Best books about Bitcoin, crypto & the world of money
Whether you’ve been in the Bitcoin game for a long time or just started out on your crypto journey, staying up to date with the market, technology and industry at large is of fundamental importance. There are many different ways to keep tabs on what’s happening such as subscribing to podcasts and newsletters, following social media and KOLs, and reading daily crypto news and books.
That’s right, books still have a place in today’s information-overloaded world. One of the things that make reading books a great way to learn is the act of reading gives you the mindspace you need to really get deeper into a subject. It is a great way to learn new things and test your understanding. As the world of crypto innovates relentlessly, a deep understanding of the subject is necessary to make sense of what’s happening.
Of course, the list of books about Bitcoin, crypto and the world of money is massive with new books coming out all the time. So, we took to Telegram and Crypto Twitter and asked what everyone’s favourite books were on the subject.
We took only the most popular choices to keep this list concise. Here’s what you said, in no particular order.
The Little Bitcoin Book: Why Bitcoin Matters for Your Freedom, Finances, and Future
Timi Ajiboye, Luis Buenaventura, Lily Liu, Alexander Lloyd, Alejandro Machado, Jimmy Song, Alena Vranova, Alex Gladstein
There are many books on Bitcoin but for most of them, they can be a bit too in-depth for someone who is totally new to the subject. This book is the answer. As the title implies, this is a short and beginner-friendly book on Bitcoin. It was written over the course of several days with input from 8 crypto experts collaborating to put together the perfect introduction to the future of money.
Chapters cover money, economics, human rights, trading and market volatility. Half of the book however is reserved for an extensive Q&A discussion, which deals with most of the common questions that beginners will have when they start looking deeper into Bitcoin.
With a long list of recommended further reading, the Little Bitcoin Book is a great introduction to Bitcoin. If you often find yourself answering questions about crypto from friends and family, this is the book you need to give to them.
Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption
Ben Mezrich
We all know the story of Facebook and the Winklevoss twins. Bitcoin Billionaires is the story of what happened after the legal battle with Facebook and details the journey of the twins as they went deeper into the world of Bitcoin.
While recovering from the fight with Zuckerburg, the Winklevoss brothers resting up on Ibiza where they met an eccentric character who told them about cryptocurrency, the future of money. In their own words, the twins thought crypto would be the next big thing or complete nonsense.
So, they made their bets in favour of Bitcoin and have made a fortune doing so. The twins went on to become the world’s first Bitcoin billionaires and this book tells their story from the Silk Road to the headquarters of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SFC).
As you go on the journey with them, the book does a good job at explaining Bitcoin and blockchain. It doesn’t make a hard sell about Bitcoin guaranteed to be the future, but it gives the reader all the information required to draw their own conclusion.
However, the book has also drawn a fair bit of criticism for trying too hard to make the Winklevoss twins likeable. Too much of the introduction focuses on the battle with Facebook and the family’s history, to the point where some readers have asked how much the twins paid the author to write the book.
Even still, it is a good story of fortunes made in the crypto game.
Compendium of Cryptocurrency Remittances
George Harrap
This ebook is a detailed guide into the practical side of one of the use cases for cryptocurrencies: sending money across borders. The book discusses the merits of blockchain, its impact on the money transfer industry and the experiments some companies have conducted in this area.
It looks at the basics of what makes money transfers difficult in the traditional industry, taking a deep dive into the world of global remittance companies such as Western Union. The book then goes on to look at the fundamental problems and issues that exist in the traditional system and how cryptocurrencies provide a viable solution.
A good portion of the book is devoted to debunking some existing ‘solutions’ that companies have developed in a bid to make a quick buck with a technology that was intensely hyped but rarely understood. Lastly, the book closes with a take on what the future of money transfers will look like as more mid-size companies create practical services using crypto.
Overall, this is an easy read on a difficult subject, with a heavy dose of reality looking at what works and doesn’t work in the world of money transfers.
You can download the book for free here.
The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking
Saifedean Ammous
This book is for you if you’re interested in the history of money, how some forms of money work better than others, and what makes Bitcoin different. While Bitcoin is a new innovation, the problem of transferring value across time and space is ancient. To understand the importance of Bitcoin, you need to journey back through the history of technology, functions of money, and primitive monetary systems as they evolved from trading seashells to metals, from the gold standard to government debt.
With that as the backdrop, the book then moves on to explain how Bitcoin operates in a functional and intuitive way. It doesn’t go too deep into the technical coding side of Bitcoin, but it does get technical on the economics side.
This is the book for you if:
- You are big on Bitcoin since the early days through the individual and economic freedom you gained on your own, and are looking for a book to help you explain what Bitcoin is to others.
- You got into Bitcoin during the hype, and want to get deeper into the philosophy that inspired its creation. It will transform you into a HODLer.
- You have heard of Bitcoin but never looked into it. This is the book to read that will give you the most essential reasons for converting at least some of your fiat money into cold hard crypto.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Robert T. Kiyosaki
While not a book about Bitcoin directly, when we asked for the best Bitcoin books Bitsparkers mentioned this book a couple of times just because it helps develop a mindset around managing money.
The author provides perspectives that often contradict conventional wisdom. He has earned a reputation for straight talk, irreverence and courage — which can be off-putting to some. He is regarded worldwide as a passionate advocate for financial education.
Some key concepts of this book are:
- Assets put money in your pocket, liabilities take money out. Learn to distinguish between the two. Your house is a liability, unless you rent out rooms to others.
- Buy assets first, then buy luxuries from the surplus cash flow.
- Wealthy people increase assets by reinvesting surplus cash flow in more assets.
- There are 3 main asset classes: businesses, real estate, paper assets (stocks)
- Cash flow beats net worth. Spending net worth means it’s gone, while cash flow is constantly replenished.
“The rich don’t work for money, they work for assets.”
Originally published at https://www.bitspark.io.
