Where Do I Start Learning About Crypto? A Comprehensive Resource Guide 

You’re not alone if you’re interested in learning about crypto but don’t know where to start. The world of crypto can be overwhelming, with a seemingly endless amount of information and resources available. 

In this comprehensive resource guide, we will provide the best of resources to learn crypto. We’ll cover everything from understanding the basics of blockchain technology to navigating your career in Web3. So, if you’re ready to dive into cryptocurrency, let’s get started.

Best Courses on Blockchain Technology 

Courses are the best way to go if you want to learn about specific aspects of Web3 and kickstart your career. You can learn at your own pace, join a community to network, and potentially find job opportunities. Crash courses can help sharpen up skills and expand your knowledge base even if you’re already working in the industry. We compiled five courses covering everything from core fundamentals of blockchains and smart contract development to algorithmic crypto trading. 

Alchemy University’s Web3 Crash Course 

The demand for blockchain and smart contract developers is always high. Companies are battling to get the best candidates. So if you want to become a developer and get hired by Web3 companies, now is the best time to get started. To help you fast-track your learning, Alchemy University has created multiple courses on programming, smart contracts and building decentralized applications. And it’s all free! 

The courses got you covered even if you don’t have any technical knowledge. The first course is JavaScript Fundamentals. And it’s for laying the foundation for web3-specific development. If you’re well-versed in web2 programming languages, you can enroll in the Ethereum boot camp, which is seven weeks long. Finally, you can build different projects and develop a portfolio to showcase your talents to blockchain industry recruiters. 

To get access to Alchemy University courses, you need to submit your details here and look out for early access to NFT. Once you claim the NFT, you can connect your crypto wallet to the University portal and start learning. 

DappCamp’s Ethereum Developer Hybrid Course 

If you are a Web2 developer looking to transition to Web3, DappCamp by Preethi Kasireddy is one of the best courses you can take. As a self-taught Ethereum developer, Preethi has done tremendous work in the crypto industry. She worked at Coinbase early on and later started her own company called TruStory. 

Preethi’s experience and teaching ability have set this Ethereum course apart from the rest. The course claims to make you web3-ready as a developer in one month. This will include three weeks of self-paced learning and one week of intense work, building a Dapp from scratch. As it’s a boot camp, you will join other developers as a team to build the Dapp. 

The cost of DappCamp is $3000. As the boot camp helps candidates get placed in top web3 companies, it is believed to be worthwhile. DappCamp also offers scholarships to a few applications for every cohort. 

Princeton University’s Bitcoin & Blockchain Technologies Coursera Course 

Princeton is one of the first universities to create blockchain technology courses. It was launched in 2015 for students who enrolled in the university. Soon after, Princeton collaborated with the Coursera learning platform to distribute the course globally.

The 11-week Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies course has a 4.6-star rating with over 706,000 students enrolled till now. You also don’t need to have a computer science background for this course.

The course covers some of the core fundamentals of the crypto world while still helping you navigate on a technical level. By the end of this course, you will have the blockchain understanding to create software built on top of the bitcoin network. It will take 23 hours to complete the course, and you can change your schedule at any time in the learning section. 

Enroll here. 

Blockchain Council’s Certified Web3 Game Developer 

Game development in web3 involves many things that are not related to the game itself. From creating a token design to smart contract development, a game developer must work on a different architecture before deploying a game. Blockchain Council released a self-paced certified course to help game developers gain a basic understanding of blockchain frameworks.

The course costs $249 with lifetime certification validity. The main modules covered in the course include an overview of the GameFi ecosystem, the game development process, and deep dive into solidity. If you’re interested in learning about web3 gaming or want to transition as a developer, you should check out this great resource at Blockchain Council. 

Enroll here.

Udemy’s Algorithmic Trading Course 

If you want to make your money work, algorithmic trading is one of the best ways. However, creating a trading bot and backtest strategies is not simple. You would need technical expertise with different indicators. And you should be able to adjust your trading bot to minimize losses based on the market conditions. To help you navigate algorithmic trading, Udemy has the perfect course by Petko Aleksandrov. 

Petko is an experienced trader across all financial markets, including crypto and forex. Over the years, he has tested thousands of strategies to become a profitable trader. In this course, he shares his trading bot system to generate good returns on different cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH. The best part about this course is you don’t need any programming skills to develop your trading bot.

Enroll here. 

Best Books To Gain Basic Understanding of Crypto 

There’s no doubt the crypto world is overwhelming. If you are entering the space now, it can be puzzling to see why everyone is so bullish on Web3. To understand that, you need to know how crypto started with bitcoin, what innovations helped drive so much adoption, and what the future will look like. The answers to these questions can be found in books written by industry veterans and founders of leading blockchain projects. 

The Bitcoin Standard

The Bitcoin Standard is a book by economist and bitcoin advocate Saifedean Ammous. The book explores the history of money, its role in society, and the potential for bitcoin to become a global standard for money. The book also examines the potential drawbacks and challenges facing bitcoin, including the scalability of its network and its potential for misuse by criminal organizations. Overall, The Bitcoin Standard offers a thought-provoking and comprehensive analysis of the rise of bitcoin and its potential impact on the global economy.

Available to buy here. 

The Bullish Case for Bitcoin

Vijay Boyapati is one of the most respected voices in the space. His book, presenting the bullish case for bitcoin, highlights the scenarios when bitcoin could become a reserve currency and how it’s the ultimate form of store of value. Vijay also does a perfect job of taking the reader back to the origins of money and explaining why the bitcoin asset class is superior to other forms of money in terms of scarcity, divisibility, and verifiability. Overall, we suggest this book for anyone trying to understand the long-term value of a cryptocurrency like bitcoin.

Available to buy here. 

Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain

Understanding the fundamentals is not enough to thrive in crypto if you want to innovate. You need to have technical expertise as well. And one of the best books to teach on building on top of public blockchains is Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos. Andreas is one the early pioneers of blockchain technology who used to teach M.Sc. Digital Currencies at the University of Nicosia. 

Andreas takes you on a journey of the inner workings of a blockchain network, including explanations of wallets, keys, and addresses. He also shares code snippets to expand on the practical applications possible on the bitcoin blockchain. Apart from the well-detailed lessons, the book stands out because of the way Andreas explains analogies and stories. 

Available to buy here. 

Virtual Society

Metaverse is one of the subjects everyone is into nowadays. Even mainstream brands are trying to build something unique in the metaverse to have an early mover advantage. But, most market participants in web3 are still unclear about the bigger vision of the metaverse with different digital assets. If you’re one of them, you should read Virtual Society by Herman Narula. 

Herman takes his readers through various convincing arguments about the future of the metaverse. He believes we’re heading to a future where life inside the metaverse could be superior to real life. While the book may contain many hot takes that can take decades to see in action, it does a good job of highlighting all the possibilities within a metaverse. 

Available to buy here. 

Truth About Crypto

Putting your learnings into action is essential in the space. But, at the same time, you have to be practical. Ric Edelman’s book gives a comprehensive breakdown of how you should view a digital currency.

With Truth About Crypto, Ric is not attempting to convince you to invest in crypto. But, he shares his argument on why it offers an effective alternative to the current solutions in legacy systems. Truth About Crypto is also a great starting point for newcomers to learn the different verticals in crypto with easy-to-understand analogies and stories. 

Available to buy here.

Best Podcasts to Learn from Industry Experts 

Podcasts are one of the best free resources to learn about crypto. It is audio-format, so you can plug in your headphones and listen anywhere you want. Besides the convenience, podcasts give you deep insights on a specific topic and uncover what industry leaders think. It can include fun banter as well. Considering everything, we picked the five best podcasts available on both Apple and Spotify platforms. 

Unchained 

Unchained is one of the finest podcasts in the business for the general public. Led by Laura Shin, Unchained does regular podcast episodes with industry leaders to dive deep into insightful topics and stories. As the first journalist to cover crypto full-time, Laura doesn’t back down from asking the tough questions.

 She also wrote a book called The Cryptopians, covering the entire timeline of crypto and highlighting key individuals fighting to bring crypto to the masses. Overall, Unchained is a valuable resource for crypto investors and other market participants interested in staying up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the crypto and blockchain ecosystem.

Start listening here. 

Up Only 

If Unchained is the most formal podcast, Up Only is the opposite. Ledger and Crypto Cobain, aka Cobie, host the Up Only podcast with the most influential people in crypto. The community loves tuning in because the conversations go deep. And, at the same time, they entertain the audience with fun banter from both hosts. Further, Cobie is one of the biggest influencers on Twitter with a massive following, given he’s been around crypto for more than ten years. 

The host of Up Only also streams on the Twitch platform for long hours, discussing everything from market outlook to main crypto narratives. But, unlike other podcasts, Up Only doesn’t run on any schedule. The hosts can release multiple episodes every week or stop doing podcasts for months on end. Nonetheless, it is a great podcast to tune in and learn new things about crypto. 

Start listening here. 

Bankless 

Another beloved podcast in crypto is Bankless. Hosted by David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams, the Bankless podcast is one of the biggest crypto news outlets in crypto. They host regular episodes every week with guests from different crypto ecosystems. They also do weekly roll-ups to keep people informed on the major news stories and market updates. 

Besides the main podcast, the best part about Bankless is its community. It is welcoming for any newcomer to crypto to join the Bankless community and get the necessary assistance to navigate the crypto waters. Bankless also has a great newsletter with premium plans to give deep research reports and exclusive community access.

Start listening here.

Two Bored Apes 

Hosted by Jaime Musings and Zeneca, Two Bored Apes is an NFT-focussed podcast. Both hosts were deep into NFTs even before they took them in 2021. Zeneca is the founder of Zen Academy, an exclusive community teaching about NFTs and Web3. He also takes the role of Chief Zen Officer at Blur NFT marketplace. 

Launched in August 2021, the Two Bored Apes podcast has released sixty episodes. The majority of podcasts involve the hosts answering questions posted on Twitter. Plus, they like to cover trending topics in Web3. The podcast is good enough to get you started on your NFT journey. 

Start listening here. 

Web3 with a16z

This podcast is for you if you want to get inside the heads of leading investors backing the best web3 projects. Web3 with a16z is a podcast created by one of the best venture capital firms in the world, concentrating on the latest market trends in crypto and sharing in-depth research. The main hosts making regular episodes on the weekly are Sonal Chokshi and Chris Dixon, with occasional appearances from Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. 

The focus of the podcast is to dive deep into various topics related to Web3, including metaverse, NFTs, DeFi, and regulation. You will find the discussions engaging as you see many familiar faces in the industry. Some recent guests are Brian Armstrong, Kevin Rose, and Herman Narula. 

Start listening here. 

Best Youtube Channels Discussing Crypto On the Regular 

Youtube is a gold mine of free resources to learn about the ever-evolving crypto space. But the problem is that most YouTubers take advantage of their audience to promote newly launched tokens and products and label them risk-free, often referred to as “shiling” in crypto streets. So, we created a list of top Youtube channels that focus more on the crypto space’s educational and news reporting aspects. 

Finematics

If you want to understand crypto topics with cool animations, Finematics should be your number one choice. Created by software engineer Jakub, the Finematics Youtube channel has more than 340,000 subscribers. By teaching about the fast-growing world of DeFi, Finematics captured the attention of crypto newcomers. The neat drawings and simple choice of words to break down complex topics made Finematics one of the best resources to learn crypto. 

Whiteboard Crypto

If you want to ignore all the noise in crypto and focus strictly on education, you should explore the Whiteboard Crypto Youtube channel. It is one of the best channels for producing educational content with excellent storytelling. From explaining concepts like blockchain rollups to reviewing projects, Whiteboard Crypto covers a wide range of crypto topics. 

Along with creating exceptional content for free, the channel also has a Blockchain Master program for an affordable price of $29 per month. The program has even better videos and beginner guides to navigate Web3 and provides access to an exclusive community. 

Start watching here. 

Coin Bureau

Coin Bureau is one of the biggest crypto Youtube channels, with over 2 million subscribers. The channel owner, Guy, discovered crypto in 2013 with bitcoin. He later started a website under the same name and became one of the influential voices in the space. In 2019, he started a Youtube channel and rapidly grew his following in the recent bull cycle. 

Coin Bureau easily stands out in crypto because of the consistent delivery of high-quality video content. Guy mainly covers the industry from an educator and reporter perspective. His deep dives into various crypto projects and walkthrough tutorials are some of his best work. 

Start watching here. 

The Defiant

If you want to know a bit about everything in crypto, The Defiant can be your favorite crypto channel. It covers everything from research content to live shows discussing the latest trends in the crypto space. The Defiant is also a great channel if you prefer long-form video content with more depth in topics. The team regularly uploads new videos weekly and conducts a live show with the community.

Crypto Cred

Although Crypto Cred is not your regular Youtuber with daily and weekly updates, his channel has some of the best content to learn to trade in the crypto markets. He has a comprehensive video playlist covering everything you need to know to understand technical analysis. 

Crypto Cred has extensive trading knowledge. And his uniqueness is the way he explains complex concepts in easy-to-consume video clips. He also regularly shares his trade breakdowns, allowing new traders to understand his thought process before entering a trade and the way he approaches risk management. It is a must-watch for people looking to explore crypto trading. 

Start watching here.

Closing Thoughts: Learning Never Stops In Crypto 

In this comprehensive resource guide, we hope you found something you like to get started on your crypto journey. But our suggestion would be to not limit yourself regarding learning. Even though the industry is in its early stages, the knowledge is vast and keeps changing. So you should always try to keep up with what’s happening in the space and get a sense of where we’re headed.