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Title: The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking
Author: Saifedean Ammous
Description:
This book is a must read for anyone who is new to the space and wants to gain a firm grasp on the history of money, as well as how Bitcoin has improved upon previous forms of money. Ammous examines previous forms of money and outlines their limitations. Notable examples include the primitive systems of trading limestones, seashells, metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern government debt. Ammous argues that prosperous periods in human history correlated with the wide acceptance of the hardest forms of money. As citizens were able to preserve their wealth, they were able to devote more time to innovate and enhance their quality of life. In contrast, those who endured periods of strife, experienced the decline of civilizations that transitioned away from sound monetary systems. In the second half of the book, Bitcoin’s properties are demonstrated in intuitive and practical ways within the information age. Without the need for third parties, Ammous further explains that Bitcoin users only need to verify their holdings and transactions with the decentralized network. As Ammous presents practical use for Bitcoin, The Bitcoin Standard will provide the necessary foundation for newcomers to delve deeper into other aspects of Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin is the hardest money ever invented: growth in its value cannot possibly increase its supply; it can only make the network more secure and immune to attack.”
Title: Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies
Author: Nik Bhatia
Description:
As money has evolved quite rapidly in the digital age, Nik Bhatia’s Layered Money takes a deep dive into how money evolved into a “layered” state. Recognizing that money is a layered tool, Bhatia compares how gold is processed from a raw material to be used as coins, and then as a bank note or certificate to be more transferable for commerce. He makes the same analysis with Bitcoin and the world’s transition to becoming more digital. Central banking is also discussed to give the reader a foundation of how monetary practices and policies evolved during productive periods such as the Renaissance. From there, Bhatia illustrates what the future of banking looks like in a world with Bitcoin. At first, banks will be reactionary to a monetary network that they cannot control by creating their own digital currencies. However banks may then eventually adopt Bitcoin in some way. The reader will be able to understand the current financial system and what Bitcoin means for the heavily entrenched legacy system, as well as the future of finance.
“Bitcoin is antifragile because it thrives off global monetary disorder within the dollar pyramid and is resilient to the threats, slander and legislation from dismissive bureaucratic entities. The plain truth about Bitcoin is that nobody controls it. It has become the first-ever government-free, universally accessible digital currency. And for these reasons, all currencies in the purely digital realm will face price discovery in BTC terms. This means that all digital currencies, from cryptocurrencies to CBDCs, will be measured in BTC, just like the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 mandated all currencies be measured in USD.”
Title: Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain
Author: Andreas Antonopoulos
Description:
Andreas Antonopoulos brings newcomers the Mastering Bitcoin in order to provide a condensed overview of Bitcoin with all of its main features. Antonopoulos provides very concise and thorough examples for many of the Bitcoin basics, like executing transactions and how they operate across the network. Some chapters also go more in depth on the technical side of running a node and how the network operates on the miner’s side of the transactions. Antonopoulos clearly demonstrates a lot of these complexities in understandable and practical use cases. This book is for a wide range of readers like developers, entrepreneurs, investors, or more technically savvy individuals who are interested in learning about the digital asset. The introduction of the book includes a broad overview of Bitcoin that non technical users may enjoy. The following chapters cover the technical foundations of Bitcoin and will benefit developers. User stories and analogies are used extensively throughout the book that will keep the reader engaged. Mastering Bitcoin is a must read for all who want a refresher on all technical concepts behind Bitcoin.
“Fortunately, bitcoin also creates the incentives to improve computer security. Whereas previously the risk of computer compromise was vague and indirect, bitcoin makes these risks clear and obvious. Holding bitcoin on a computer serves to focus the user’s mind on the need for improved computer security.”
Title: Thank God for Bitcoin: The Creation, Corruption and Redemption of Money
Author(s): Jimmy Song, Gabe Higgins, Derek Waltchack, Robert Breedlove, J.M. Bush, Julia Tourianski, Lyle Pratt, and George Mekhail
Description:
Thank God for Bitcoin is a collaboration between a number of authors that aim to educate readers on the moral aspects of money. By introducing the reader to what money is, its history, and how it is portrayed within the Bible, as well as the common misconceptions that are attached to money, readers will enjoy the book’s more philosophical and spiritual view on money. The book also covers how the current monetary system has corrupted political systems, the consequences that individuals encounter because of such a system, and then the Church at large. The authors then go on to explore how this immorality and corruption can be solved with Bitcoin as a replacement for the current monetary system. With many books touching upon the same points as Thank God for Bitcoin, none of them have an optimistic view on the potential for a society adopting a sound monetary network that incentivizes transparency. Learn about all of the ways Bitcoin fixes many of the problems stemming from a dying system with some of the most notable authors in the space with Thank God for Bitcoin.
“When our money is stolen, our labor is stolen. When our labor is stolen, our time is stolen. And when our time is stolen, our life is stolen. The stealing of life is what we call slavery.”
Title: Inventing Bitcoin: The Technology Behind The First Truly Scarce and Decentralized Money Explained
Author: Yan Pritzker
Description:
Pritzker wrote Inventing Bitcoin after giving numerous talks about Bitcoin to high school students. From his collection of notes, he filled a gap in the market for non-technical explanations of Bitcoin and all of its properties. The book is also fairly short which makes it a great starter piece to read for all newcomers in the space. Pritzker provides very concise and personal anecdotes for each subject that it covers. Starting with the simple question of “What is Bitcoin?” to then move onto other subjects like what Bitcoin means for the world at large if banks can be replaced by open source code. Other subjects include proof of work, mining, securing the ledger, forks and 51% attacks, accounts without identity, and how the network comes to consensus on new protocols. Pritzker aims to make Inventing Bitcoin accessible to all, without any technical expertise, on how to invent Bitcoin step by step.
“As you consider the thousands of Bitcoin clones that have been created, none of which have significant market value, ponder this paradox: creating Bitcoin forks is free and easy. However, changing the rules of Bitcoin or creating new bitcoins is anything but easy.”
Title: Bitcoin Money: A Tale of Bitville Discovering Good Money
Author: Michael Caras AKA The Bitcoin Rabbi
Description:
Michael Caras brings a fun and practical way for children to learn about money and Bitcoin with the Bitcoin Money picture book. Bitcoin Money is great for any child or even adult who wants to learn about the basics of gold, fiat, and Bitcoin. Caras also illustrates the concepts of fractional reserve banking and the cantillon effect when some of the children in the book begin printing their own money. With the addition of a new kid in town named Satoshi, the core concepts of Bitcoin are explained very succinctly. The digital ledger is first represented by a chart that is updated at the center of the town. The chart is then later made into an app for trading bitcoin between each child. Parents and children will both be able to enjoy the history and transition of fiat to Bitcoin with all of the characters in Bitville.
“The kids in Bitville searched for the best kind of money. It had to be durable, portable, uniform, divisible, and limited in supply. They tried many options but in the end, they discovered that Bitcoin was the best money.”
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