bitcoin

bitcoin
On January 3rd 2009, the bitcoin network came into existence when Satoshi Nakamoto mined the genesis block of bitcoin (block number 0), which had a reward of 50 bitcoins. A bitcoin had zero commercial value at the time.

 
 

I have been following bitcoin since 2013 and I remain very excited about the future of this decentralized initiative. As I am often asked about bitcoin I have compiled a list of resources that I found useful. This page contains my personal favorite resources and should not be considered a recommendation nor financial advise in any shape or form.

Bitcoin knowledge resources

  • Bitcoin information & resources
    An index of curated high quality educational resources and information about Bitcoin to make it easier to educate yourself – put together by Jameson Lopp. A similar compilation is made by bitcoin-only listing services that only supports bitcoin, no other crypto.

Essential reading

  • The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking (multiple languages)
    “The Bitcoin Standard” by Saifedean Ammous 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.
  • The Internet of Money (multiple languages)
    Acclaimed author of Mastering Bitcoin, Andreas M. Antonopoulos examines the significance of bitcoin through a series of essays spanning the exhilarating maturation of this technology.
  • Mastering Bitcoin (multiple languages)
    This is probably the best book if you want to know the nuts and bolts of Bitcoin and the Blockchain. If you are serious about understanding the technology, this book by Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a must read.
  • Satoshi Nakamoto Institute
    The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute is eager to share with the world the best ideas past, present, and future in cryptography, distributed networks, economic freedom, and freedom of information.

Podcasts

Cold Storage

  • Glacier
    Glacier is the step-by-step protocol for storing Bitcoins in a highly secure way, offline. Glacier is open-source so that anyone can use it, review it, and help make it safer.
  • Casa Keymaster
    The Keyshield gives you ultimate peace of mind about the security of your cryptocurrency, wrapped in an interface designed for ease of use down. 2 of 3 and 3 of 5 multi-signature security.
  • Specter Desktop
    The goal of this project is to make a convenient and user-friendly GUI around Bitcoin Core with a focus on multisignature setup with hardware wallets and airgapped devices.

Tools

  • Blockstream Bitcoin Explorer
    Search data from the Bitcoin and Liquid blockchains as well as Bitcoin Testnet. Probably the fastest and safest explorer, not logging traffic and not using cookies.
  • mempool.space
    Great looking blockchain explorer, open source and very visual compared to other blockchain explorers. This is bitcoin mainnet and testnet as well as Liquid and Bisq.

Lightning

  • Lightning Network resources
    An index of curated high quality educational resources and information about the Lightning Network to make it easier to educate yourself – put together by Jameson Lopp.
  • Sphinx Chat
    Chat and pay over Lightning, end to end encrypted communication and wallet in one app. Self hosted if you run your own node or you can rent a hosted node from Sphinx and be up and running in 60 seconds. I have also set up a public group you can join called Sphinxtagram where you can earn sats for sharing content. sats > likes
  • myNode
    myNode aims to be the easiest way to run a dedicated, easy to use, Bitcoin Node and Lightning Wallet! By combining the best open source software with our UI, management, and monitoring software, you can easily, safely, and securely use Bitcoin and Lightning.
  • nodl
    nodl enables you to connect to Bitcoin and the Lightning Network so that you can verify and process payments without having to rely on any intermediaries. nodl runs uncensored, you are free to connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.
  • Lightning Network Stores
    Track the adoption of the lightning network by merchants and see where you can spend your bitcoin through lightning. Possibly the most complete repository of lightning merchants and lightning mobile wallets.

Trading bitcoin resources

  • Bitmex
    BitMEX offers a variety of contract types. All contracts are bought and paid out in Bitcoin only. Up to 100x leverage. Trading without expiry dates.
  • Bitfinex
    Bitfinex offers leveraged margin trading through a peer-to-peer funding market, allowing users to securely trade with up to 3.3x leverage. We also boast a suite of order types to help traders take advantage of every situation.
  • Kraken
    Kraken is probably one of the most trusted cryptocurrency exchange on the market. Their platform provides world class financial stability by maintaining full reserves, healthy banking relationships and the highest standards of legal compliance.
  • Coinbase
    Traditional investors have used dollar-cost averaging for years, and now you can too, with recurring purchases for bitcoin on Coinbase.
  • Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)
    Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is a traditional investment vehicle with shares titled in the investors name, providing a familiar structure for financial and tax advisors and easy transferability to beneficiaries under estate laws.
  • Bakkt Bitcoin futures (July 22nd 2019 launch)
    Two futures contracts will be listed: 1) A daily settlement bitcoin future, which will enable customers to transact in a same-day market. And 2) a monthly bitcoin futures contract will enable trading in the front month and across the forward pricing curve.
  • TradingView
    Easy and intuitive for beginners, and powerful enough for advanced chartists. TradingView has all charting tools you need to share and view trading ideas. Real-time data and browser-based charts let you do your research from anywhere, since there are no installations or complex setups.
  • Modeling Bitcoin’s Value with Scarcity
    This theory is created by PlanB who is arguing that Bitcoin is the first scarce digital object the world has ever seen. It is scarce like silver & gold, and can be sent over the internet, radio, satellite etc. Is the price development of Bitcoin predictable? SF = stock / flow
  • Adamant Capital blog
    Headed up by Tuur Demeester, Adamant Fund aims to outperform Bitcoin in a tax-efficient manner. The fund only receives a performance allocation on outperformance relative to Bitcoin. Their reports are very comprehensive and valuable reading.

If you have suggestions or comments, feel free to reach out to me.