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Author: [Ricardo Goncalves](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfgoncalves) || [blockchain]( http://bravenewcoin.com/news/tag/blockchain) || [bitcoin]( http://bravenewcoin.com/news/tag/bitcoin) || [adoption]( http://bravenewcoin.com/news/tag/adoption) ||

Steemians speak and [Bravenewcoin.com](http://www.bravenewcoin.com) listens! This article was created specifically for Steemit readers, in response to @krypto replying on our article [Bitcoin's biggest Venture Capital deals of 2016 so far](https://steemit.com/money/@bravenewcoin/bravenewcoin-bitcoin-s-biggest-venture-capital-deals-of-2016-so-far) and requesting some intro-style content for newbies arriving on Steemit with very little knowledge of bitcoin and crypto fin-tech. 

The bitcoin price is increasing. With the increase comes mainstream media hype and of course millions of new people who want to understand just what the heck this **_‘magical internet money’_** stuff really is!

<center>Bill Gates called it [‘A technological tour de force’](http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-bitcoin-is-a-technological-tour-de-force-bill-gates-86-55-44.jpg).</center>

<a href=' http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-bitcoin-is-a-technological-tour-de-force-bill-gates-86-55-44.jpg ' target='_blank'><center><img src='https://s25.postimg.org/p6d3ynfpb/1_billgates.jpg' border='0' alt='1-billgates'/></center>

<center>Google CEO, Eric Schmidt called it a [‘remarkable cryptographic achievement…’]( http://bitclubasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ericschmidt.jpg)</center>
<a href='http://bitclubasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ericschmidt.jpg' target='_blank'><center><img src='https://s25.postimg.org/royszc1fj/2_ericschmidt.jpg' border='0' alt='2-ericschmidt'/></center>

Even Ashton Kutcher, actor turned investor [is excited about the technology](http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-bigger-thing-with-bitcoin-is-not-bitcoin-itself-but-what-does-that-decentralized-ashton-kutcher-63-1-0183.jpg) behind bitcoin. 

<a href=' http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-bigger-thing-with-bitcoin-is-not-bitcoin-itself-but-what-does-that-decentralized-ashton-kutcher-63-1-0183.jpg ' target='_blank'><center><img src='https://s25.postimg.org/6gl4hwmyn/3_ashton_kutcher.jpg' border='0' alt='3-ashton-kutcher-'/></center>

Often with new technology, you read about it somewhere and then start searching the internet for more information and quickly get lost then lose interest. 

To make it easier for those new to bitcoin, **[BNC has published an extensive resource section](http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/bitcoin-101/the-basics/) to help newcomers discover why bitcoin will change everything.** 

Today we also offer a compiled list of articles, blogs, videos, books and courses, to help you get started. 

We often say to newcomers; **_“Do not expect to understand bitcoin or blockchain in the first 15min”._**

This is why we created **a ‘Gentle Introduction…’ Series** of [Free PDF’s](http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/reference-papers/series-1/) to help explain the key elements within 20 to 30 minutes.

<a href='http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/bitcoin-101/the-basics' target='_blank'><center><img src='https://s25.postimg.org/6umghi727/4_gentle_intro.jpg' border='0' alt='4-gentle-intro'/></center>

From there the curiosity is sparked and most end up falling deep into the rabbit hole, often getting lost on the internet as there is simply too much information. 

Head on over to our resources section and check out the **[Bitcoin 101](http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/bitcoin-101/the-basics/)**, which includes a **[full glossary](http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/bitcoin-101/glossary/)**;

Once the basics are grasped, you may find yourself asking, why has there been [$1.2 Billion invested into bitcoin/blockchain](http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/bitcoin-venture-capital-investments/2016/) companies? What applications or real-world use is there for bitcoin & blockchain? 

BNC has carefully [curated industry research](http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/industry-research/2016/) on the subjects of bitcoin & blockchain from the world's largest research groups, including various banks, governments and mega consultancy firms like PwC & Deloittes.

<a href='http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/industry-research/2016/' target='_blank'><center><img src='https://s25.postimg.org/cwu37zvi7/5_industry_resources.jpg' border='0' alt='5-industry-resources'/></center> 

Lastly, for those wanting a quality list recommended reading, [Brian Forde]( https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianforde), Director of the Digital Currency Initiative at MIT Media Lab, has curated an excellent set of articles, books and courses for those wanting to avoid having to find these great resources scattered all over the internet. 

Brian States: **_“We’ve found that most people are initially willing to invest about 30–45 minutes to learn about cryptocurrencies. That can then ignite enough curiosity to invest another 2–3 hours — and then they’re off to the races”._**

**Overviews (30–45 mins)**
•	[A Gentle Introduction to bitcoin]( http://bravenewcoin.com/industry-resources/reference-papers/series-1/) by [BNC](http://www.bravenewcoin.com)
•	[Why Bitcoin Matters]( http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/?_r=2) by [Marc Andreessen]( https://twitter.com/pmarca)
•	[Why the Blockchain Matters](http://www.wired.co.uk/article/bitcoin-reid-hoffman) by [Reid Hoffman](https://twitter.com/reidhoffman)
•	[How Does Bitcoin Work?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmjuhrPuLSU) (video) by [David Andolfatto](https://twitter.com/dandolfa)
•	[Programmable Blockchains in Context: Ethereum’s Future]( https://medium.com/@ConsenSys/programmable-blockchains-in-context-ethereum-s-future-cd8451eb421e) by [Vinay Gupta](https://twitter.com/leashless)
•	[The Blockchain Application Stack](http://joel.mn/post/103546215249/the-blockchain-application-stack) by [Joel Monegro](https://twitter.com/jmonegro)
•	[The Shared Data Layer on The Blockchain Application Stack](http://joel.mn/post/104755282493/the-shared-data-layer-of-the-blockchain) by [Joel Monegro](https://twitter.com/jmonegro)
•	[How Bitcoin Is Like SMTP](http://joel.mn/post/117060535583/how-bitcoin-is-like-smtp) by [Joel Monegro](https://twitter.com/jmonegro)
•	[How The Blockchain Can Unshackle Us](http://thebarefootvc.com/2016/04/14/936/) by [Jalak Jobanputra](http://thebarefootvc.com/2016/04/14/936/)
•	[The Non-Expert’s Guide to the Mt. Gox Fiasco](http://www.coindesk.com/non-experts-guide-mt-gox-fiasco/) by [Arianna Simpson](https://twitter.com/ariannasimpson)

**Applications (60–90 mins)**
•	[Some ideas for native bitcoin apps](http://cdixon.org/2014/10/04/some-ideas-for-native-bitcoin-apps/) by [Chris Dixon](https://twitter.com/cdixon)
•	[Certificates, Reputation and the Blockchain](https://medium.com/mit-media-lab/certificates-reputation-and-the-blockchain-aee03622426f) by [Philipp Schmidt](https://twitter.com/schmidtphi)
•	[Bitcoin Fact. Fiction. Future.](http://d2mtr37y39tpbu.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DUP_847_BitcoinFactFictionFuture.pdf) by [Tiffany Wan]( https://twitter.com/tiffany_wan) & [Max Hoblitzell](https://twitter.com/MaxHoblitzell)
•	[State-Sponsored Cryptocurrency: Adapting the best of Bitcoin’s Innovation to the Payments Ecosystem](http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/strategy/us-cons-state-sponsored-cryptocurrency.pdf) by [Deloitte](http://www.deloitte.com)
•	[Elizabeth Rossiello Describes How BitPesa Slashes International Payment Fees]( http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/06/15/elizabeth-rossiello-describes-how-bitpesa-slashes-international-payment-fees/#775c23f06475) by [Laura Shin](https://twitter.com/laurashin)
•	[Bitcoin Overview & Applications](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TKUDLtEiNM) (video) by [Brian Forde](https://twitter.com/BrianForde)
•	[How the blockchain will enable self-service government](http://www.wired.co.uk/article/blockchain-is-the-new-signature) by [Brian Forde](https://twitter.com/BrianForde)  & [Michael Casey](https://twitter.com/mikejcasey)
•	[Can Bitcoin Be Used For Good?](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/bitcoin-hype/477141/) by [Chelsea Barabas](https://twitter.com/chels_bar) & [Ethan Zuckerman]( https://twitter.com/EthanZ)
•	[Want to rent Star Wars? May the force be with you…](https://medium.com/mit-media-lab-digital-currency-initiative/want-to-rent-star-wars-may-the-force-be-with-you-8b3200e7ad87) by [Brian Forde](https://twitter.com/BrianForde)

**Technical Overviews (2–4 hours)**
•	[Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System](http://bravenewcoin.com/assets/Whitepapers/Bitcoin-A-Peer-to-Peer-Electronic-Cash-System.pdf) a whitepaper by alleged bitcoin creator, ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’.
•	[Bitcoin: The new gold rush?](http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/financial-services/us-fsi-bitcoin-the-new-gold-rush-031814.pdf) by [Val Srinivas]( https://twitter.com/ValSrinivas)
•	[Bitcoin And Blockchain: Two Revolutions For The Price Of One?]( https://gendal.me/2015/07/23/bitcoin-and-blockchain-two-revolutions-for-the-price-of-one/) by [Richard Gendal Brown](https://twitter.com/gendal)
•	[How the Bitcoin protocol actually works](http://www.michaelnielsen.org/ddi/how-the-bitcoin-protocol-actually-works/) by [Michael Nielsen](https://twitter.com/michael_nielsen)
•	[Research Perspectives and Challenges for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies]( http://www.jbonneau.com/doc/BMCNKF15-IEEESP-bitcoin.pdf) by [Joseph Bonneau]( https://twitter.com/josephbonneau), [Andrew Miller](https://twitter.com/socrates1024), [Jeremy Clark](https://twitter.com/pulpspy), [Arvind Narayanan]( https://twitter.com/random_walker), [Joshua A. Kroll](https://twitter.com/realjoshkroll), [Edward W. Felten](https://twitter.com/EdFelten)

**Books (1-2 days each)**
•	[Mastering Bitcoin](http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.html) by [Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://twitter.com/aantonop)
•	[The Age of CryptoCurrency](https://theageofcryptocurrency.com/) by [Michael Casey](https://twitter.com/mikejcasey), [Paul Vigna](https://twitter.com/paulvigna)
•	[Blockchain Revolution](http://blockchain-revolution.com/) by [Don](http://blockchain-revolution.com/) and [Alex Tapscott](https://twitter.com/alextapscott)
•	[Digital Gold](https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062362490/digital-gold) by [Nathaniel Popper](https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper)

**Bitcoin Course & Textbook (4–5 weeks)**
•	[Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies](https://piazza.com/princeton/spring2015/btctech/resources) (course) at Princeton University
•	[Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies](https://d28rh4a8wq0iu5.cloudfront.net/bitcointech/readings/princeton_bitcoin_book.pdf) (textbook), by [Arvind Narayanan](https://twitter.com/random_walker), [Joseph Bonneau](https://twitter.com/josephbonneau), [Edward W. Felten]( https://twitter.com/EdFelten), [Andrew Miller](https://twitter.com/socrates1024), [Steven Goldfeder](https://twitter.com/sgoldfed)

We hope these resources save those of you who are new to bitcoin & blockchain, time and effort in your quest for knowledge. 

Remember however, bitcoin is just the first Digital Currency, followed by many others; some with great value propositions and others just plain clones. 

Steem and its frontend [Steemit.com](http://www.steemit.com), is a blockchain creation, much like bitcoin, but with slightly different architecture called [graphene](https://bitshares.org/technology/industrial-performance-and-scalability/); being high in performance and scalability, thus improving on some of bitcoin’s shortfalls. 

The [Steemit.com](http://www.steemit.com) social experiment has a fantastic value proposition of rewarding content producers instead of profiting off them as with the traditional social media model. 

We at [bravenewcoin.com](http://www.bravenewcoin.com) believe in the **‘Steemit’** concept, hence why we are introducing our content on **‘Steemit’**  on a daily basis. We even have a dedicated market data page at http://bravenewcoin.com/steem with all the market prices and statistics about Steem that your heart could desire; please feel free to bookmark it!  

If there’s any feedback or suggestions for other resources which you think would be highly useful - drop us a line on [contact@bravenewcoin.com](mailto:contact@bravenewcoin.com).

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