The blockchain industry has grown exponentially in the last decade. In the early years, it turned out to be a very specialized market that only revolved around cryptocurrencies. However, with the passage of time, the need to implement blockchain technology in almost all industries has increased significantly.
Also, in the third quarter of 2020, the cryptocurrency market experienced another strong bull run that helped enhance the popularity of blockchain technology and people are eager to know about it now.
So, in this article, we will talk about our top picks of blockchain books that you should read in 2021 to understand the technology and also, make practical use of the knowledge (for example, becoming a developer or entrepreneur in this niche).
Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain
To learn about any technology in detail, it’s also important to dive into its history and then connect the dots. This is precisely what Andreas M. Antonopoulos has done in this book, as he starts from the creation of Bitcoin and traces the events that highlight what this digital asset has achieved in the first decade of its launch.
The reason why this book is popular is that it starts from scratch and also satisfies the non-technical appetite of newbies. Thus, it gives you a complete idea of the technology and its first use case (i.e. cryptocurrency) in layman’s terminology.
However, the later parts of the book cover blockchain technology from a technical point of view and allow potential developers to understand how the underlying technology drives cryptocurrency at the architectural level.
Apart from this, if anyone is willing to understand how blockchain technology works in a decentralized and P2P environment, the book sheds light on that area as well and explains in medium level of difficulty language.
When you start reading this book, it is quite apparent that from the very beginning, the author is very interested in removing common misconceptions about blockchain technology in general and Bitcoin in particular by providing logical arguments. For example, many people (mainly newbies) think that a Bitcoin can be owned as a physical asset. However, it can only be owned in a digital environment with the help of public and private keys and since it is quite a difficult concept for newbies to grasp, Anderson has explained it quite well.
It is worth noting that the book is quite generic in some chapters and that gives entrepreneurs and developers a clear vision of what can be done with blockchain technology, apart from just creating cryptocurrencies.
Lastly, the reason why this book is popular and can be trusted to the core is that the author has been active in the cryptosphere for many years, has worked with a variety of startups, and is also a developer.
Blockchain Bubble or Revolution: The Present and Future of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
This is another great book that begins by explaining blockchain technology from a layman’s perspective and then gradually increases the use of technical jargon. Probably the best part is that all 3 authors have worked with the tech giants including Google, Microsoft and IBM.
Since blockchain technology has many more use cases than just cryptocurrencies, this book sheds light on where the industry can go in the coming years and the potential of this decentralized technology. While explaining this particular area, the authors have also gone to considerable lengths to explain whether blockchain technology makes sense for a particular use case or is overkill; this is particularly good for an entrepreneur reading the book, as it would allow them to invest their money in a better use case.
One of the best advantages is that the book also has small and easy definitions of many terms that are often used in the blockchain niche. So as a reader, if you come across a unique word, you never have to open a dictionary or google anything, as this book is a complete package.
Crypto Assets: The Innovative Investor’s Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond
Although this book is quite interesting for understanding blockchain technology, its main focus is cryptocurrencies as it explains how this digital asset came to be and what made it rise to the top in which is now. (in just a decade!).
It is worth noting that unlike other books that only provide information geared towards developers, the author has placed an emphasis on giving investors extensive knowledge as well and it is evident from the depth this book covers in explaining price fluctuations. regarding the demand and supply gap
The general hierarchical approach is also attractive, especially for a newbie, as the book begins with the “WHAT” of the Bitcoin and blockchain industries.
Blockchain: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps
This book can easily be called the ‘baby steps’ for walking into the world of blockchain technology is a breakthrough for the IT industry, it can be very difficult for an absolute newbie. Therefore, this simple book, which is divided into 25 steps, takes you through each and every concept of blockchain technology without using any industry-specific jargon.
No fancy mathematical formula or algorithm is discussed here, as it may be native to a particular platform and may make the concept unintentionally difficult for a newcomer.
One of the best advantages is that the author uses various conventional analogies and illustrations to explain the concepts in a very intuitive way that also captures the reader’s attention.
Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business, and The World
As the title suggests, in addition to explaining how Bitcoin works, this book solves a major problem many people face (even today): the author makes it explicit that while the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin in particular) is called the blockchain, it can be used to power many more use cases, especially in the FinTech niche.
This approach is not only important to explain newcomers about blockchain technology, but also allows entrepreneurs to think about this technology from a new perspective and coin new ideas that can revolutionize the Internet industry.
After establishing these basic concepts, the author goes on to explain the 7 basic design principles behind blockchain technology, known as:
- Integrity
- Distribution-driven system
- Incentive value
- Privacy
- Property rights
- Security
- Inclusion
Therefore, it is evident that A great emphasis is placed on explaining the usefulness and importance of an open source technology (i.e. blockchain) in revolutionizing the way different traditional use cases are implemented on the Internet. In fact, this is a very good approach of the author, since blockchain technology is still in its early stages (if compared to its significant others) and if entrepreneurs, developers and researchers identify its potential at this time, wonders they could happen much sooner and the internet could become a whole new place for everyone.
Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum and Smart Contracts
Blockchain technology is gaining momentum at a significant rate and to reach this stage, there is a whole history and series of events that made it popular. This book not only covers the history of such milestones, but looks at each one from a very skeptical point of view.
Some of the notable events he talks about include the launch of Bitcoin, the crossover cryptocurrency bull run of 2017 and 2018, the rise of ICOs (and how it broke out very early). But probably the best and most constructive part is where the author talks about how the core technology can be used in a very generic way in almost any industry (for example, intellectual property protection, like OriginStamp offers). In this particular area, use the example of Ethereum smart contracts to give the complete picture.
Conclusion
It is quite unfortunate that many people have stopped reading books, particularly when it comes to learning a new technology, due to the misconception that it can be learned in depth with a short course on the Internet.
See, the information on the Internet is scattered and you cannot be the master of new technology by learning only practical skills. In fact, it is highly recommended that you read books to systematically gain knowledge and learn about the entire field rather than just going through the points on a random video.
