Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies

A list of resources related to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, including the startups in this space.

Bitcoin Price

CoinGecko - Prices for the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin Educational Resources

The Original Bitcoin Whitepaper
Sets out the proposal for Bitcoin as a Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. It's only 9 pages long but well worth reading as it sets out the mathematical principles of how Bitcoin can be trusted without needing a trusted third party (i.e. traditional financial institution).

Bitcoin Coding and Development

As Bitcoin is decentralised, it can be hard for beginners to establish the authoritative sources of information for learning about Bitcoin coding. The authoritative source of information is really the source code on GitHub, and you can join the weekly Pull Request review meetings, which are attended by Bitcoin Core developers (see links below). Other useful resources for developers are given below.

BitcoinCore
The open source project which maintains and releases the Bitcoin client software, called Bitcoin Core.

Bitcoin Source Code on github

Bitcoin Pull Request Review Club | @BitcoinCorePRs
A weekly review club that meets on IRC on Wednesdays at 17:00 UTC.

Onboarding to Bitcoin Core provided by a Chaincode Labs GitHub Repository

Bitcoin.org
The first Bitcoin website, managed by the Bitcoin core developers. This provides an introduction, FAQ and resources for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Developer Documentation
Learn Bitcoin and and start building Bitcoin-based applications with these resources from the bitcoin.org website.

Bitcoin Developer Documentation - Doxygen Repository

Bitcoin on Stack Exchange

Bitcoin Wiki
For Bitcoin information and definitions. Maintained by the Bitcoin community.

Concepts of Cyphers and Digital Signatures
From GnuPG.org.

Chaincode Labs
A privately funded Bitcoin research and development centre in Midtown Manhatten, New York set up solely to support and develop Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Communities

BitcoinTalk.org
Bitcoin Forum.

Bitcoin Reddit Community

Bitcoin Communities - Listed by the Bitcoin Developers
Online communities where you can discuss Bitcoin.

Other Bitcoin Resource Collections

Bitcoin Resources from Jameson Lopp
A good list of Bitcoin resources from Bitcoin specialist Jameson Lopp, including technical resources, online courses, documentaries, blogs and discussion forums.

A List of Academic Papers on Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology on Google Docs

Bitcoin Wallets

Introduction to Wallets from the Bitcoin Developer Guide

Advice on Choosing a Bitcoin Wallet from Bitcoin.org

Blockchain | @blockchain
The world's most popular Bitcoin wallet.

Electrum Bitcoin Wallet | @ElectrumWallet

Bitcoin Books

Digital Gold: The Untold Story of Bitcoin by Nathaniel Popper
A book by New York Times technology and business report Nathaniel Popper telling the fascinating story of Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous

Bitcoin Trading Data

glassnode | @glassnode

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Coinbase | @coinbase
Major US Bitcoin exchange with VC backing from the likes of Andressen Horowitz, Y Combinator and Adam Draper. Provides an easy way to buy Bitcoin.

Gemini Crypto Exchange | @gemini
Aims to build products that are simple, elegant, and secure, to help you buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. Founded by the Winklevoss twins with an ethos of "asking for permission, not forgiveness", this is a New York trust company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Kraken
US Bitcoin Exchange. Founded by Jesse Powell who has a background in digital assets for online multi-player fantasy games. Kraken has a policy of obtaining regulatory approval. Kraken has achieved regulatory approval as a Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) in the state of Wyoming. See also Kraken licenses.

Binance
One of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. 200 staff, making good profits (reference). CEO is Changpeng Zhao. HQ in Malta. No major regulatory approval.

ShapeShift
Exchange for converting digital currencies, e.g. Bitcoin to Litecoin. CEO is Erik Vorhees @ErikVoorhees

Poloniex

Bitstamp
A Bitcoin exchange based in Luxembourg that allows trading between USD and Bitcoin. The company was founded as a European-focused alternative to the then-dominant bitcoin exchange Mt Gox. See Wikipedia entry.

Bitso
Mexican Bitcoin exchange.

Bitfinex
Crypto exchange, registered in British Virgin Islands, operates from Hong Kong. No major regulatory approval.

Consumer Finance Companies Offering Bitcoin

Circle.com
Consumer finance company focused on transforming the world economy with secure, simple, and less costly technology for storing and using money. They're excited about Bitcoin and digital currency.

LocalBitcoins.com
A site where you can trade your local currency with other people for Bitcoins.

Bittylicious
Offers a Bitcoin trading service for the UK.

CoinCorner
Offers a service for buying Bitcoins online. Based in the Isle of Man.

Xapo
A mobile banking app with Bitcoin integration. Based in Gibraltar.

Abra
A mobile app crypto platform for users to maximise the potential of their assets. Buy, sell, trade and earn interest on crypto.

Bitcoin Videos and Documentaries

Bitcoin Documentary "Why Do Banks Fear Bitcoin?"
This is a good introduction to Bitcoin as a currency.

Bitcoin Payment Processors

BitPay.com
Bitcoin payment processor for merchants.
BitPay payment demo.

Bitcoin People

Max Keiser @maxkeiser
Co-presenter of the Keiser Report on Russia Today. Ex-Wall St stockbroker and early Bitcoin advocate.

Stacy Herbert @stacyherbert
Co-presenter of the Keiser Report on Russia Today. Economic commentator and Bitcoin advocate.

Jimmy Song @jimmysony
Bitcoin educator.

Ivan on Tech YouTube Channel
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency commentator and educator. Daily YouTube video show called Good Morning Crypto.

Balaji S. Srinivasan @balajis ex Andreessen Horowitz

Bitcoin News Sites

CoinDesk.com
Leading site for Bitcoin news and analysis.

Cointelegraph

Altcoin Price Information

CoinGecko
Gives the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Altcoins

StartCOIN | @start_coin
A crypto currency intended for use in promoting crowdfunded projects.

Blockchain and Smart Contracts

Lightning | @lightning
An open protocol layer that leverages the power of blockchains and smart contracts to make cheap, fast, private transactions available to anyone around the world. The Lightning network will be used to increase the speed of Bitcoin transactions.

BlockCypher.com | @BlockCypher
"Like Amazon webservices for blockchains".

Further Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Resources (To Be Categorised)

Bitcoin Knowledge Podcast
Top people in the Bitcoin industry are interviewed by Trace Mayer, Bitcoin expert and venture capitalist.

Credits
Platform for the rapid development of specialised blockchains. A product of Pythia Ltd, an Isle of Man company founded by CEO Nick Williamson in 2014. See Keiser Report interview.

Ripple
By establishing a universal financial protocol (the Ripple Transaction Protocol), Ripple stands to break down the walls between financial institutions.

Xstock.io
Digital currency forex platform.

factom.org
Applying Bitcoin technology to business data systems.

Coinsilium | @CoinsiliumGroup
London-based fintech company that is focused on blockchain technology and innovation.

BitWage.com
Transforming payroll using Bitcoin.

Ethereum Project
Decentralised platform for smart contracts. Open Source project.

R3 CEV
Organisation set up by big banks to look at emerging financial technologies.

BitMEX
A trading platform that offers investors access to the global financial markets using Bitcoin and financial derivatives.

Keybase
Maps your identity to your public keys, and vice versa.

dyne.org
A non-profit free software foundry that works on projects to benefit democratic societies and empower communities, and is home to some Bitcoin experts.

Bitcoin Notes

UTXO

UTXO stands for Unspent Transaction Output. It represents electronic money, as ownership of UTXO means you have money.

About Public and Private Key Pairs

A public-key cipher has a pair of keys for sending messages. Both the keys in the pair belong to the person receiving the message. One key is a public key and may be given to anybody. The other key is a private key and is kept secret by the owner. A sender can encrypt a message using the public key and once encrypted, only the receiver with the private key is able to decrypt it.

A document's digital signature is the result of applying a hash function to the document.

Key tampering is a major security weakness with public-key cryptography.

Storing Bitcoins Locally

Technically you don't store bitcoins anywhere, what you store are the keys used to access your public bitcoin addresses and sign transactions. This information is stored in a Bitcoin wallet.

Types of Bitcoin Wallet

Online wallet - This is a service provided to you by another party, and stores your private keys online. This has the convenience factor of being a service provided to you, i.e. you don't have to take care of all the technical aspects of running a Bitcoin wallet yourself. Being online, it also offers convenient access. However, technically someone else is in charge of your private keys, which means you aren't in ultimate control of your Bitcoins.

Bitcoin Online Wallet Providers

Coinbase

Circle

Blockchain