Crypto Resources

September 28, 2021

4 min read

This is the list of resources I wish I had to start off with. I'm only including what I genuinely found valuable. I'll routinely update this list.

First, let’s get excited about crypto!

Jason Hitchcock: DeFi, NFTs, And The Metaverse — If you listen to only one thing, listen to this. It got me so excited for what’s to come.
Crypto, an Oral Essay — Great overview & made crypto seem so exciting.
Applications: Today & 2025 — Taken from Crypto Startup School.

These five resources combined together will give you a solid understanding of blockchain fundamentals. I'd recommend this order:

But how does bitcoin actually work? — Amazing blockchain explanation.
Khan Academy for Bitcoin — Phenomenal!! This clarified so many questions I had for understanding blockchain in depth.
Blockchain 101, Part 1 — The best visual explanation to tie all these concepts together.
Blockchain 101, Part 2 — Second part of the explanation.
Bitcoin Whitepaper — Most of this is relatively easy to digest. It's nice to read the primary source of where it all started.

Crypto Startup School — Episodes 1, 2, & 4 were the best ones in my opinion. You don’t need to listen to the other ones (depending on what your goals are).
Ethereum Whitepaper — This explains both Bitcoin & Ethereum well. Felt a bit more technical, but the parts I did understand were definitely useful.
Coinbase Learn — Good list of introductory resources to tons of topics. Caution: Don’t get caught up in reading everything like I did. Dive into specific topics and use this as an initial jumping off point. Reading everything at once wastes time.
How Bitcoin Works Under the Hood — Another good overview of Bitcoin & the blockchain.
Proof of Stake (vs proof of work) — Good video describing the difference between proof of stake & proof of work.

I’m still learning Solidity, so this will be updated soon. But for now here’s what I used:

Buildspace — Great community & course to learn the fundamentals of Solidity. Gives you a good base to figure out what you don’t know (but it’s your responsibility to learn the concepts in-depth yourself).

Don't use these for actual learning. These are meant to be good passive conversations (listening to while driving, etc).

The Random Show — Blockchain/Crypto Investing, NFT Experiments, & More — I linked to the specific timestamp which I enjoyed. Kevin gives a great overview of the crypto space.
The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency — Nick Szabo & Naval talk about all things crypto.
The Pseudonymous Economy — Balaji has some interesting ideas around pseudonymity.
Vitalik Buterin on The Lex Fridman Show (Part 1) — I feel like an idiot when listening to them talk, but in a good way. Just shows how smart Vitalik is.
Vitalik Buterin on The Lex Fridman Show (Part 2) — Another interesting convo w Vitalik.
Web 3, DAOs, & NFTs with Patrick Rivera — More casual but interesting episode.
Hash Power — Three-part series that gave another good overview on crypto. I found parts 1 & 3 more useful.
All about NFTs — Good overview on NFTs specifically.

DAOs As University Replacements — What an amazing essay. Helped me generate so many ideas & provided insight on creating effective DAOs, credentialing, and the future of education.
DAMN — New concept around DAOs for media. I bought in & joined the DAMN. Very interested to see how it plays out.

The Promise of Peer-to-Peer Credentials — Great primer on a certain subset of credentialing.
DAOs As University Replacements — Included in the DAOs section as well as here.

These barely scratch the surface of all the great people in crypto. I'll add more soon, but these were the ones that immediately came to mind.