Digital Gold: The Untold Story of Bitcoin
- Downloads：3289
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-22 10:52:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Nathaniel Popper
- ISBN：0241180996
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Digital Gold is New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper's brilliant and engrossing history of Bitcoin， the landmark digital money and financial technology that has spawned a global social movement。
The notion of a new currency， maintained by the computers of users around the world， has been the butt of many jokes， but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars， supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the Internet。 Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments。 More than just a tech industry fad， Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society's most basic institutions。
An unusual tale of group invention， Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement's colorful central characters， including an Argentinian millionaire， a Chinese entrepreneur， Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss， and Bitcoin's elusive creator， Satoshi Nakamoto。 Already， Bitcoin has led to untold riches for some， and prison terms for others。
The notion of a new currency， maintained by the computers of users around the world， has been the butt of many jokes， but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars， supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the Internet。 Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments。 More than just a tech industry fad， Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society's most basic institutions。
An unusual tale of group invention， Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement's colorful central characters， including an Argentinian millionaire， a Chinese entrepreneur， Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss， and Bitcoin's elusive creator， Satoshi Nakamoto。 Already， Bitcoin has led to untold riches for some， and prison terms for others。
Reviews
Siah
，
Despite it’s misleading name that sounds like a get rich quick scheme， I believed this book provides an excellent history of Bitcoin to the reader。 Don’t look for technical details here as this book only reviews the short history of this currency in the past ten years
Will Henderson
，
An impressively comprehensive rundown of the history of Bitcoin’s development and adoption， that also serves as the best primer I have seen on understanding the underlying technology and its financial implications。 It is hard not to be a believer in the value of Bitcoin after reading this book。 And it would be equally difficult to levy a convincing critique without reading this first。 I would recommend this as the first thing to read for anyone interesting in understanding the cryptocurrency spa An impressively comprehensive rundown of the history of Bitcoin’s development and adoption， that also serves as the best primer I have seen on understanding the underlying technology and its financial implications。 It is hard not to be a believer in the value of Bitcoin after reading this book。 And it would be equally difficult to levy a convincing critique without reading this first。 I would recommend this as the first thing to read for anyone interesting in understanding the cryptocurrency space。 I only wish I had found this book earlier。 It would have been worth its weight in good ;） 。。。more
Kat
，
Really good to read on the founding of how Bitcoin had its start。 The people players and creators。 The head strong perseverance of the way to what Bitcoin is today。 From the white papers published to the people who have tried to make Bitcoin the most earnest currency around。 Although many have had nefarious motives， the large majority of creators and users seem honest to create a new currency for everyone。 Read and judge for yourself。
Daniel
，
Readable and extremely worthwhile read on the first eight or so years of Bitcoin。 Good context on Bitcoin's early days， what Bitcoin is for， why it was evangelized （and resisted！） by so many， and a good starting history on the entire cast of characters in the cryptocurrency firmament: everyone from the founders of the proto-cryptocurrency Digicash and Hashcash， to BTC's early leaders （Satoshi Nakamoto， Hal Finney， Martti Malmi）， to early Bitcoin "outlaws" like Charlie Shrem and Silk Road's Ross Readable and extremely worthwhile read on the first eight or so years of Bitcoin。 Good context on Bitcoin's early days， what Bitcoin is for， why it was evangelized （and resisted！） by so many， and a good starting history on the entire cast of characters in the cryptocurrency firmament: everyone from the founders of the proto-cryptocurrency Digicash and Hashcash， to BTC's early leaders （Satoshi Nakamoto， Hal Finney， Martti Malmi）， to early Bitcoin "outlaws" like Charlie Shrem and Silk Road's Ross Ulbricht and Mt。 Gox's Mark Karpeles， to many of the foundational entrepreneurs in the space， like Wences Casares， the Winklevoss Twins， Fortress Investment Group and Marc Andreessen。 。。。more
Matt
，
To truly appreciate Bitcoin， an individual must not only understand its properties and the underlying technology but also the history。And lemme tell ya。。。 the history is pretty fucking insane lol。**might add more substance to this review at some point who knows — don’t feel like writing a novel on my phone atm**
Daniel Musyoka
，
Great piece of work！！， once done reading you will have a good understanding of the history of cryptocurency and how it works。
David
，
This is a great account of the history of Bitcoin up to early 2014。A lot has happened since then。 The book especially misses the account of how much the hack and collapse of Mt Gox affected the Bitcoin narrative。
Satyaprakash Pareek
，
A good introduction to bitcoin world。 Not necessarily for getting deep knowledge of bitcoin tech， but the human side of it。 What drove the early adopters， what made it grow and how it transformed from a passion of 'misfits' to darling of silicon valley。 An interesting read。 A good introduction to bitcoin world。 Not necessarily for getting deep knowledge of bitcoin tech， but the human side of it。 What drove the early adopters， what made it grow and how it transformed from a passion of 'misfits' to darling of silicon valley。 An interesting read。 。。。more
Arun Philips
，
MUST read for anyone living in the 21st century。 Following the journey of few revolutionary misfits， who set out to create a world free from manipulated currency and markets， and their epic journey to realize the vision of Satoshi。 Action packed， thrilling origin story of what will soon be one of the most powerful forms of money knows to humankind。
Sanchari Chaudhuri
，
Bitcoin prices touched an all time high of $50，000 in February 2021。 Apparently the highest it has ever been - $57，489。10 - the day I started reading this book。 All in all， what an educational， thrilling， wild rollercoaster of a ride。 And good timing too， with a digital rupee in the works， a digital yuan in circulation， and a prospective ban on bitcoin and other private cryptocurrencies in India。 "It's not just a thing， it's a phenomenon。" - Susan Athey Up until few days ago when I read about th Bitcoin prices touched an all time high of $50，000 in February 2021。 Apparently the highest it has ever been - $57，489。10 - the day I started reading this book。 All in all， what an educational， thrilling， wild rollercoaster of a ride。 And good timing too， with a digital rupee in the works， a digital yuan in circulation， and a prospective ban on bitcoin and other private cryptocurrencies in India。 "It's not just a thing， it's a phenomenon。" - Susan Athey Up until few days ago when I read about the crypto regulation bill in India， I hadn’t thought about the larger implications of bitcoin - and what it means in a world with increasing government oversight and decreasing rights to privacy。 So while this book was a pretty good primer for the tech， it also helps to see what the tech represents in a world like ours， at a time like ours。 This is undoubtedly my favorite kind of book。 Amazing things happening - when， how， but most importantly， why。 The whys are nearly always the most important factor in any invention。 Something happens and that's great， but who made it happen and why did he （and apparently it was a he all throughout this book， with the sole， tiny mention of Susan Athey， who is the Economics of Technology professor at Stanford） want to？ Bitcoin here trascends from merely being an invention born out of necessity and represents a larger cause that resonates with a lot of people for a lot of reasons - and ends up being something that is much more grander than just the sum of all these individual， human parts。 My favorite person in the book was Wences Casares， an Argentinian tech entrepreneur。 His story leads us to the economy of Argentina， a point of interest for me。 Casares' vision for bitcoin is shaped by his childhood in a country that is in a league of its own in terms of economy - in Simon Kuznets' words。 Casares in an interview describes his memories of childhood as "not an economic or financial memory but an emotional one"。 Every page of this book revolving around this man was a learning experience for me， and I look forward to getting to know him more。 Hopefully， someday soon， he'll think about writing a book （and there's plenty to write about， including Argentina， bitcoin， and money itself！） "It came to seem that the people who wanted Bitcoin to do the least for them were the ones who were managing to do the most for Bitcoin。" Another such person was Hal Finney， who died in 2014。 One of my most valuable lessons from him was: "when Hal found something interesting， he didn’t just passively read up on it" There was also Ben Reeves - "a reclusive young man" - who only gets about half a page， but intrigued me enough to Google about him。 He created blockchain。info which reflected the essence of bitcoin， so to say， in my opinion - unintrusive and convenient。 Goes without saying that my list of these people includes Satoshi Nakamoto。 What I definitely would have liked was a little insight into the govt's perspective as well - to round off the 'Misfits and Millionaires'。 Apart from the federal investigation for SilkRoute and a couple of other such instances， there is very little which indicates how this cryptocurrency bounced off of govt sensibilities。 There are hints about how the govt worked in countries like China and U。 S。 - how regulators differed in their approach and how the market worked in response。 What would have been interesting is to see what they "thought" of， and not merely what they "did"。 The book mentions Preet Bharara， US Attorney， for example， and upon further search， there's an article that I bookmarked which is titled: The Most Dangerous Man In Bitcoin Isn’t A Criminal。 To circle back， I'm glad now I know （maybe not all of what is going but significantly more than I knew before） what the btc articles are talking about。 And I have all these people and their ideas and their aspirations backing all that technology。 And I finally understand the Mt。 Gox meme Elon Musk posted on Twitter。 。。。more
Colton Connor
，
Do you know you can make $10，000 in Bitcoin mining with just investment of $1，300 Ask me How on WhatsApp:+1 （253） 316-4579
JeremyDanger
，
A story like a rollercoaster regarding one of the most exciting innovations of the last two decades。 Entertaining and informative。
Sisi
，
4。3Entertaining description of the beginnings of Bitcoin as well as arguments for and against。
Ricky
，
The only book to understand bitcoin in the most humane way！
Miguel Mota
，
Really enjoyed learning about the origins of Bitcoin。 It's an incredible story worth reading。 Really enjoyed learning about the origins of Bitcoin。 It's an incredible story worth reading。 。。。more
Katherine Burd
，
This book served the purpose I wanted it to， in that it helped me understand what blockchain is and Bitcoin is and what the affordances and limitations of the technology are。 Popper， for his part， does a masterful job taking what really isn’t a very exciting story （lots of wealthy men in Tahoe， systems crashing and being resurrected， men men men） and makes it about as compelling as it could be， while educating the reader along the way。 This really is “chapter one of Bitcoin，” and it really serve This book served the purpose I wanted it to， in that it helped me understand what blockchain is and Bitcoin is and what the affordances and limitations of the technology are。 Popper， for his part， does a masterful job taking what really isn’t a very exciting story （lots of wealthy men in Tahoe， systems crashing and being resurrected， men men men） and makes it about as compelling as it could be， while educating the reader along the way。 This really is “chapter one of Bitcoin，” and it really serves to just get more people on the same page。I’d say that now I’m Bitcoin-optimistic， but largely for its opportunity as a way to remove international barriers that perpetuate inequality。 Clearly， though， this is one side of the operation， as the story points out that the desire of many to make boatloads of money distracts from the do-gooder types （aka me）。 According to this book， Bitcoin has a way of selling itself to just about anyone; if you’re appealing to everyone， doesn’t that really mean you’re nothing at your core？ Perhaps that’s the appeal， as Bitcoin is— on a metaphysical level— as close to nothing （ether， vapor， signs and symbols） as anything。 For this reason， it’ll be endlessly interesting， but perhaps not the beacon for the future that the men who’ve accelerated it feel that it should so simply be。 。。。more
Alex Gracia
，
Simply amazing how it describes the story of bitcoin。 Is a MUST to understand the origins and how it evolved。
Paul Gover
，
The best book I've read coving the birth and direction of Bitcoin the future of money。 Should be a must-read in every Economics class。 Pick This Book Up！！！ The best book I've read coving the birth and direction of Bitcoin the future of money。 Should be a must-read in every Economics class。 Pick This Book Up！！！ 。。。more
Murtaza
，
A journalistic account of the early days of Bitcoin which is very light on technical analysis of the currency and its sociological implications but effectively conveys the Wild West atmosphere that reigned during its earliest years。 Having read a few such accounts now there was not much in here that was wildly new， although it was an enjoyable read。 One thing that did stand out， which the author surfaced through research， was that Alan Greenspan had predicted in the 1990s that globalization and A journalistic account of the early days of Bitcoin which is very light on technical analysis of the currency and its sociological implications but effectively conveys the Wild West atmosphere that reigned during its earliest years。 Having read a few such accounts now there was not much in here that was wildly new， although it was an enjoyable read。 One thing that did stand out， which the author surfaced through research， was that Alan Greenspan had predicted in the 1990s that globalization and the internet might see the emergence of a new currency suitable for its needs。 Private currencies did exist for many years in the U。S。 and were viewed as cash， with the U。S。 dollar's hegemony over the country and later the planet coming only later。 One of the most fascinating potentials of Bitcoin is to somewhat weaken this stranglehold。 This book describes Argentinian billionaire's Wences Casares interest in the currency precisely because of his upbringing in a country wracked by the constant upheavals of inflation。 When the U。S。 dollar is treated as gold by billions of people， a safe asset that stores the value of their savings， it gives an incredible power to the U。S。 government。 But it also greatly endangers non-citizens who are put in the position of having their wealth held by a country where they have no rights。 The U。S。 dollar serves flawlessly the three major needs of money: it is a store of value， a measure to price goods， and a medium of exchange。 It is still early days for Bitcoin but to be honest as yet it does not fully fill any of those three roles， with the first one perhaps where it comes closest。 As such it could indeed replace gold， and be the substitute precious metal suitable for a digital age。 For that to happen we would have to create cultural valorization of the currency similar to what was created for gold over many millennia， treating it as an important marker of something beyond just a few lines of code on a protocol。Aside from Casares another interesting part of the book deal with Silk Road， and its founder Ross Ulbricht who is now serving life in prison for helping facilitate drug transactions。 Bitcoin was once naturally suitable for criminals， but like many things that began on the margins is gradually becoming legitimate。 This book is about the people who got in on the true ground floor， culminating with Marc Andreesen's famous NYT op-ed defending the currency。 The book deserves a follow up， though its tough given how events are moving。 。。。more
LALa
，
An interesting read， I understood this to be more of the origin story and overall background to Bitcoin。 The story kind of played out a bit glamorized in some respects with maybe a bit of fanboying going on。 It was amusing and unsurprising to read some of the descriptions of a handful of the guys involved as sort of your stereotypical gamer and/or computer geek with a Japanese fetish。 It also illustrated just how easily seemingly random white dudes with ideas will be invested in/supported （wheth An interesting read， I understood this to be more of the origin story and overall background to Bitcoin。 The story kind of played out a bit glamorized in some respects with maybe a bit of fanboying going on。 It was amusing and unsurprising to read some of the descriptions of a handful of the guys involved as sort of your stereotypical gamer and/or computer geek with a Japanese fetish。 It also illustrated just how easily seemingly random white dudes with ideas will be invested in/supported （whether they actually know what they're doing or not （many did not）） and while some certainly screwed up with less than favorable outcomes， most still found or maintained support within the Bitcoin-y Internet world。 There were some neat concepts expressed， though it seems evident that while the initial intentions of Bitcoin were。。。 noble （and a few old school people are probably still trying to adhere to those ideals）， that it's just become another way for some elites to stay elitist （or randos to become elites）。 I was curious about it and whether it was worth looking into， because banks are kind of the devil， but *shrugs* also from a more current understanding Bitcoin is not exactly sustainable。Anywho no regrets， and Popper handled the content well， and also the Technical Appendix？ was a nice refresher and breakdown of the particulars in how Bitcoin operates（ed）。 。。。more
Julian
，
History of bitcoin until the fall of Mt。 Gox exchange in 2014。 We need sequel for bitcoin rally at 2017 and 2020。
Kayla
，
This book is on multiple cryptocurrency must read lists for a reason。 It is packed full of well written cryptocurrency history and knowledge。 Since I started this book， I have recommended it to all of my friends that are interested in crypto and have found myself quoting it often。 Highly recommend！
Panayiotis Theiakos
，
A great piece of contemporary socio-economic history and investigative journalism。
Tim
，
Great history of Bitcoin founding， growth and stumble。
Tom
，
A good read， but stopped at 250 pages。 Didn’t need that level of detail。 Still， interesting subject， and well written。
Nishit
，
This book is the awe inspiring story of how Bitcoin came into being。 Of how a small fringe of people during the early Internet days spent an inordinate amount of time。 Time discussing a kind of "currency" that would be free from all sorts of government regulations。 Of how they lost hope after innumerable exchanges among themselves。 Of how some anonymous person， years later， showed up with a technology which made people hopeful of this new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin， technically free from gove This book is the awe inspiring story of how Bitcoin came into being。 Of how a small fringe of people during the early Internet days spent an inordinate amount of time。 Time discussing a kind of "currency" that would be free from all sorts of government regulations。 Of how they lost hope after innumerable exchanges among themselves。 Of how some anonymous person， years later， showed up with a technology which made people hopeful of this new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin， technically free from government intervention and decentralized at its core。Bitcoin is not here to make you dollars。 It's here to replace it。 As someone on the internet rightly pointed out that you don't become rich off of Bitcoin， you become free。 And that's a better incentive any day。 。。。more
Darren
，
From the anonymity of Satoshi Nakamoto; to the brilliance of Roger Ver; to the versatility of Erik Voorhees; the hustle of Wences Casares; the double-life of Ross Ulbricht （Dread Pirate Roberts）， and the early intuition of the Winklevoss twins， this book brings a detailed outlook on the early startups， foundations， and the online drug marketplace that restructured the notion of cryptocurrencies。 Anyone with a clear cognizance of the technology behind bitcoin—the blockchain， will garner a newfoun From the anonymity of Satoshi Nakamoto; to the brilliance of Roger Ver; to the versatility of Erik Voorhees; the hustle of Wences Casares; the double-life of Ross Ulbricht （Dread Pirate Roberts）， and the early intuition of the Winklevoss twins， this book brings a detailed outlook on the early startups， foundations， and the online drug marketplace that restructured the notion of cryptocurrencies。 Anyone with a clear cognizance of the technology behind bitcoin—the blockchain， will garner a newfound appreciation for the technology forecasted to shape the world。 If you despair of a world behind a peer-to-peer， trustless， "libertarian" way of reinventing the corrupt financial system， then this book isn't for you。 。。。more
Oindrila Chakraborty
，
Journey of what bitcoin is。 It felt like an exciting story。
Joel Everett
，
Part adventure， part biography， part true crime - this fascinating look at the initial beginnings of Bitcoin was captivating。 A variety of ideals and different personalities come into play in creating a new technology which will be as disruptive in the long term to the financial sector as Amazon has been to consumer retail。
Adam
，