31–40 of 76 posts
I recently read the white papers of both bitcoin and ethereum. I would definitely read bitcoin's white paper first. I actually read the annotated versions from Fermat's Library: - http://fermatslibrary.com/s/bitcoin - http://fermatslibrary.com/s/ethereum-a-next-generation-smart...
The paper that started it all is still a good read: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
The paper that started it all is still a good read: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
Technical perspective, people tend to conflate crypto currency with blockchain and vice-versa. Both are not the same. Crypto currencies are an implementation of the blockchain concept with their own twist on how to leverage blockchain.
A good primer on blockchain is - https://anders.com/blockchain/
Then there is the bitcoin paper which not only introduces blockchain but also explains bitcoin: http://fermatslibrary.com/s/bitcoin
The white papers of various currencies also provide the technical perspective and details on their implementation.
Use case perspective, you will have to rely on white papers by the specific coins. They will delve into how they look at blockchain to solve their problems. Beware these papers tend to be verbose and full of marketing fluff. So unless, as Warren Buffett puts it[1], within your area of competence there is nothing to be gained.
One thing I have realized over time is that many people writing stuff on cryptocurrency tend to be very verbose. Case in point: https://www.igvita.com/2014/05/05/minimum-viable-block-chain...
This in my opinion, and I am known to be very wrong most of the time, is because it takes the technical route to explain things than standard expressions.
Basic stuff like - what is a block is elongated with many technical terms. The simplest answer is "block is a public ledger and contains all transactions". Ledger is a legit word and you can find tons of articles explaining what is a ledger. But then you have tons of articles which skip this simple explanation in favor of a elongated explanation using technical terms and putting their own versions of what constitutes a transaction.
[1] http://www.businessinsider.in/The-Circle-Of-Competence-Theor...
I recently read the white papers of both bitcoin and ethereum. I would definitely read bitcoin's white paper first. I actually read the annotated versions from Fermat's Library: - http://fermatslibrary.com/s/bitcoin - http://fermatslibrary.com/s/ethereum-a-next-generation-smart...
That site is obnoxious. I have habit of highlighting text as I read it. Every time I click on the text to highlight a huge tab pops in and out on the left side. Who thinks up this crap.
- https://marmelab.com/blog/2016/04/28/blockchain-for-web-deve...
- https://marmelab.com/blog/2016/05/20/blockchain-for-web-deve...
- https://marmelab.com/blog/2016/06/14/blockchain-for-web-deve...
The paper that started it all is still a good read: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
- http://fermatslibrary.com/s/bitcoin - http://fermatslibrary.com/s/ethereum-a-next-generation-smart...
The rest of the cryptocurrencies are only hoping to gain Bitcoin's popularity (which Ethereum is getting close to) that it maintained for nearly a decade.
Back in the day the following links helped me understand bitcoin:
http://www.michaelnielsen.org/ddi/how-the-bitcoin-protocol-a...
http://www.imponderablethings.com/2013/07/how-bitcoin-works-...
Once you properly understand bitcoin you are ready to understand other cryptocurrencies pretty easily. If some design choices don't make sense (secp256k1), then remember that Bitcoin's creation was close to when someone was caught doing something[1]. This is the answer to why many cryptocurrencies choose non-standard algorithms (aka. not NIST)
I wrote a three-part study on the Blockchain phenomenon a year ago, based on real experience with Ethereum. It's intended for web developers. It ends with an unusual conclusion. - https://marmelab.com/blog/2016/04/28/blockchain-for-web-deve... - https://marmelab.com/blog/2016/05/20/blockchain-for-web-deve... - https://marmelab.com/blog/2016/06/14/blockchain-for-web-deve...