Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum & Smart Contracts Paperback – July 24, 2017

Bitcoin is a slightly interesting experiment in cryptography which has been completely overrun by techno-fetishists, internet libertarians, and drug dealers. This book is an entertaining primer on the years and years of absolutely absurd nonsense to come out of the bitcoin space. It explains the basics of the technology, its biggest flaws, and a few choice stories surrounding the mess that is bitcoin in an accessible and humorous way.If someone you know has tried to proselytize bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to you, the breathless and cult-like speech they surely gave hopefully alerted you the way an Amway hook would. This book is a great way to get the realistic side of that pitch that you'll never hear from someone trying to convert you.If this book appeals to you, there are years and years of stories too minor to be worth mentioning in this book that are worth researching for a laugh on a lunch break and new debacles are always in the works. The huge number of well-researched and linked references in the book are a great place to start.

If you're considering buying or mining Bitcoins, or any form of crypto currency, read through this book first. It's a quick read, but strongly highlights the pitfalls and risks of Bitcoin (or whatever your flavor digital crypto-coin). In short: Bitcoins are a terrible investment in it's current state and a terrible currency to use full-stop. This book does a good job of explaining why financial regulations (see: Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection Act and the surrounding history) exist to begin with, explains why they're needed, and gives real-life examples of how Bitcoin's lack of regulations led to multiple blunders that led to irreversible losses. Thus, the insecurity of the currency and difficulty of use will never make it a serious replacement currency for businesses or those financially minded. One reason I docked a star is I felt it could have used more historical examples of why financial regulations are absolutely necessary and how Bitcoin can never meet those regulations by design. But, as it stands now, the book certainly gets the point across, perhaps even to a fault...The other reason I docked a star was just because I felt the author's stance was a bit more snarky than it needed to be, which will likely make the book more polarizing than it could have been. After reading the book, the one question in my head ended up being: who is the book written for? The die-hard Bitcoin fans won't be swayed by this book's arguments and the opponents already know them. For the neutral party, this book is informative but, at times, reads a bit like propaganda (especially the passages taken from the most extreme /r/bitcoin users). That's not to say the author isn't correct and that there isn't, at times, a cult-like fondness for Bitcoin. But, an agenda is clearly present behind these words and it's enough to make the reader suspicious of the author's motives.Still, it's a good, accurate read for anyone considering purchasing Bitcoins (don't). But, because of the way it's written, it may not be enough by itself to sway opinions.

NOTE: The author is a Facebook friend and I followed the development of this book there, but did not read most of it until now.This is the kind of book you read in one sitting - it took me about 5 hours with zero breaks. What makes it so engaging? Perhaps it's the author's irreverent manner, perhaps it's the way that the history of cryptocurrency continually surpasses itself with ever-more shocking and absurd scams and losses, perhaps it's that fear that awakens in me realizing how many times the Bitcoin snake-oil salesmen nearly had me hoodwinked. This is an opinionated book, to be sure, and does not offer its opponents any space for a response - but one with a strong basis in both independent research and academic investigation of the industry, with everything from anarcho-capitalism to consensus models to Imogen Heap's Ethereum experiment. The references are thorough and hyperlinked in the e-book, making it easy to explore primary and secondary sources and come to your own conclusions. It's also an excellent inoculation against the prevailing Blockchain hype, making you just suspicious enough to start asking important questions, like whether a Blockchain is really necessary or whether a centralized architecture would be more efficient, or whether the latest ICO is going to be yet another exit scam. Ignore this book at your peril.