Some leading minds in crypto world are ready to share their knowledge and outlook on the future of new disruptive technologies. We have compiled the CT’s Top 5 Must Read Crypto Books.
Bitcoin and the Blockchain are definitely challenging the global economic order and also create a possibility of the political change. Many would like to be a part of that exciting movement, but first they need to understand how it works.
1. Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos
Andreas Antonopolous is one of the Jedis in the Bitcoin Galaxy. He is a Consultant to a lot of Bitcoin-based startups, he teaches Digital Currencies at the University of Nicosia, and he is the host of the Let’s talk Bitcoin podcast.
The intended audience of his “Mastering in Bitcoin” book are coders, who can learn “how cryptocurrencies work, how to use them, and how to develop software that works with them”.
But, we have to say, that the first five chapters are adapt for noncoders too, because of their semplicity in explaining the digital money world.
2. Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy by Melanie Swan
Melanie Swan is the founder of the Institute for Blockchain Studies, an independent institution that aims at examining the implications of the decentralized ledger.
This book is very useful to understand how the Blockchain works and its application for the real life. The Swan’s effort is concentrated on a deep explaination of how the decentralized ledger works, before trying to investigate the Bitcoin case.
Of course Bitcoin and Blockchain are inseparable, but Swan aims at letting readers understand most of all the pratical use of the ledger, its regulation and proof-of-existence value.
"[I decided to write the book] in October 2014 when I realized that blockchains were a modernizing information technology that extends well beyond digital currencies, smart contracts, and automated Dapps, DAOs, & DACs; that blockchains mean a completely new era of the Internet with decentralized secure value transfer facilitated by algorithmic trust, not only making everything we do now more efficient, automatable, and trackable, but also opening up the possibility a much larger and truly global-scale of projects than have been possible before in hierarchical models)”, explained Swan.
3. Blockchain Revolution by Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott
Some days ago we talked about Don Tapscott and his suggestion on how the blockchain could disrupt services as AirBnb and Uber.
This is just one example of Tapscott’s ideas about the Blockchain and how this ledger is a revolutionary invention.
Tapscott himself is the author of a new book called “Blockchain Revolution”, in which he explains all the Blockchain implications and application in our daily life.
This book will come out on May 10th, but we had the chance to talk with Tapscott, who explained us how his new book is very unique:
“Blockchain Revolution is not just the "best" book. It is the only book, significant book, on the blockchain revolution”, he commented.
“From a broader perspective this is an advocacy book. We don’t think that the future is something to be predicted, it’s something to be achieved. Blockchain technologies hold vast potential but there are many obstacles to be overcome. The goal of the book is to explain the opportunities for businesses, industries and society to achieve prosperity, competitiveness and social justice. It’s really about book about how the second generation of the Internet (based on blockchain technologies) can change civilization for the better”.
“[We decided to write this book] Two years ago at a father son ski trip. We had already been doing research on the governance of digital currencies as part of a $4 million research project I founded on new models of global governance”, said Tapscott.
Authors will launch a campaign giving a set of infographics about key themes in the book for anyone who pre-orders “Blockchain Revolution”.
These infographics will be: “Blockchain and the Music Industry”, “Blockchain Business Models”, “Overcoming Obstacles”.
To have these additional contents you need to pre-order the book and forward Amazon confirmation email to jenna@tapscott.com.
4. The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain Are Challenging the Global Economic Order by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey
Wall Street Journalist Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey wrote this book in January 2015.
They decided to record the book on the Blockchain: this was the first major publication shared on the decentralized ledger,they wanted to show that the Blockchain is not only the subject of the book.
“The Age of Cryptocurrency” has lots of positive feedback on Amazon.com and it reached the #11 position in the Amazon Chart related to the best Digital Currencies books.
5. The Science of the Blockchain by Roger Wattenhofer
Roger Wattenhofer teaches at ETH Zurich and before he worked at Brown University and Microsoft Research.
During his carreer he published more than 250 articles about science and cryptocurrencies.
The Science of the Blockchain explains - in a scientific way - the basic techniques when building fault-tolerant distributed systems. It presents different protocols and algorithms that allow for fault-tolerant operation. Also it gives an inside look on some systems that implement these techniques.