it over time.
Murray Rothbard was known as the state’s greatest living enemy, and this book is his most powerful statement on the topic. He explains what a state is and what it is not.
This book regained popularity after it received a shoutout from Jack Dorsey on Twitter last year.
This book has an extremely libertarian view of the world, which is fascinating to dig into, given that this worldview is the basis for the formation of cryptocurrencies.
He believes that the state violates all that we hold as honest and moral and that the state operates under a false cover. He shows how the state wrecks freedom, destroys civilization and threatens all lives, property, and social well-being under the veneer of “good intentions.”
Whilst the author holds a largely fringe view on the matter and may not resonate with the majority, this book breaks down the concept of the state in a manner we often overlook.
The range of topics discussed includes:
- How does a government claim and sustain legitimacy?
- What is a government?
- How can a state be formed?
Phase 2: Understanding the tech
Bitcoin is a technology. To understand its current and potential utility, you must understand how Bitcoin works, its strengths, and its vulnerabilities. Understanding the notion of decentralization in a blockchain context is vital, as this is the key principle of the Bitcoin narrative.
Some great books on this topic include:
#1: Inventing Bitcoin: The Technology Behind the First Truly Scarce and Decentralized Money Explained
This book dives into the technical aspect of the Bitcoin blockchain, introducing and explaining each key component.
These include:
- A broad introduction to Bitcoin and its underlying blockchain — ideal for non-technical users, investors, and business executives
- An explanation of the technical foundations of bitcoin and cryptographic currencies for developers, engineers, and software and systems architects
- Details of the bitcoin decentralized network, peer-to-peer architecture, transaction lifecycle, and security principles
- New developments such as Segregated Witness, Payment Channels, and Lightning Network
- A deep dive into blockchain applications, including how to combine the building blocks offered by this platform into higher-level applications
- User stories, analogies, examples, and code snippets illustrating key technical concepts
#2 Mastering the Lightning Network: A Second Layer Blockchain Protocol for Instant Bitcoin Payments
The latest innovative technology to be built on Bitcoin is the Lightning network which will be a major proponent of Hyberbitcoinizing the world. Similar to the previous book mentioned, this book dives into the technical aspect of the Lightning network and breaks down its key features.
These include:
- How the Lightning Network addresses the challenge of blockchain scaling
- The Basis of Lightning Technology (BOLT) standards documents
- The five layers of the Lightning Network Protocol Suite
- Lightning payment channels, onion routing, and gossip protocol
- Finding paths across payment channels to transport Bitcoin off-chain from sender to recipient
Phase 3: Understanding investments:
At the end of the day, the biggest attraction to Bitcoin for people is its speculative value. I don’t think I have personally met a Bitcoiner that is not planning to get rich off his stack. You hold Bitcoin; you are holding an investment. Simple as that.
Now, to invest with a sound mind despite the noise and propaganda some may be spouting, here are some books to help you on your journey:
#1 Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
This is a must-have for any aspiring entrepreneur or investor. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
Kiyosaki goes through many of his personal stories in his lifetime, helping the reader to understand how he succeeded in the business world and the personal context of this, giving a more holistic view.
This book personally opened my eyes to how to view markets and think in a contrarian manner. Bitcoin, by its nature, is a contrarian investment as it goes against the current monetary system in this world, and to no surprise, the author of the book is bullish on it.
Every great and innovative investment has always been overlooked by the general populous. To make money in this world, you have to go against the grain, and this book teaches you the foundations of just that.
Doing well with money isn’t necessarily about computational intellect but understanding behavior and emotions. The emotional intelligence aspect is often overlooked, even by the richest of people.
Whilst everything related to finance and business is typically taught as a math-based field, in the real world, people don’t merely make financial decisions on a spreadsheet; it’s more than numbers.
Decisions are made in relaxed environments that allow for a more personal and philosophical approach to decisions. Often you could find executives in a meeting room, at a dinner table, or even at a country club talking about the latest decision they may need to make for a company, where their own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together.
In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life’s most important topics.
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Welcome to the Bitcoin rabbit hole. It’s fun here, and we hope you enjoy the journey.
😉
Written by: Robert Raichici
