Since we started Forbole, a blockchain startup, we have got a lot of questions from families and friends on what is blockchains, what is Bitcoin, what they can do, etc. We started to send out links to books, podcast, and videos to help them get started and gradually it has evolved into a curated list of reading/watching/listening materials (including articles, books, videos, and podcasts). We figure out it might also be worth sharing the list with broader audience, whoever is interested in blockchain space and would like to know more. Please note that it is not an exhausted list, and we might keep updating from time to time. Suggestions are always welcome!

Welcome to the blockchain world! A journey you will not regret.

In 2020, the word “blockchain” is no longer an exotic word. On the contrary, it has become a buzzworld in technology news, financial coverages, and even in textbooks. It is not unreasonable to assume that one day blockchain might become a household name just like the internet, and something modern people cannot live without.

Here is an unexhausted reading/watching/listening list of blockchain, crypto, bitcoin, and Cosmos to get you started. There are already tons of studying materials on the internet, you can always search for content that you are interested in and do your own study. Knowledge in blockchain space is constantly evolving, so some of the analysis might be outdated and you might have to find out by yourself. Remember, don’t trust, always verify!

Enjoy exploring!🤿🎆🎇

Introduction to blockchain/cryptocurrency

Blockchain is not a newly invented technology from scratch. In fact, blockchain innovatively combines some other existing technologies, such as distributed ledger, merkle tree, hashes, cryptography, digital signature, etc, to solve problems that are unsolved before, such as peer-to-peer trust and decentralization. If you already have experience with the above mentioned technologies, you might find blockchain quite familiar. Otherwise, if you are interested, there are a lot of materials explaining those specific technologies as well.

• Liberation Through Radical Decentralization. Vitalik Buterin
• Why Decentralization Matters. Chris Dixon
• The Byzantine Generals Problem (1982). Leslie Lamport, Robert Shostak, and Marshall Pease
• Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps. Daniel Drescher
• A REUTERS VISUAL GUIDE: Blockchain explained. Maryanne Murray (animated graphics to help you gain some quick impressions about blockchain)
• Tech’s Must-Have Reference Guide to Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
• To Blockchain or To Not Blockchain. Mohamed ElSeidy
• On consensus. Jordan Clifford. (It is important to understand different consensuses as the first step into understanding a blockchain project)
• Hard Problems in Cryptocurrency: Five Years Later. Vitalik Buterin
• Hard Forks, Soft Forks, Defaults and Coercion. Vitalik Buterin

Bitcoin

There is no way to understand blockchain circumventing bitcoin. You can also read this part first then go back to the “introduction to blockchain” part as some knowledge is overlapped and you can get familiar with the terms by reading/watching bitcoin related content.

• Bitcoin whitepaper (available in various languages)
• Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies. Andreas M. Antonopoulos (available in various formats, you can either read it on Github, or purchase a hard copy, or look for PDF versions online, just perform a quick search online and all set)
• Introduction to Bitcoin. Andreas Antonopoulos (You can watch this video first to get some general idea about Bitcoin then go back to Andreas’ book)
• Bitcoin basic workshop. Andreas Antonopoulos (This video covers some not-so-technical parts of his book, if you prefer watching videos, then you can also watch this first, and go back to the books for more technical details)
• But how does bitcoin actually work? 3Blue1Brown (video with illustrative animation)
• The Bitcoin Standard. Saifedean Ammous (the book analyzes the historical context to the rise of bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications.)

Cosmos Network

Forbole is building on Cosmos. It is important to get yourself familiar with the work and ecosystem of Cosmos as it might be your job to build on it someday!

• Introduction to Cosmos (a great place to start exploring Cosmos, don’t skip it, as it will lead you to various places)
• Cosmos Blog (a lot of articles here, from tech to community building, find something interest you to start)
• Cosmos Youtube Channel (videos of past events, workshops, conferences, etc)
• A Deep Look Into Cosmos — the Internet of Blockchains. Julian Koh
• IBC (all you need to know about Inter-blockchain communication)
• 5 Differences between Cosmos & Polkadot. Julian Koh (Polkadot is another ecosystem that trying to solve blockchain interoperability. Forbole is also involved in this ecosystem)
• List of projects in Cosmos & Tendermint Ecosystem

Blockchain programming

For people with a tech background and want to dive into the technology specifics:

• Making Sense of Web 3. Josh Stark, June 6, 2018
• 4 eras of blockchain computing: degrees of composability. Jesse Walden, December 12, 2018
• Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain. Andreas Antonopoulos

Blockchain business, tokenomics, etc

For people with a non-tech background and want to understand the business side in the blockchain space:

• Making Sense of “Cryptoeconomics”. Josh Stark
• A Beginner’s Guide to Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Coinbase (DeFi is gaining heat recently, while people have different views and analysis on it. It is an area that developing fast but no “official” definition yet. You are welcome to explore and even develop your own point of view. )
• The Business of Stablecoins. Aleks Larsen
• a16z Podcast: Cryptocurrencies, App Coins, and Investing in Protocols

The list does not and cannot cover every topic in the blockchain space yet. There are a lot of exciting things waiting for you to explore, such as Ethereum, altcoins in general, crypto asset trading, community building. Once you know what you’d like to know more, just go for it!

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