Intro to Crypto (2026 Update)
Not investment advice. Crypto is high-risk, markets are volatile, and scams are common. If you read only one section, start with Safety + scam resistance.
Table of contents
- Read this first (safety + scam resistance)
- 1) Blogs / articles (evergreen)
- 2) Podcasts
- 3) Videos & movies
- 4) Books
- 5) Stablecoins
- 6) Research reports (incl. my work)
- 7) Academic / technical papers (optional, deeper)
- 8) Newsletters
- 9) Other learning resources
Read this first (safety + scam resistance)
- FTC: What to know about cryptocurrency scams
- SEC Investor Alert: “5 ways fraudsters may lure victims…” (crypto-asset scams)
- FBI: “Operation Level Up” (pig-butchering investment fraud)
- FATF: Updated guidance for virtual assets / VASPs (AML context) (optional, more policy/compliance)
1) Blogs / articles (evergreen “what is this and why does it matter?”)
- Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (Satoshi Nakamoto, white paper PDF)
- Bitcoin: The simplest non-technical explanation
- Ethereum.org learning hub (good non-technical + technical paths)
- Chris Dixon (a16z): The Case for Decentralization (pro-decentralization argument)
- Vijay Boyapati: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin (Part 1 of 4) (Austrian-ish framing; clearer + more grounded than many “sound money” takes)
- My piece: The world’s “hardest” asset is ironically virtual
2) Podcasts
My favorite crypto podcast: The Gwart Show (Blockspace Media). If you only listen to one crypto podcast, make it this one. There’s a pretty big drop-off after Gwart in terms of independence + consistent critical thinking.
- The Gwart Show (Blockspace Media) (independent-ish, funny, often sharp/critical)
- Unchained (Laura Shin) (journalistic, accessible, generally keeps things understandable)
- Protos Podcast (Protos newsroom) (often critical / investigative tone)
- Bitcoin Explained – The Technical Side of Bitcoin (Aaron van Wirdum + Sjors Provoost; more technical, but excellent if you want to understand how Bitcoin actually works)
3) Videos & movies
Short explainers
- 3Blue1Brown: “But how does bitcoin actually work?” (best quick conceptual explainer)
- Khan Academy: Bitcoin overview
Documentaries / movies
- The Bitcoin Gospel (VPRO Backlight / Dutch TV doc) — also on the official broadcaster channel: YouTube (VPRO Documentary)
- Banking on Bitcoin (IMDb)
- The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin (IMDb)
4) Books
History / narrative / investigative (good beginner “story” entry points)
- Digital Gold — Nathaniel Popper
- The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto — Benjamin Wallace
- American Kingpin — Nick Bilton (Silk Road story; also a useful cautionary tale)
- Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government—Saving Privacy in the Digital Age — Steven Levy (excellent “crypto wars” / cypherpunk history primer)
- Number Go Up — Zeke Faux (skeptical / investigative look at the industry’s excesses)
Technical foundations (if you want to understand the machinery)
- Mastering Bitcoin — Andreas M. Antonopoulos
- Mastering Ethereum — Andreas M. Antonopoulos & Gavin Wood
“Austrian-ish” Bitcoin perspective (if that’s what you’re looking for)
- The Bullish Case for Bitcoin — Vijay Boyapati (I’d point people here first if they want a “sound money” flavored pro-Bitcoin case)
Popular-but-I-don’t-recommend-as-a-primer (read critically)
- The Bitcoin Standard — Saifedean Ammous (very popular, but in my view too ideologically unbalanced and has blind spots; for example it sometimes treats things like Bitcoin’s 21m supply cap as “impossible” to alter—when technically it could be changed via consensus, even if that’s unlikely in practice)
5) Stablecoins
- IMF Departmental Paper: Understanding Stablecoins
- The 2018 State of Stablecoins (SSRN) — (Hileman et al.)
- The 2019 State of Stablecoins (SSRN) — (Hileman et al.)
6) Research reports (incl. my work)
My research (SSRN links)
- The Bitcoin Market Potential Index (SSRN)
- Alternative Currencies: A Historical Survey and Taxonomy (SSRN)
Cambridge benchmarking studies (led / co-led)
- Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study (2017) — report (SSRN)
- Global Blockchain Benchmarking Study (2017) — report (SSRN)
Featuring me (talks / appearances)
7) Academic / technical papers (optional, deeper)
If you want a more “academic baseline” beyond blog posts and explainers, these are widely cited and (relatively) approachable:
- Böhme et al. (2015): Bitcoin: Economics, Technology, and Governance (Journal of Economic Perspectives)
- Bonneau et al. (2015): SoK: Research Perspectives and Challenges for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies (IEEE S&P; PDF)
- Catalini & Gans: Some Simple Economics of the Blockchain (NBER)
- Eyal & Sirer: Majority is not Enough: Bitcoin Mining is Vulnerable (selfish mining; PDF)
8) Newsletters
9) Other learning resources
- Jameson Lopp’s resource lists (deep rabbit-hole, but excellent)
- Nakamoto Institute (primary sources; great for context)
Last updated: Dec 2025