How many times have we heard about Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the media? However, how to go deeper into the subject, or at least better understand the history of this technology?
There are countless videos, interviews, podcasts, as well as articles written on the topic, including here on our blog, Instagram, YouTube channel and even on Read. Cash. However, there are those who prefer books, not only for the density of the material, but also for its curation and more sequential format.
For this reason, I have prepared this list of the 7 best books for you to understand cryptocurrencies, including more basic options, and other more advanced or technical options.
The Future of Money - Rudá Pellini
Understanding Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market can be very complex for those who do not dominate the world of investments, finance startups (Fintech), in addition to disruptive technologies in payment methods.
In this respect, Bitcoin is a complex technology, both from a technological, financial and historical point of view. The book by Rudá Pellini, a Brazilian entrepreneur, is an overview of several themes that didactically introduce the bases for understanding Bitcoin as an investment.
Although in this book Bitcoin is just one of the topics covered, it is a good read to understand the future of money and finance. In this way, it is possible to understand Bitcoin in a broader context of the economic advances that have occurred in the past two decades.
If you are just starting out in the investment world, follow the video below where our Director Fabrício Tota explains the main characteristics of each investor's profile.
Internet of Money - Andreas Antonopoulos
This masterpiece is one of the best introductory books on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The book is nothing more than a collection of lectures by Andreas Antonopoulos, one of the largest and oldest analysts in the field.
The first volume of the series was translated in Brazil as “Internet of Money”. In it, Andreas explains in a simple and metaphorical language the potentials of Bitcoin's revolutionary technology. The focus is not to explain what Bitcoin is, but rather to answer the question "Why Bitcoin?" .
It is difficult to find an educator who conveys as much passion and enthusiasm for the subject as Andreas Antonopoulos. In fact, in addition to the applications and use cases, this book goes deep into the philosophical roots of the concept of money , and its similarity to human language itself.
The Bitcoin Standard - Saifedean Ammous
Written by the Greek economist Saifedean Ammous, the book “ Bitcoin Standard ” was translated into Portuguese from Portugal as “The Bitcoin Standard”. At first, it traces the history of different forms of money and monetary paper over time .
Next, Saifedean presents Bitcoin as a decentralized and free alternative to the model of currencies controlled by Central Banks. In this way, it debates important concepts of “hard currency”, and concludes that Bitcoin has the potential to play the role that gold has played for centuries.
In view of this, the main argument of the book is that Central Banks came to have total control when removing the gold ballast. In this way, they began to conduct their monetary policy in a skewed manner, favouring specific companies and sectors.
Bitcoin, being scarce and having a predictable issuance, could protect our capital in the long run. As a result, it could one day replace the dollar as an international monetary standard.
Did you know that gold is also traded in a digital format with the benefit of blockchain transparency? Learn about the PAX Gold cryptographic (P AXG) .
Digital Gold, Bitcoin and the Inside Story - Nathaniel Popper
Written by the technology reporter for the New York Times , this book goes back to the history of the rise of Bitcoin until 2015. In this way, it is interesting to know the diverse characters and the important facts of the history of cryptocurrency, in addition to the social movement that accompanies it .
Given this, Nathaniel puts us before the story of Satoshi Nakamoto, the Winklevoss twins, as well as Ross Ulbricht, arrested on account of his website on the Deep Web, Silk Road .
This book is important to show that Bitcoin is both a technological and economic revolution, but also a social phenomenon. Consequently, the book is full of human stories of the search for wealth, as well as political persecution.
The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum - Camila Russo
Camila Russo is a journalist who has long covered the financial market, including Argentina. For this reason, it had contact with the evils of inflation, in addition to the constant financial crises. Thus, the then Bloomberg reporter was forced to cover cryptocurrencies, focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Inspired by the style of Michael Lewis, author of “The play of the century: The story of the 2008 financial collapse”, Camila decided to tell the story of the cryptocurrency Ethereum in a novel format. The book begins with Vitalik Buterin, the talented self-taught Russian-Canadian at age 19. It was at this time that Vitalik convinced a group of developers to come together to develop a global virtual supercomputer.
In The Infinite Machine , we see from the birth of Vitalik's ingenious idea, to the various characters involved in the chaotic development of Ethereum, in addition to its main challenges.
Russo hides nothing, and his book includes the scams, frauds and false promises that accompanied the history of the second most important cryptocurrency.
Mastering Bitcoin / Mastering Ethereum - Andreas Antonopoulos
Whoever is prepared to dive into the more technical intricacies of Bitcoin and Ethereum, will have the best resource in Andreas Antonopoulos' books. There is even a Portuguese translation available for Mastering Bitcoin.
The works bring a detailed guide for those who wish to develop an application using Bitcoin or Ethereum. Similarly, the books are a reference for anyone looking to understand this revolutionary technology more deeply.
Bitcoin Mastering starts with a less technical introduction to Bitcoin and blockchain, but it goes deeper and deeper. Shortly after, he goes into details about the end-to-end network architecture, encryption, and cryptocurrency security.
Finally, the book presents the various challenges that its developers still face, in addition to the latest technical advances.
In Mastering Ethereum, Andreas has the help of one of the founders of Ethereum, Gavin Wood. In this way, the two take a dip in the “decentralized supercomputer”, teaching step-by-step to develop decentralized applications (DApps), in addition to digital contracts (smart contracts).
Cryptocurrencies: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond - Chris Burniske and Jack Tatar
This guide written by two exponents of Venture Capital focuses on Bitcoin and crypto as investments.
After Bitcoin, hundreds of other cryptocurrencies and digital assets using blockchain emerged . How can an investor filter out good opportunities in the midst of so much noise? In this book, the authors teach how to invest in this new asset class.
The duo's work includes a methodology for fundamental analysis of crypto assets, in addition to techniques for risk management . In this way, they show how blockchain technology can have a big impact for investors who dig deeper into the subject.
(Bonus) Bitcoin Money: A Tale of Bitville Discovering Good Money
Although not translated into Portuguese, this fascinating children's story brilliantly presents the philosophy behind Bitcoin. Furthermore, it is a good call to make the next generation understand what money is, and the importance of cryptocurrencies.
Sorry I wasn't able to include links to the book ; please google most of them are paid
and I don't want to promote and book.
Thanks for reading
Have you read them all? Just curious.