Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2021-04-01
Books mentioned on #173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
Nic Carter is a financial researcher, investor, writer, and podcaster on topics of decentralized finance. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – The Information: https://theinformation.
Nic Carter recommended The White Paper by Satoshi Nakamoto, The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous and others, Layered Money by Nik Bhatia, Bitcoin by Kalle Rosenbaum, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by Arvind Narayanan and others, Grokking Bitcoin by Kalle Rosenbaum, Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Inventing Bitcoin by Yan Pritzker and others, Bitcoin Clarity by Kiara Bickers, and The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The White Paper
The White Paper by Satoshi Nakamoto is the foundational document that introduced Bitcoin, outlining a decentralized peer-to-peer electronic cash system driven by cryptographic incentives.
Recommended“but my recommendations would be you know obviously the bitcoin white paper that's uh and satoshi's complimentary writings that's very important is to try to understand the intentions behind the system and also to understand the system without having your view colored by some third parties description of it”
Where to get it
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The Bitcoin Standard
Saifedean Ammous's "The Bitcoin Standard" offers a detailed exploration of the history of money and argues for the economic necessity of a hard, decentralized currency rooted in Austrian economic principles.
Recommended“would be the bitcoin standard a lot of people don't like it i just read it it's good”
Where to get it
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Layered Money
Layered Money by Nik Bhatia is an insightful financial text that traces the history and evolution of monetary systems through the lens of layered architecture, comparing traditional banking structures with modern digital assets.
Recommended“there's a more recent book called layered money which i liked um by nick battia which goes into more depth about what i was talking about earlier in the conversation the layout approach to scaling and that's a really critical thing to understand”
Where to get it
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Bitcoin
Bitcoin by Kalle Rosenbaum is a technical guide exploring the mechanics, core values, and layered scaling of the cryptocurrency.
Recommended“Then technical books about bitcoin i like grocking bitcoin uh which is a very computer science-heavy one”
Where to get it
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Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by Arvind Narayanan, Joseph Bonneau, Edward Felten, Andrew Miller, and Steven Goldfeder is a comprehensive academic textbook explaining the mechanics and computer science behind digital currencies.
Recommended“There's a good textbook um called uh bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies um by arvind naranian I think he's um a princeton um computer science professor which is really good at building intuition”
Where to get it
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Grokking Bitcoin
Grokking Bitcoin by Kalle Rosenbaum is an accessible yet rigorous technical guide designed to help readers understand the underlying cryptographic and computer science principles that power the Bitcoin network.
Recommended“then technical books about bitcoin i like grocking bitcoin which is a very computer science-heavy one”
Where to get it
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Mastering Bitcoin
Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas M.
Recommended“um antonopoulos's books mastering bitcoin are good”
Where to get it
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Inventing Bitcoin
Inventing Bitcoin by Yan Pritzker and Nicholas Evans is a concise and accessible introductory book that explains the fundamental economic and technical reasons behind the creation of Bitcoin.
Recommended“then there's like simpler intuition building books that aren't hardcore on the economics or the protocol design so you have like inventing bitcoin by john pritzker which is good”
Where to get it
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Bitcoin Clarity
Bitcoin Clarity by Kiara Bickers is an educational book designed to help readers navigate the complex layers of Bitcoin, covering its history, economics, and technical architecture in a clear manner.
Recommended“you have bitcoin clarity by qr bickers”
Where to get it
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The Three-Body Problem
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu is a sweeping science fiction novel exploring humanity's first contact with an alien civilization against the backdrop of China's cultural revolution.
Recommended“i really liked the three body problem but that's a really hackneyed recommendation but it really made me think”
Where to get it
