The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains

Quick Summary

Ever thought about how cryptocurrencies, blockchains, and everything related to it work? This book tries to explain many things related to the cryptocurrencies and blockchain world, focusing on Bitcoin.

From the cryptography basics to the ICOs, you can be sure to know all you need to get started with Bitcoin and blockchains after reading this book.

My Thoughts

The book is true to its title, and even more. Unlike many books talking about cryptocurrency without going into tech details, this book’s objective is to make you understand how a blockchain works, the issues at stake, and why it can change the world and our vision of finance.

The book starts with some theory about money (what is money, how is it controlled nowadays, what makes a currency valuable, etc…), then talks about Bitcoin and explains the problems it solves (and the problems it creates because there are some). I think this part about money was good and useful because I guess not a lot of people know exactly what is money and how it works.

After talking about blockchain, it also talks a little bit about Ethereum to explain how it is different than Bitcoin and why it is just as revolutionary. I didn’t necessarily expect to hear about Ethereum in such detail in this book, and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. This part was as good as the part about Bitcoin. It was less detailed of course but just included the few necessary to understand.

Then, it talked about how you can apply blockchain concepts to build autonomous companies or improve your company’s workflow. I must admit this part was not so clear and I would have loved to have more concrete examples.

There was finally a part about investing. This part was not so useful, and I read it very quickly, but for someone not knowing anything about investing it can be useful. The concepts explained were just too simple for someone having already knowledge in the field of investment.

To Read or Not to Read?

I can only recommend this book. It’s the only one I’ve ever read talking really about the technology behind Bitcoin and blockchains. The others don’t explain how it works really.

It’s still interesting even if you don’t care about the technology behind Bitcoin, because it also talks a bit about Ethereum and talks about the history and economic challenges taken by cryptocurrencies. But I must admit if you want a book focused more on the economy related to cryptocurrencies, it’s perhaps not the best choice.

The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains

Quick Summary

My Thoughts

To Read or Not to Read?

Related Notes

META