When most people begin to learn about Bitcoin they are often befuddled. With good reason. Bitcoin is cross-disciplinary. To get a good grip on Bitcoin requires knowledge in a number of disparate fields: Computer Science, Programming, Cryptography, Mathematics, Distributed Systems, Economics, Finance, Complex Systems, even a dash of Game-Theory and Psychology. Some subject-matter experts in the industry even contend that nobody understands Bitcoin (and that’s OK). It’s no wonder Bitcoin is so hard to comprehend.
Don’t fret. To use and benefit from Bitcoin you don’t have to understand how it works any more than you understand how WhatsApp works. On the back-end, WhatsApp provides end-to-end encrypted messaging, but you don’t need to understand applied cryptography to seamlessly message your friends. In the same way, aside from learning some basics like how to use and backup your wallet, you don’t need to understand the minutia of how Bitcoin works to own and use it.
However, at a minimum, it’s useful to understand why Bitcoin is important.
So, if and when you’re interested in going beyond the basics, here is my threefold starter path towards Bitcoin enlightenment. I read nearly all the best Bitcoin books and content in the space, and this is my current recommendation for how to get you from zero to hero fastest.
1. The Bullish Case for Bitcoin – Vijay Boyapati
This is an article that will wet your whistle and get your started on your journey. You’ll get the basics of monetary economics, and the answer to ‘Why Bitcoin?’ in just a couple of hours of reading.
2. Inventing Bitcoin – Yan Pritzker
This a short (~ 80 pages) look into what problems Bitcoin solves and how it does so. It’s a high-level overview of how the technology underlying Bitcoin works, without getting into the code or any of the other things that scare people off.
https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Bitcoin-Technology-Decentralized-Explained/
3. The Bitcoin Standard – Saifedean Ammous
Now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of classical economics. This is what took me nearly a decade of independent research to figure out distilled into an accessible 300-page book. The Bitcoin Standard will help you understand the importance of sound money, how value always flows into the most salable form of money, and how Bitcoin’s stock-to-flow ratio makes it the hardest, most salable money the world has ever known. Buckle up! Things won’t be the same after reading this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/
Godspeed, young Padawans!