Crypto 101: Beginner Guide + Further Learning Resources

I often receive requests for reading materials/learning resources from crypto-curious folks who want to dive deeper. Below is a curated list of recommended crypto 101 reading/listening/watching. Expect this to grow and change over time. Have resources to add? Please message me @mcutler.

In efforts to simplify the journey, this reading guide is divided into five sections:

1. Learn about Money: This is a deeper topic than many expect.
2. Learn about Bitcoin: Where it all began. 
3. Learn about Ethereum: "Let’s take the core concepts pioneered by Bitcoin and expand them. Significantly."
4. Learn about what is being built on Ethereum/Web3: DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, the Metaverse, and more.
5. Advanced and/or more specialized materials: It truly never ends. 

While the topics are sequential, the bulleted resources are not. Crypto/blockchain/Web3 is a surprisingly broad, diverse, and deep topic. This list barely scratches the surface.

1. About money: 

• Andreas Antonopolous’ Introduction to Bitcoin: what is bitcoin and why does it matter? (VIDEO) – START HERE for a big picture overview that explains why crypto matters. Andreas is a leading Bitcoin evangelist and has many talks and books that are worth checking out. 
• Communist Capital vs. Woke Capital vs. Crypto Capital (PODCAST) – Plenty of Big Think here. And plenty that might prove controversial.
• Balaji Srinivasan on The Future of Bitcoin and Ethereum (PODCAST) – Similar to the above. More Big Think from Balaji Srinivasan. 
• History of Money (VIDEO SERIES) – A full college course and a truly deep dive into the subject. Taught by Dr. Jonathan Barth of ASU. For enthusiasts. The two most relevant episodes are probably:
• The Post-Gold Dollar: Unanchored Capitalism and the Power of Big Finance – This one is reasonably eye-opening. 
• The Bitcoin Lecture: The Past, Present and Future of Cryptocurrencies – Recommend skipping the section on Market Capitalization of Crypto.

2. About Bitcoin / blockchains in general:

• The Bitcoin Whitepaper – REQUIRED READING for beginners and surprisingly accessible. This is the foundation of all things blockchain and crypto. Skip the (brief) math sections if necessary. 
• Yes, You May Need a Blockchain
• An Interview With Bitcoin Beach, the Community That Inspired El Salvador to Adopt the Bitcoin Standard (PODCAST) – This is a great podcast episode that illustrates how crypto can positively impact the lives of everyday people in impoverished communities.
• Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain (DOCUMENTARY)
• The Frustrating, Maddening, All-Consuming Bitcoin Energy Debate – Start here if you have questions about the environmental impact of Bitcoin. 
• On Bitcoin, the Gray Lady Embraces Climate Lysenkoism – Despite the odd title, this is a great article that addresses some of the mainstream media biases against crypto head-on.
• What is a Mempool? – Learn the basics about one of the most important features of blockchains - the Mempool.

3. About Ethereum:

• The Ethereum Whitepaper – Longer and more challenging than the Bitcoin Whitepaper. 
• 4 Eras of Blockchain Computing: Degrees of Composability – This one in particular was a major lightbulb moment for me. 
• The Bankless Podcast – Start from Episode 1 and listen sequentially. Check out the newsletter as well. 
• The MyCrypto Knowledge Base – Essentially a FAQ of all things related to using an Ethereum Wallet.
• An introduction to Crypto for Newbies – A curated set of resources from MyCrypto. Aimed at less technical folks. The first bullet is a Buzzfeed-style ‘20 Fun Crypto Facts to get you Started’. 
• A Prehistory of the Ethereum Protocol
• Ethereum is game-changing technology, literally
• DeFi: Smart Contract & Dapps Overview
• Blocknative ETH Gas 101 Guide

4. What is being built on Ethereum:

• The Finematics Explainers (VIDEO) – A deep inventory of short explainer videos on all things DeFi. Need a primer on Yield Farming? Gas? Ethereum 2.0? Start here. 
• How to build your on-chain resume – A great hands-on, getting started guide. READ THIS, TRY THIS. You will learn more by working through this punch list than reading through all of the resources listed here.   
• Zapper Quests – An ‘in-game tutorial’ that aims to teach the basics of Ethereum and DeFi via hands-on exercises. 
• NFTs, explained – Tons and tons out there about NFTs.
• Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) – Among the most interesting-yet-overlooked innovations enabled by programmable public blockchain networks. A net new form of human collaboration.
• Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum 2.0 (PODCAST)

5. Advanced reading:

• Ethereum is a Dark Forest – A seminal piece that popularized the metaphor of the mempool as a perilous, predator-filled operating environment. 
• Escaping the Dark Forest – A thriller describing a mempool rescue mission.
• Value of the Token Model
• All you need to know about EIP 1559 (and more) – An introduction to the largest change/upgrade to Ethereum since… launch? 
• Flash Boys 2.0 – A seminal research paper that introduced the notion of Miner Extractable Value (MEV) and eventually gave rise to Flashbots.  
• MIT’s Introduction to Blockchain Course  – Taught by then-MIT Sloan School of Business Professor Gary Gensler… who now happens to be the chair of the SEC. 
• MIT’s Cryptocurrency Engineering and Design Course – A deeper, more technical course taught by MIT’s Media Lab. 
• Understanding Ethereum Transaction Simulation

Community contributions:

These are recommendations from folks who have reviewed this list and thought: “Oh, this resource should be there too!”

• The Maker Protocol: MakerDAO's Multi-Collateral Dai (MCD) System
• What explains the rise of AMMs?
• On Path Independence
• An analysis of Uniswap markets
• The Mirage of Miner Centralization
• A rollup-centric Ethereum roadmap

Other lists of lists: 

• A16Z’s Crypto Canon – 100+ links to further reading, categorized nicely. Many great resources here, but appears to be getting a little long-in-the-tooth. 
• House of DAOs
• Michael Saylor’s Hope.com
• The Reading List – A carefully groomed reading list of 300+ resources. More than a little overwhelming.

As you dive down the ⬛ ⛓ 🐰 🕳️ :

The blockchain rabbit hole is deep. Going from crypto-curious to crypto-expert takes many cycles of learning and going hands-on. As you begin this journey, I encourage you to experiment with decentralized applications and participate in these new ways of transacting.

And I always suggest that new users monitor their hot wallet with Blocknative to reduce transaction anxiety and better understand the state of their transaction. Don't forget to use web3's most accurate ETH gas estimator as well.

Please join our Discord community and become part of the Blocknative community.