Step by Step Guide

If you are new to Bitcoin and feeling a little overwhelmed then I have produced a step by step guide to get your started. Be prepared, there is a lot to take in, it will get complicated and will take you a while to get your head around.

This is not a conclusive list, just a bunch of things to help you get started.

Before you do anything, go to Lopp’s Resources page and consume everything. I am also working on my own Beginner’s Guide to Bitcoin.

Step 1: Watch

Watch the following as a good introduction:

• How Bitcoin Works in 5 Minutes

• Introduction to Bitcoin video by Andreas M. Antonopoulos

  • Then follow Andreas on Twitter

  • Subscribe to his YouTube channel and watch as many of his videos as you can

• Banking on Bitcoin documentary (this will give you a good background to Bitcoin)

• All the introductory videos about Bitcoin on Jameson Lopp’s website

• My Beginner’s Guide to Bitcoin

Step 2: Read

Once you have watched the videos above then you might wish to read the following:

• All the resources on Bitcoin.org

• Article: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin by Vijay Boyapati

• Book: Digital Gold by Nathanial Popper (a good history lesson in Bitcoin)

• Book: The Internet of Money by Andreas Antonopoulos

• Book: The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous

• Back to Jameson Lopp’s website and now read all you can handle

Step 3: Listen

There are a few important podcast episodes you should listen to:

• Nick Szabo interviewed by Naval Ravikant on the Tim Ferriss podcast

• Saifedean Ammous on the Noded podcast

• Caitlin Long Interviewed by Marty Bent on Tales From the Crypt

• Murad Mahmudov interviewed by Anthony Pompliano on Off The Chain

Some key shows which I have made which you should also listen to:

• Andreas M. Antonopoulos on Why We Need Bitcoin

• Nick Szabo on Cypherpunks, Money and Bitcoin

• Trace Mayer on Claiming Your Monetary Sovereignty with Bitcoin

• Jeremy Welch on Why Bitcoin Changes Everything

• Andreas M. Antonopoulos Podcast Interview - What Happens When Bitcoin Takes Over

• Peter Todd on the Essence of Bitcoin

• Defending Bitcoin with John Carvalho

• Alex Gladstein on Why Bitcoin Matters for Freedom

• Vijay Boyapati’s The Bullish Case for Bitcoin

• Dan Held on Bitcoin's Immaculate Conception

Then subscribe to a bunch of these podcasts and start listening regularly. I have listed most of the podcasts in the space on my resources page.

Step 4: Subscribe

There are a bunch of good newsletters in the space, subscribe to them and keep up to date on news:

• Marty Bent’s Newsletter

• Pomp’s Newsletter (this is paid for, ignore his token stuff, focus on Bitcoin)

Again there are more on my resources page.

Step 5: Get Involved

Finally there are a bunch of things you can do to get involved:

• Get on Twitter, follow people and join conversations (I’ve created a list of Bitcoiners here)

• Work your way through bitcoin-intro.com

• If you aren’t on Medium, create an account and start following people

Good luck, Peter.