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Cryptocurrencies have had a wild ride, rising to become a considerable alternative to fiat currencies in just a few years. While there are many investment books written on established asset classes such as stocks, crypto books are a relatively new category. Despite this, there have already been several books published on topics like the history of Bitcoin and Ethereum, how blockchain technology works, and how to invest in decentralized finance (DeFi). Yet, as crypto and DeFi space is rapidly changing, it makes it difficult for authors and crypto books to stay relevant. This is why we have compiled a comprehensive list of 15 best crypto books for beginners to read that are still applicable and useful reads now in 2024. These books can provide you with an excellent overview of the current state, and the future of blockchain, and offer a solid educational foundation before investing in crypto.
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Crypto beginners’ corner:
- How to Invest in Crypto? Complete Beginner’s Guide;
- Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges – Top 7 Picks;
- 15 Best Crypto Books for Beginners;
- Must-read Crypto Wallets Guide for Beginners;
- How to Mint & Sell NFTs? Beginner’s Guide;
- How to Stake Cryptocurrency? Step-by-Step;
- 11 Crypto Slang Terms Explained;
- Best Crypto Trading Bots – Top 3 Picks;
- What is DeFi? Liquidity Mining Explained.
1. The Bitcoin Standard
Written bz Saifedan Ammous, Assistant Professor of Economics at the Lebanese American University, “The Bitcoin Standard” offers a comprehensive guide to the history of Bitcoin starting from its creation days in 2008.
One of the best books on cryptocurrency, it describes what makes Bitcoin so valuable, how it works, and what has enabled its rapid growth and worldwide adoption in recent years. Ammous puts things into a historical context by highlighting how Bitcoin and blockchain technology have transformed banks’ decentralization.
After reading, you will have a comprehensive picture of the competitive advantage Bitcoin has and why it can store value as a replacement for hard money by answering some of the most common pain points—for example, its unsustainable energy consumption or crypto as a currency for criminal activity.
2. The Fiat Standard
To get a complete picture of how the centralized monetary system evolved compared to DeFi, you should also read “The Fiat Standard.” From the same author as “The Bitcoin Standard,” economist Saifedean Ammous explains how the fiat money system evolved compared to digital currencies, in the same way as he did with his bestseller about Bitcoin.
In this book, he draws comparisons on how centralized fiat money faced similar pushbacks by the government at the beginning: from acceptance, persistence, restraints, interventions, and failures to political, social, and economic implications.
3. The Only Cryptocurrency Investing Book You’ll Ever Need
Whereas many other best crypto books explain what Bitcoin and blockchain technology are as a whole, “The Only Cryptocurrency Investing Book You’ll Ever Need” writes about investing in crypto. If you wish to not only know more about cryptocurrency but also looking to invest, then this book on crypto is an excellent choice.
The data-backed factual book is published by Freeman Publications – a network of investors focusing on advice through unbiased financial research. It supports affirmations that crypto investing is still in its infancy, and that it is not too late to get on board.
This book is one of the best crypto books that clearly defines each piece of advice in plain English without any jargon and is easy to follow. After reading, you will know more about the most popular cryptocurrencies, how to store your coins, and kick-start your investing journey to become a successful long-term crypto investor.
4. The Truth About Crypto
After reading this book, you’ll know more about why blockchain technology and digital currencies are here to stay, how they will evolve in the future, and practical advice about the incredible investment opportunities available in this new asset class.
5. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains
“The basics of Bitcoin and Blockchains” is written by Antony Lewis, an ex-trader and now a bitcoin and blockchain expert, writer, and blogger. This book is a must-read for both beginners and professionals who want to learn more about why crypto is valuable, how it works, and the importance of blockchain technology.
In his book, he also highlights the main risks when investing in crypto, including how to avoid scams and understand crypto wallets, crypto exchanges, and regulations surrounding crypto investing.
While this book covers all the fundamentals, it also acts as an essential guide to those interested in different applications of blockchain technology in general.
Dubbed as the best introductory book to Bitcoin and crypto, it is an excellent choice for beginners and professionals working in related industries or leaders in corporations to understand new technologies and their future in the centralized world.
6. The Infinite Machine
Unlike many other best crypto books that capture the history of the first and most prominent cryptocurrency globally, Bitcoin, “The Infinite Machine” is about the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world, Ethereum—written by Camila Russo. She is a financial journalist and founder of The Defiant, a media company that focuses on decentralized finance.
After reading, you’ll learn more about the fascinating story behind the development of Ethereum and the team behind it – then 19-year-old Vitalik Buterin, who dropped out of college to found Ethereum with a group of coders.
Taken by the idea of decentralization, Buterin didn’t only develop a new cryptocurrency, but focused on creating an open-source blockchain technology with smart contract functionality that has enabled the decentralization of other internet-based businesses.
7. Blockchain Wars
The seventh book on this list is “Blockchain Wars” by Evan McFarland, a marine engineer-turned crypto and blockchain specialist and advisor, also a host of the Internet Computer Report podcast. This book isn’t so much about the introduction to cryptocurrencies but the future of blockchain technology.
Through a mixture of science and speculation, McFarland explores the present state and the future of blockchain technology by covering topics like data privacy, digital governance, Web3 structure, DeFi organizations, blockchain identities, and organizational transparency.
Even though it is a good read for beginners, knowing the basic crypto terms before reading is beneficial. It is best for people who have already read a book or two and want to know more about blockchain technology’s implications and future in the real world. After reading, you’ll learn more about the decentralization of the internet and its future.
8. The Cryptopians
In this cryptocurrency book, author Laura Shin, a crypto-journalist and podcast host, and a former editor at Forbes magazine, has written down the story of how cryptocurrency made its way to the masses.
“The Cryptopians” starts with the history of Bitcoin, the narrative then delves into the creation of ETH and its team and how the Ethereum blockchain has enabled the explosive growth of DeFi organizations, NFTs, and the creation of new tokens and coins. Introducing its creator Vitalik Buterin, including the team behind it, Charles Hoskinson, and Joe Lubin’s desire to influence and revolutionize the way money works.
9. The NFT Handbook
As the name suggests, “The NFT Handbook” is for those interested in and wish to invest in non-fungible-tokens (NFTs), going through the whole process, whether you want to create, sell, or buy them.
Written by QuHarrison Terry, a growth marketer and expert in the digital asset field, this guide details how to create, sell and buy NFTs without having a technical background.
10. Bitcoin Billionaires
In this book, author Ben Mezrich investigates a fascinating story about how brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who sued Zuckerberg for stealing their idea for Facebook, became the first Bitcoin billionaires in November 2017 after their big bet on the cryptocurrency.
“Bitcoin Billionaires” is a story based on actual events. Author Mezrich, an occupational writer and author of several other best-selling non-fiction books, has also written a book about Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, “The Accidental Billionaires,” the basis for the Academy Award-winning movie The Social Network.
11. Cryptoassets
With rising investment opportunities and new digital assets launching daily, the world of crypto has become hard to navigate. “Cryptoassets” gives you a clear overview of how to value and research crypto assets before investing and points out some essential portfolio management techniques. It is authored by Chris Burniske, cofounder of Placeholder, a venture firm specializing in crypto assets, and Jack Tatar, founder of GEM Research, a company specializing in research in the financial services sector.
Burniske and Tatar, two experts in the field, give tips on managing risk and provide some historical context into Bitcoin and other crypto assets, including a guide to exchanges, wallets, and predictions on blockchain technology’s implications on the current portfolio.
12. Mastering Bitcoin
Written by Andreas Antonopoulos, a tech entrepreneur, and Bitcoin advocate, “Mastering Bitcoin” is a comprehensive guide to the technical side of crypto and blockchain technology. But it also explains how Bitcoin, the first successful digital currency, has quickly become an alternative used globally despite still being at its early stages of development.
This book includes an introduction to bitcoin for non-technical users and investors, details of the technical foundations of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, decentralized network, peer-to-peer model, and covers explanations of things like wallet keys, addresses, and wallets, including user stories and examples.
13. Blockchain Bubble or Revolution
Next up, we have “Blockchain Bubble or Revolution“—a book written by Neel Mehta, who was previously a product manager at Google and is a keen tech strategy, tech, and crypto writer. Co-authored by other Silicon Valley tech companies leaders, this book offers a comprehensive analysis.
You’ll learn about blockchain strengths and weaknesses from case studies and gain insights from interviews with several tech industry leaders to fully understand the economic and legal difficulties with blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
It is a great introductory book for anyone curious to know more about how blockchain technology works, how it will affect the existing financial systems and other opportunities and shortfalls of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
14. Crypto Investing Guide
This book is perfect for readers interested in investing in different digital assets, from cryptocurrencies to DeFi projects and NFTs. Written by Ian Balina, a blockchain entrepreneur and investor, “Crypto Investing Guide” teaches the basics of becoming a crypto investor.
In particular, this book guides the reader through strategies, leaving out the industry jargon and highlighting that one doesn’t need to be a math genius to succeed in crypto investing.
However, Balina emphasizes the importance of education, knowledge, and thorough understanding before doing so. Whether a beginner or a professional investor, this book offers all the information needed, from how traditional finance links to DeFi, NFTs, and tokens, and provides the knowledge required to invest in digital assets profitably.
15. Layered Money
Written by Nik Bathia, a financial researcher and Professor of Finance and Business Economics with extensive trading experience, his book “Layered Money” brings together his research across the traditional centralized monetary system to Bitcoin and other digital decentralized currencies.
After reading it, you’ll understand more about how our financial system works, about fiat currencies, and how they will integrate and interact with new digital money in the future.
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In conclusion
Whether you are a complete beginner, want to learn more about Bitcoin and blockchain technology basics, or are a more advanced user interested in investing, these best crypto books cover all topics.
Most of the books on cryptocurrency in this post focus on Bitcoin and blockchain, but some also how Ethereum, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, has established itself as the accelerator of DeFi projects and NFTs. Finally, some books focus on the educational side, and others on investing in this new digital asset class.
Here are more crypto-related reads:
- Best crypto market data websites;
- Top technical crypto data websites;
- Most-used cryptocurrency news aggregators;
- Must-follow subreddits;
- Best portfolio tracking app;
- Free cryptocurrency trading simulator.
Other recommended crypto guides:
- Best crypto exchanges to buy & sell Bitcoin;
- Best crypto wallets (comprehensive guide; must read for beginners);
- How to stake cryptocurrencies;
- How to buy Ethereum;
- How to earn passive income with DeFi;
- How to mint & sell NFTs | Non-Fungible Tokens;
- How to convert the small balance to BNB on Binance;
- Best crypto trading bots | Top 3 picks.
Choosing the best crypto exchange:
- Coinbase review;
- Binance review;
- Kraken review;
- KuCoin review;
- Uphold review (buy crypto, metals, US stocks);
- VirgoCX review (for Canadian traders);
- CoinGate review (accept crypto on your store).
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
FAQ’s
Why should I buy a book about cryptocurrencies?
Whether you are a seasoned investor or want to learn more about how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies work, reading books on crypto can help put things into perspective and contextualize more up-to-date information you find online daily. Reading a crypto book can offer a good knowledge base and support to see the bigger picture.
How do I choose the right cryptocurrency book for me?
It depends on what you wish to learn more about and whether you are a beginner or a more advanced investor. Consider your goal: if you want to learn more about the history of Bitcoin, blockchain technology, Ethereum, or other digital assets, or whether you are interested in investing – then take your pick.
Are older crypto books still worth reading today?
Usually, with other trading and investing books, it doesn’t matter as much if a book is a bit older, as even though the market may have changed a lot, the general principles have stayed the same. The same applies to crypto books; however, the crypto industry is rapidly growing and evolving, so newer books are recommended. However, older crypto books can still be relevant if they are about the history and fundamentals.
What price range should I expect from the best crypto books?
As books on cryptocurrencies are a relatively new category, the prices can vary quite a lot, depending on if you wish to purchase a new or a used version. Usually, the prices also depend on which retailer you buy them from, and for crypto books, Amazon is your best bet. Price points range between $15 – $30 for a new hardcover version, while kindle and audiobooks often come cheaper.
How to learn crypto for beginners?
To learn about cryptocurrency as a beginner, start by understanding blockchain technology and major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum through online tutorials and articles. Reading books such as “Mastering Bitcoin” by Andreas M. Antonopoulos and “Cryptoassets” by Chris Burniske and Jack Tatar can provide a solid foundation. Additionally, joining online forums and communities can offer practical insights and updates on the latest trends.
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