Hey everyone,
I’ve always been interested in crypto, but it has been a bit complicated, and that has held me back from learning more. Now that I see my friends getting into it, I think it’s time for me to start learning.
I’m not looking for a quick get-rich tutorial or anything like that. I’m just genuinely curious about it all.
First, read Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Whitepaper. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
>“Sorry to be a wet blanket. Writing a description for this thing is bloody hard. There is nothing to compare it to” --Satoshi Nakamoto
Anyone who says they understood Bitcoin on the first read is lying. The paper is full of complex ideas that only a few people knew about before Satoshi put them together in one place.
It will make more sense after this, but in my opinion, reading the whitepaper is crucial to help you clear up a lot of the myths and misinformation you’ll encounter while looking for good info.
After that, I suggest checking out some intro videos by Andreas Antonopoulos. https://www.youtube.com/c/aantonop/playlists He explains crypto in a way that’s relatable and easier to grasp than anyone else I’ve found. The older videos are often better because they focus more on the main ideas instead of the less important details. Newer videos tend to get caught up in crypto politics.
Hopefully, you’ll have the lightbulb moment about cryptocurrencies that keeps a lot of us here, and this will give you a solid base to explore your own path.
One last tip: Buy a small amount of Bitcoin. Not too much until you know more, just enough to make you pay attention and want to learn more.
Good luck!
Edit: Also, don’t worry about other cryptos for now. You can’t really get them until you understand Bitcoin. Every other one tries to improve on Bitcoin, some do well and some don’t. You can’t tell the good from the bad without first understanding Bitcoin at its core.
@Kerry
I agree with everything in this post. Andreas is great.
I’d also suggest the Bankless podcast; listen to it from the start:
@Kerry
Thanks for the advice! I’m watching Andreas Antonopoulos as I’m typing this.
@Kerry
>Anyone who says they understood Bitcoin on the first read is lying.
The whitepaper isn’t that long. For example, it doesn’t mention the 21 million limit. It’s not just about his opinions, despite what some think.
@Kerry
>Anyone who says they understood Bitcoin on the first read is lying. The paper is full of complicated ideas that only a handful of people had detailed knowledge of and never brought together before Satoshi.
I see your point, but that’s a bit misleading. The Bitcoin paper is required reading for MIT’s distributed systems class, which is a graduate-level course copied by other universities. Most taking this class would know basic cryptography and have learned about peer-to-peer networks.
The ideas are mostly graduate-level computer science. Many people would understand the paper after just one read. I wanted to make that clear, but I agree with the rest of your comment about resources.
@Lenox
You’re actually supporting my argument.
Kerry said:
@Lenox
You’re actually supporting my argument.
Fair enough, I suppose our idea of “a handful” is different.
You should check out Crypto and Coffee with Nick and Jerry Hall, it’s really good for all levels, including beginners and people who have been around for a while. They discuss projects, game theory, and cognitive biases. Crypto and Coffee live
@Striker1
Thanks for your comment.
@Striker1
Aww, it’s not available now.
Kiernan said:
@Striker1
Aww, it’s not available now.
No, no… it’s back. Crypto and Coffee live!
I wrote a post about some reading material suggestions but it didn’t get much attention:
Books and content I read to learn more about this stuff in depth.
@Johnstone
I’ll check it out, thanks!
RobertGarcia said:
@Johnstone
I’ll check it out, thanks!
Exodus Wallet has a really informative YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ExodusMovement
Their website also has a lot of information: https://support.exodus.io/
For DeFi I like this page because it’s not promoting anything, just sharing facts: https://www.youtube.com/c/Finematics
Block Geeks is helpful for educational resources:
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-cryptocurrency/
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/how-to-invest-in-cryptocurrencies/
And BitDegree as well:
You can learn the basics of Bitcoin here:
Differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum:
Wallets explained if you need it:
https://cointelegraph.com/explained/crypto-wallets-explained
DeFi explanation 1:
https://medium.com/@philippsandner/decentralized-finance-defi-what-do-you-need-to-know-9cd5e8c2a48
DeFi explanation 2:
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/demystifying-defi-ultimate-guide/
Just a collection of different resources I’ve saved for my own reference. Hope it can help you.
@Johnstone
Wow, thanks for all the info! I appreciate the effort.
I wrote a book to address this topic: https://whycryptocurrencies.com/ Free to read online.
It explains what cryptocurrencies do, how they work at a high level, and most importantly, what they’re useful for. It’s not at all about getting rich quick. Instead, it’s about how cryptocurrencies can really help people, regardless of price.
Try 99Bitcoins YouTube channel. They make everything very easy to understand, and you won’t fall asleep like with most crypto channels. This will be a great starting point.
Also, just Google things and don’t hesitate to ask questions here or in other crypto forums. Newcomers are usually very welcoming in the crypto community.
Not on this forum and not on /biz, that’s for sure.
Check out the development forums about crypto, like cryptotechnology.
The hard way would be to read the whitepapers of the top 15 coins; you’ll gain a lot of insight from them.
The easier way is to watch a few crypto YouTubers and chill through their videos.
And definitely keep using this forum; sometimes there’s useful content among all the memes and jokes.