In the past couple of years, the public has become aware of and even obsessed with the idea of cryptocurrency. Pundits and armchair experts throw around a term like blockchain without a full understanding of what it is or does, let alone the technology that makes it work. In this book, the author presents the history of cryptocurrency and, further back than that, the crypto-anarchy movement that led to the core tenets of an untraceable, government-independent form of currency.

Telling the story of influential and mysterious countercultural figures like Timothy May, Nick Szabo, Perry Metzger, and the mysterious and likely pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto and James A. Donald, this is as much a history book as a technology primer. While news pundits and positioned experts are eager to explain what blockchain is, this book showcases what it was, is now, and potentially could be. Drawing sources from whitepapers, press releases, news articles, and even old mailing lists, this informative book provides an up-close examination of the ideologies and the people who have put this financial trend in motion.

While many are now learning about and considering cryptocurrency as a get-rich-quick investment, this book traces the roots of cryptocurrency to crypto-anarchy and the radical ideas that fueled the development of these mysterious and ethereal deposits of value. Putting to rest all the rumors and misinformation surrounding these technologies and giving the reader a greater understanding and perspective on cryptocurrency, the author’s book is necessary reading for anyone considering dipping their toe into investing in bitcoin or its peers. The information in this book bounces between two threads: explaining cryptocurrency and blockchain and telling the historical background of the crypto-anarchy movement until the two paths fully diverge. The end result is one that feels natural and kinetic, that digresses to paint a full picture while surprising the reader with a fascinating and little-reported history.

Each chapter is complete with graphs and charts from financial magazines, transcripts of emails from cypherpunk mailing lists, and citations from articles and websites with directions for the reader to call up the same information. While the general discourse surrounding cryptocurrency might lead readers to expect a financial how-to of buying into bitcoin and knowing how to maximize one’s investment, this nuanced and thorough text actually puts some ice water on the crypto craze.

Using his experience working in software development on a foreign currency exchange application, Kinsey has the technical background to explain how blockchain works and an economic understanding as to how the outsider perspective gets key details about cryptocurrency wrong. The average reader who has heard about these topics or maybe has done some minor research in them will be surprised to learn about inefficiencies in the process or ties to WikiLeaks, election tampering, and theoretical assassination funding. Eye-opening in all the best ways and relayed with a quality that few non-fiction books ever reach, this in-depth guide is intriguing, shocking, and informative as it covers three decades of history punctuated by the social and technological explosion of the last ten years.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

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