Resources

Posted on by Tom

This page lists many of the most useful resources in personal fintech, starting with a ton of bitcoin info.

The list will grow and change from time to time.

Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Exchanges:

  • Coinbase – Free bitcoin after you verify
  • Bitfinex – Bitcoin trading, plus options and swaps for the adventurous
  • Bitstamp – Currently the highest volume exchange for USD trade
  • Circle – buy Bitcoin easily with verified bank account and credit card
  • Local Bitcoins – buy Bitcoin online or in person locally
  • Coins.ph – bitcoin service geared toward the Philippines, with bill pay and more
  • Cryptsy – established exchange based in Florida with USD, EUR, & CAD trading
  • Bleutrade – 70+ coins,plus profit-sharing program
  • Bittrex – many altcoins, including HZ
  • Poloniex – lots of altcoins, including decentralized asset exchange tokens

Bitcoin Merchant Services:

  • Shopify – The whole caboodle: Set up a web store accepting Bitcoin, PayPal, and credit cards. Get a retail or mobile POS system to accept credit cards and crypto from in-person sales.
  • BitPay – no transaction fees, integration with many existing POS terminals and shopping carts
  • GoCoin – accept payment in bitcoin, litecoin, or dogecoin, get paid in dollars
  • Coinbase – no transaction fees
  • CoinKite – Point-of-Sale terminal hardware, debit cards, altcoin support

Decentralized Asset Exchanges:

Decentralized asset exchanges are marketplaces where one can buy and sell things, mostly but not always digital goods, without the need for a third party intermediary to oversee the transaction. More familiar platforms that might give you a framework for how to think of them are stock exchanges, crowdfunding sites, or eBay.

Decentralized exchanges are not run or owned by any company, but are instead distributed on a blockchain network, similar to how Bitcoin works. Each of the exchanges listed below has its own strengths, weaknesses, focus areas, etc. My intent is to give each a full article expanding on its origins and uses.

General Bitcoin Info:

Bitcoin Wallets:

  • Block.io – web wallet for Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin
  • Hive – “brain” wallet for Bitcoin and Litecoin
  • Mycelium – Android and iOS app
  • KryptoKit – Chrome plugin
  • MultiBit – software wallet
  • Electrum – “brain” wallet desktop software
  • Bitcoin Core – the Bitcoin reference client, upon which all others are based
  • Trezor – hardware wallet

Spend Bitcoin:

  • Gyft – gift cards via bitcoin, PayPal, or credit cards
  • eGifter – gift cards via bitcoin, litecoin, dogecoin, PayPal, or credit cards
  • Purse.io – get up to 20% off at Amazon with bitcoin

Bitcoin News:

Books:

Reading:

  • Bitcoin White Paper -by Satoshi Nakamoto. The original paper that introduced Bitcoin to the world
  • The Byzantine Generals Problem – This is the logical riddle that Bitcoin solves, allowing trustless parties to interact with confidence.
  • Why Bitcoin Matters – A New York Times opinion piece by Mark Andreesen of Netscape.
  • Bitcoin Model of Crowdfunding – “Bitcoin is not just a protocol or money, it’s a new business model for Open Source Software.” And it is not limited to OSS…
  • Bitcoins: Made in China – This epic piece covers the geopolitics of building the actual Bitcoin network, and how that relates to Bitcoin’s value.

Other Resources:

  • Master’s Degree in Digital Currency – The University of Nicosia in Cyprus offers a full Master’s degree program in Digital Currency online. The University accepts Bitcoin for tuition payments, and you can take the introductory course free. The course is taught by Bitcoin expert Andreas Antonopolous.
  • Blockchain University – currently a classroom course for developers interested in learning cryptocurrency, held in Mountain View CA. Videos of the classroom training will be posted online; eventually this course will be developed into an online offering.
  • Cryptography– Stanford University was a pioneer in offering free online coursework, beginning with a course on Artificial Intelligence attended by over 100,000 people. This course on cryptography systems follows in its footsteps by allowing anyone to participate in the actual Stanford course without that pesky Ivy League tuition.

Take advantage of free access to leading thinkers in this emerging technology.