Our must-read books about cryptocurrency!

- 5 minute read

Ted Maas
Digital Marketeer
Ted Maas

Truly understanding cryptocurrency can seem daunting and intimidating. Where to start? How deep should you go? We believe that understanding crypto an important step is towards mass adoption. Therefore, we have created the following collection of reading materials for those who want to dip their toes in the crypto-pool.


top reading materials on cryptocurrency

There’s a wide variety of cryptocurrency books in the market. Where some explain the basics, others dive deep into the (hard to understand) underlying technology. There are no shortcuts if you really want to get in-depth knowledge on the blockchain and cryptocurrencies. It takes time and lots of information to really understand cryptocurrency, so a bit of dedication is required. To help you get started we have selected several books ranging from beginner-friendly to the extremely technical ones.

A Beginner’s guide to Bitcoin by Matthew R. Kratter

With a lot of new investors flooding the market, it is always nice to build a solid foundation. This relatively new book (2021), written by Matthew R. Kratter, is to the point and no-nonsense. Writing an extremely technical topic, in such a digestible way, is an achievement upon itself. Recommended for every beginner!

Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money by Nathaniel Popper

New York Times technology and business reporter Nathaniel Popper, dives deeper into the true Bitcoin ideology instead of just focusing on the technical aspect. From Chinese entrepreneurs to the Winklevoss twins, Popper tries to get to the story behind the revolution. The book also contains extremely insightful reports on the myth that is Satoshi Nakamoto.

The Truth Machine – The Blockchain and the future of everything by Michael J. Casey

Blockchain will change the future like the internet did before it. You must have heard this phrase a thousand times by now. But what implications and potential use-cases will the blockchain truly have? This book, written by Michael J. Casey, demystifies the blockchain and explains how it can change economics, logistics and the world as we know it. It dives deeper into the trust that we put into certain institutions and the potential dangers that wait below the surface.

The Book of Satoshi by Phil Champagne

Who is Satoshi? That is the million euro crypto question. Will we ever get an answer? Probably not. But for those who seek any kind of closure can read Phil Champagne’s The book of Satoshi, where Phil investigates Satoshi’s email correspondence, the white paper that he wrote and all clues that might point to Satoshi’s real identity. An interesting book that paints a clear picture of a very vague person and a must read for every crypto fanatic out there. Satoshi’s vision laid the ground work for everything that we love about crypto and this book expends upon that.

The Price of Tomorrow – Why deflation is the key to an Abundant Future by Jeff Booth

Jeff Booth paints a daunting picture where he explains how our current economical situation is bound to fail. Jeff states that our current economic systems has been built upon the pre-technology era. An era where labor and capital were inextricably linked, an era that counted on growth and inflation, an era where we made money from inefficiency. Those times are long gone, but still we build upon this system, pretending that it isn’t outdated. His proposal? An entire overhaul of our entire economic system, focusing on technological advancements like Bitcoin and blockchain. The book handles a lot of topics and might seem too extensive for certain people. A must read for people that are critical regarding our current economic system.

An Altcoin Trader’s Handbook by Nik Patel

Alright, we noticed that a lot of the books that we recommend are Bitcoin and blockchain related. That is, of course, pretty logical due to 90% of the media attention going out to Bitcoin. But for those who want to learn more about altcoins, we truly recommend the book An Altcoin Trader’s Handbook written by Nik Patel. Nik collects five years of anecdotes, strategies and insights into one interesting book. The reader will follow a three-stage process of research, accumulation and distribution. The end result? A firm grasp on the altcoin crypto scene which might come in handy in the current season.


The Age of Cryptocurrency by Paul Vigna and Michael Casey

Although cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is relatively new, a lot of experts think that we are on the verge of a paradigm shift. An economic revolution, with cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at the heart of everything. This book explains how it all started and where it might end. The best thing about it, it explains these topics in an easy to understand fashion.

The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous

This book gives a clear understanding of why Bitcoin was created, how the current banking system functions, and why cryptocurrency is so important for the future. Hailed as the ‘Bitcoin Bible’, the book written by Saifedean Ammous is considered a must-read.

The Internet of Money by Andreas Antonopoulos

The Internet of Money is a book written by Andreas Antonopoulos, a leading blockchain expert. This book covers the importance of bitcoin and why it is necessary that such a development took place in times like these. Through a collection of lectures, Antonopoulos describes the historical, social and economic problems that could potentially be solved with the help of this revolutionary technology. The reason this book is higher on the list comes from the fact that Andreas Antonopoulos uses more advanced terms. Some prior knowledge would be handy.

Blockchain Revolution by Dan and Alex Tapscott

To fully understand the implications of the blockchain as separate development from cryptocurrency we would recommend the Blockchain Revolution written by Dan and Alex Tapscott. This book focuses more on the actual and potential use cases of the blockchain technology. It also shows us the possible future of certain industries and how the blockchain will change their conduct of business.

Blockchain: Blueprint for a new economy by Melanie Swan

Another suggestion for getting a better understanding of the blockchain is the book written by Melanie Swan: Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy. The book covers the application of blockchain in the industries where it could have the most positive impact namely: the government, software, healthcare and research sector. Similarly, to the Blockchain Revolution it tries to show how much impact this development will have on our future.

The Business Blockchain by William Mougayar

This book is a recommendation for after you have read either the Blockchain Revolution or Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy. It goes more in-depth about how the blockchain will impact the financial industry. Since the blockchain has the biggest potential usage in the financial sector it is a very interesting read for the people who already grasp the basic knowledge behind the blockchain.

Mastering Bitcoin / Mastering Ethereum by Andreas Antonopoulos

If you want to know more about the technical aspects of bitcoin or ethereum, we suggest reading this book written by Andreas Antonopoulos. It covers the details of the cryptographic methods used to encrypt the data and the technical details of how the peer-to-peer network operates. We must warn you that to understand this book you should have some basic knowledge of cryptography, mathematics, or coding.


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