1.) The Bitcoin Standard The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking
When a pseudonymous programmer introduced “a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer to peer with no trusted third party” to a small online mailing list in 2008 very few paid attention. Ten years later and against all odds this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly and its likely economic political and social implications.
While Bitcoin is a new invention of the digital age the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Ammous takes the reader on an engaging journey through the history of technologies performing the functions of money from primitive systems of trading limestones and seashells to metals coins the gold standard and modern government debt. Exploring what gave these technologies their monetary role and how most lost it provides the reader with a good idea of what makes for sound money and sets the stage for an economic discussion of its consequences for individual and societal future orientation capital accumulation trade peace culture and art. Compellingly Ammous shows that it is no coincidence that the loftiest achievements of humanity have come in societies enjoying the benefits of sound monetary regimes nor is it coincidental that monetary collapse has usually accompanied civilizational collapse.
With this background in place the book moves on to explain the operation of Bitcoin in a functional and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralized distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate records thus allowing its users to utilize the Internet to perform the traditional functions of money without having to rely on or trust any authorities or infrastructure in the physical world. Bitcoin is thus best understood as the first successfully implemented form of digital cash and digital hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy and the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes Bitcoin’s real competitive edge might just be as a store of value and network for final settlement of large payments―a digital form of gold with a built in settlement infrastructure.
Ammous’ firm grasp of the technological possibilities as well as the historical realities of monetary evolution provides for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free market money. As it challenges the most sacred of government monopolies Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments in favor of individuals offering us the tantalizing possibility of a world where money is fully extricated from politics and unrestrained by borders.
The final chapter of the book explores some of the most common questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin and can they change it if they please? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what to make of all the thousands of Bitcoin knock offs and the many supposed applications of Bitcoin’s ‘blockchain technology’? The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource for a clear understanding of the rise of the Internet’s decentralized apolitical free market alternative to national central banks.
2.) The Little Bitcoin Book Why Bitcoin Matters for Your Freedom Finances and Future
You’ve probably heard about Bitcoin on the news or heard it being discussed by your friends or colleagues. How come the price keeps changing? Is Bitcoin a good investment? How does it even have value? Why do people keep talking about it like it’s going to change the world? The Little Bitcoin Book tells the story of what’s wrong with money today and why Bitcoin was invented to provide an alternative to the current system. It describes in simple terms what Bitcoin is how it works why it’s valuable and how it affects individual freedom and opportunities of people everywhere from Nigeria to the Philippines to Venezuela to the United States. This book also includes a Q & A section with some of the most frequently asked questions about Bitcoin. If you want to learn more about this new form of money which continues to gain interest and adoption around the world then this book is for you. More Reviews On Amazon
3.) Bitcoin FD (For Dummies)
Learn the ins and outs of Bitcoin so you can get started today
Bitcoin For Dummies is the fast easy way to start trading crypto currency with clear explanations and expert advice for breaking into this exciting new market. Understanding the mechanisms and risk behind Bitcoin can be a challenge but this book breaks it down into easy to understand language to give you a solid grasp of just where your money is going. You’ll learn the details of Bitcoin trading how to set up your Bitcoin wallet and everything you need to get started right away. An in depth discussion on security shows you how to protect yourself against some of the riskier aspects of this open source platform helping you reduce your risks in the market and use Bitcoin safely and effectively.
Bitcoin uses peer to peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks with transaction management and issuing of Bitcoins carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin allows easy mobile payments fast international payments low or no fee transactions multi signature capabilities and more but the nuances of the market can be difficult to grasp. This informative guide lays it all out in plain English so you can strengthen your understanding and get started now.
- Understand the ins and outs of the Bitcoin market
- Learn how to set up your Bitcoin wallet
- Protect yourself against fraud and theft
- Get started trading this exciting new currency
The Bitcoin market is huge growing quickly and packed with potential. There’s also some risk so you need to go in fully informed and take steps to manage your risk wisely. Bitcoin For Dummies is the clear quick easy to follow guide to getting started with Bitcoin.
4.) Mastering Bitcoin Programming the Open Blockchain
Bitcoin the first successful decentralized digital currency is still in its early stages and yet it’s already spawned a multi billion dollar global economy. This economy is open to anyone with the knowledge and passion to participate. Mastering Bitcoin provides the knowledge. You simply supply the passion.
The second edition includes:
- A broad introduction to bitcoin 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
- Improved explanations of keys addresses and wallets
- User stories analogies examples and code snippets illustrating key technical concepts
5.) Bitcoin Money A Tale of Bitville Discovering Good Money
The kids in Bitville realize they need a tool to help them trade with each other. As they explore using different types of money a strange boy moves to town and suggests a new idea…
Bitcoin Money is a story for all ages which helps answer the question “Why Bitcoin?”
6.) Bitcoin Billionaires A True Story of Genius Betrayal and Redemption
7.) Blockchain Bubble or Revolution The Present and Future of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
Some experts say that cryptocurrencies and blockchains are just a scam; others say they’re “the most important invention since the internet.” It’s hard to tell who’s right. Authored by Product Managers from Google Microsoft and Facebook Bubble or Revolution cuts through the hype to offer a balanced comprehensive and accessible analysis of blockchains and cryptocurrencies.
You’ll learn the core concepts of these technologies and understand their strengths and weaknesses from real world case studies; dive deep into their technical economic political and legal complexities; and gain insights about their future from exclusive interviews with dozens of tech industry leaders. No coding or math needed!
Are cryptocurrencies and blockchains a bubble or a revolution? We’ll help you decide for yourself.
What’s inside:
Bitcoin and the blockchain
- How Bitcoin and blockchains work from a technical perspective with no assumed technical knowledge
- Satoshi Nakamoto and the history of Bitcoin the original blockchain
- A thorough overview of crucial crypto concepts (eg. blocks keys mining nodes etc.)
- Frameworks for understanding when it actually makes sense to use blockchain
- Major application scenarios for blockchain and cryptocurrencies and where it’ll fall flat
Public blockchains and altcoins
- Emerging trends in blockchain technology
- What you should know before buying any cryptocurrency
- An overview of Etherum and smart contracts
- An overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the top altcoins and stable coins including Monero (XMR) Tether (USDT) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Alternatives to blockchain and cryptocurrencies
- New kinds of decentralized ledger technology (dlt)
- The economics of both traditional payment methods and cryptocurrencies
- Cryptocurrency security best practices and major breach case studies
Private blockchains
- How blockchain cryptocurrencies and traditional banking and finance will interact with one another in the future
- Public blockchains vs private blockchains
- Limitations and shortcomings of public blockchains and cryptocurrencies
- The role of blockchain in the strategy of top tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft
- Case studies of how non tech companies are effectively utilizing blockchain (eg. Walmart using it to prevent foodborne illness)
- Business blockchain case studies ranging from gaming (e.g. Xbox) to cloud services (e.g. Microsoft Azure’s blockchain as a service and Amazon’s AWS offering)
- Blockchain’s use for big data internet of things (IoT) and machine learning (ML)
Cryptocurrency regulation and policy
- ICOs vs STOs vs IPOs
- ICOs’ status as securities
- The SEC’s STO rules and Reg A+/CF/D/S
- KYC and AML laws
- The debate over whether cryptocurrencies are securities
- The official stance of various countries on crypto
- An overview of crypto policy and regulatory hurdles
- The role of crypto in emerging markets and China
- Digital democracy and voting on the blockchain
The future of decentralized technology
- If how and when the tokenization of national currencies will play out
- Facebook and WhatsApp’s upcoming cryptocurrencies
- Currency tokenization and China’s efforts to tokenize the yuan
- Blockchain IoT and the tangle
- Cryptocurrencies vs. fiat vs. the gold standard
- Predictions about the future of money business and currency
- Why blockchains would do better on Mars than Earth
8.) Inventing Bitcoin The Technology Behind the First Truly Scarce and Decentralized Money Explained
Bitcoin may well be the greatest invention of our time and most people have no idea what it is or how it works. Walking through its invention step by step this short two hour read is critical before you invest.
No technical expertise required! Read it then share it with your loved ones.
“Having read virtually every Bitcoin explainer I believe it’s the best from scratch introduction to Bitcoin requiring no prior knowledge at all. I will be referring newcomers to it from now on.” Nic Carter Castle Island Ventures
“It was much quicker and easier to understand than I expected […] After reading it I sold some of my alts for more bitcoin. I’m on the edge of becoming a maximalist because of you.” Nako Mbelle Around The Coin Podcast
“Inventing Bitcoin’s been getting buzz recently for good reason. @skwp wrote possibly the easiest most informative intro to Bitcoin.” @cryptograffiti Crypto Artist
9.) Age Of Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin became a buzzword overnight. A cyber enigma with an enthusiastic following it pops up in headlines and fuels endless media debate. You can apparently use it to buy anything from coffee to cars yet few people seem to truly understand what it is. This raises the question: Why should anyone care about bitcoin?
In The Age of Cryptocurrency Wall Street journalists Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey deliver the definitive answer to this question. Cybermoney is poised to launch a revolution one that could reinvent traditional financial and social structures while bringing the world’s billions of “unbanked” individuals into a new global economy. Cryptocurrency holds the promise of a financial system without a middleman one owned by the people who use it and one safeguarded from the devastation of a 2008 type crash.
But bitcoin the most famous of the cybermonies carries a reputation for instability wild fluctuation and illicit business; some fear it has the power to eliminate jobs and to upend the concept of a nation state. It implies above all monumental and wide reaching change―for better and for worse. But it is here to stay and you ignore it at your peril.
Vigna and Casey demystify cryptocurrency―its origins its function and what you need to know to navigate a cyber economy. The digital currency world will look very different from the paper currency world; The Age of Cryptocurrency will teach you how to be ready.
10.) The Book Of Satoshi The Collected Writings of Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto
Have you like the rest of the world speculated as to the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto anonymous creator of Bitcoin?
The world’s first cryptocurrency Bitcoin went online in 2009 and has since revolutionized our concepts of currency and money. Not supported by any government or central bank completely electronic Bitcoin is a virtual currency based on advanced cryptographic systems.
Like the currency he created the identity of Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto is virtual existing only online. The Nakamoto persona which may represent an individual or a group exists only in the online publications that introduced and explained Bitcoin during its earliest days. Here collected and professionally published for the first time are the essential writings that detail Bitcoin’s creation.
Included are
- Satoshi Nakamoto Emails and Posts on Computer Forums Presented in Chronological Order
- Bitcoin Fundamentals Presented in Layman’s Terms
- Bitcoin’s Potential and Profound Economic Implications
- The Seminal Paper Which Started It All
The Book of Satoshi provides a convenient way to parse through what Bitcoin’s creator wrote over the span of the two years that constituted his “public life” before he disappeared from the Internet … at least under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Beginning on November 1st 2009 with the publication of the seminal paper describing Bitcoin this public life ends at about the time PC World speculated as to a possible link between Bitcoin and WikiLeaks the infamous website that publishes leaked classified materials. Was there a connection? You be the judge.
Nakamoto’s true identity may never be known. Therefore the writings reproduced here are probably all the world will ever hear from him concerning Bitcoin’s creation workings and theoretical basis. Want to learn more about Bitcoin? Go directly to the source—the writings of the creator himself Satoshi Nakamoto!