Need to Ramp Up on Blockchain & Crypto?

Recommended Reading: Beginner tested, expert approved.

So, you want to know more about blockchain — but you don’t know where to start. We’ve all been there. It’s new. It’s confusing. And there’s so much information out there, it’s hard to know what’s worth your time. Plus, the content runs the gamut from crazy and cartoonish to dry and deeply technical. Getting started can be overwhelming.

Before joining full time, I consulted for MAD and several other blockchain projects for about 18 months. My background in enterprise tech made ramping up a little easier — but it was still new, complicated, and had some fundamental differences from the paradigm I was used to. And I’m not an engineer. Fortunately, I had a couple veterans to help me ramp up.

Once I started full time, I needed to hire a couple agencies and contractors to support our efforts. But I realized that the smart, capable people I wanted to hire were great at what they did, but they didn’t know a whole lot about blockchain. The truth is, not a lot of people do.

How was I gonna ramp them up? I needed help — like yesterday. The answer was surprisingly simple: make a reading list. I would layout some basics for them, but if they were really interested in working in the space, they’d self-educate. Turns out, it was a pretty helpful hiring tool too. Give it a chance, and the cream will rise to the top.

When the crypto-hype-machine started really buzzing, more and more people from all parts of my life were asking me how they could learn about blockchain. I had the list, so I started sharing it. A lot.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that getting started with blockchain is like dipping your toe in a pond that’s rapidly becoming an ocean. Andreas Antonopoulos, arguably one of the foremost authorities on the subject, famously said:

“I wrote a book that answers the question ‘What is Bitcoin?’ It’s 300 pages long, was obsolete the moment it was printed and has to be corrected and updated every three months just to keep up with changes.”

Everyone in blockchain is a student. We’re all still learning. Frankly, that’s why a lot of us are here.

So maybe you‘re trying to break into blockchain professionally. Or maybe you want to understand the technology before you start investing in crypto (a very good idea). Or maybe you haven’t understood a word your best friend has said for the last three months since they got obsessed with crypto.

If that sounds familiar, then this list is for you.