10 books about crypto that are really worth reading ( + resources for beginners )

Do you want to understand blockchain but don't know where to start? Here is a list of books that uncover crypto from the basics to complex mechanics.

For beginners (want to understand what this is at all):

“Digital Gold” — Nathaniel Popper ( journalist NYT) tells the story of Bitcoin as an adventure novel. Why did people take up decentralized currency? Who were the pioneers? The book explains why the idea turned out to be revolutionary.

“Blockchain Basics” — Daniel Drescher breaks down the technology into 25 steps without scientific jargon. It explains what blockchain does, why it's needed for business, and what its future holds.

“The Age of Cryptocurrencies” — Paul Vigna and Michael Casey (Wall Street Journal) demonstrate how virtual assets are changing the global economy. The authors are confident: crypto will soon become a primary means of payment.

For those who are ready for deep analytics:

“Blockchain. The New Economy Blueprint” - Melanie Swan analyzes how decentralized technologies can disrupt the financial system built on centralized power.

“The Truth Machine: Blockchain and the Future of Humanity” - again Vignya and Casey. They discuss how blockchain is returning control of data and money to people when large banks can no longer cope.

For those in crypto as engineers:

“Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Blockchain” — Andreas Antonopoulos provides a detailed description of the Bitcoin network, its architecture, transactions, and security. For developers, architects, and those who want to truly understand its structure.

“Internet of Money” — the same Antonopoulos, but in the simplest language. His theory about “metapolitics” — about how people will choose currencies based on their values — is worth paying attention to.

For history and interesting cases:

“Bitcoin Billionaires” - Ben Mezrich writes about the Winklevoss twins, who became billionaires by investing in crypto after their dispute with Zuckerberg by 2017. A true parable about how to catch the trend in time.

“How Money Earned Freedom” — Brian Patrick Echa shows the industry through the lens of its main players, legal cases, and stories of how people built the segment from scratch.

“Bitcoin: More Than Money” — Alex Fork analyzes the technical details, mining, anonymity, regulation in different countries, and provides links to additional materials.

Useful resources for beginners and pros:

• CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap — price and market data monitoring
• Defillama — an aggregator of information about decentralized finance (DeFi)
• Crypto calendars - so you don't miss major releases and updates
• Reddit, Discord forums - where current news is discussed
• Mining calculators - for calculating the profitability of equipment

First, read a book about history, then choose by topic — depending on whether you want an investor, a developer, or just a smart person with crypto.