Saifedean Ammous, PHD, is a bitcoin-focused independent economist, author, and educator. On his website saifedean.com, he teaches bitcoin and economics classes in the Austrian school tradition.

In 2008, a pseudonymous programmer offered "a new electronic payment system that's totally peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party" to a small internet mailing group. Despite all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software presents an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to current central banks ten years later. The Bitcoin Standard examines the historical context of Bitcoin's growth, the economic qualities that have allowed it to grow rapidly, and the anticipated economic, political, and social repercussions.

While Bitcoin is a digital-age innovation, the problem it seeks to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Author Saifedean Ammous takes the reader on a fascinating tour through the history of money-making technology, from early trading networks using limestones and seashells to metals, coins, the gold standard, and present government debt. Exploring what gave these technologies their monetary role, and how most of them lost it, gives the reader a good idea of what makes for sound money, and sets the stage for an economic discussion of its implications for individual and societal future-orientation, capital accumulation, trade, peace, culture, and art. Ammous convincingly demonstrates that the loftiest achievements of humanity have occurred in cultures that have benefited from sound monetary systems, and that monetary collapse has frequently accompanied civilizational collapse.

With this foundation established, the book proceeds to explain the working of Bitcoin in a functional and intuitive manner. Bitcoin is a decentralized, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into undeniably correct records, letting its users to use the Internet to fulfill traditional monetary activities without having to rely on or trust any physical authorities or infrastructure. As a result, Bitcoin is best understood as the first effectively deployed type of digital cash and hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy, as well as the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the globe in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin's true competitive advantage may simply be as a store of value and network for the final settlement of large paymentsa digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure.

Ammous' excellent understanding of both technological potential and historical realities of monetary evolution makes for an intriguing investigation of the repercussions of voluntary free market money. Bitcoin, by challenging the most sacrosanct of government monopolies, pushes the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments and toward individuals, allowing us the enticing potential of a world where money is completely free of politics and borders.

The book's last chapter delves into some of the most frequently asked topics about Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining an inefficient use of resources? Is Bitcoin used by criminals? Who owns Bitcoin, and can they modify it whenever they want? How can Bitcoin be eradicated? And what to make of the dozens of Bitcoin forks and ostensibly useful implementations of Bitcoin's "block chain technology"? The Bitcoin Standard is a must-read for anybody interested in the growth of the Internet's decentralized, apolitical, free-market alternative to state central banks.

Author: Saifedean Ammous

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/dp/1119473861/

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 4882 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #2,256 in Books

#1 in Business Entrepreneurship

#1 in Banking (Books)

#1 in Money & Monetary Policy (Books)

Daniel Drescher is a seasoned banking specialist who has worked at a variety of banks in electronic security trading. His recent activities have centered on security trading automation, machine learning, and big data. Daniel earned a Doctorate in Econometrics from the Technical University of Berlin and an MSc in Software Engineering from the University of Oxford, among other qualifications.

You will understand the fundamentals of blockchain technology in 25 short stages. There are no mathematical formulas, program code, or computer science jargon. There is no prerequisite knowledge in computer science, mathematics, programming, or cryptography. Terminology is explained using illustrations, analogies, and metaphors.

Blockchain Basics bridges the gap between exclusively technical blockchain publications and purely business-focused blockchain books. It accomplishes this by describing the technical elements that comprise the blockchain as well as their function in business-relevant applications.

What You'll Discover:

• What exactly is blockchain?
• Why is it required, and what problem does it solve?
• Why is there so much buzz about blockchain and its potential?
• The main components and their functions
• Limitations, why they exist, and what has been done to overcome them Limitations, how various components of the blockchain work and interact
• Significant application scenarios

Everyone who wants to understand what blockchain technology is, how it works, and how it may transform the financial system as we know it.

Author: Daniel Drescher

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Blockchain-Basics-Non-Technical-Introduction-Steps/dp/1484226038/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 553 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #27,172 in Books

#1 in Network Storage & Retrieval Administration

#2 in Artificial Intelligence Expert Systems

#2 in Banking (Books)

Campbell R. Harvey, PHD, is a Duke University Distinguished Professor of Finance and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Dragonfly Capital's General Partner is Ashwin Ramachandran. He is a Duke University graduate. Fei Labs was founded by Joey Santoro . He is a Duke University graduate.

Governments bailed out the very institutions that had harmed the economy. This incident prompted a thorough rethinking of our financial structure. Does it make sense that a stock transaction takes two days to settle? Why should businesses, which operate on razor-thin margins, have to pay 3% for every credit card swipe from a customer? Why does transferring money from a bank account to a brokerage—or any other company—take two days? Why are savings rates so low or even negative? Why are traditional banks making it so tough for startups to obtain financing?

Campbell R. Harvey, Ashwin Ramachandran, and Joey Santoro introduce the new world of DeFi and the Future of Finance in DeFi and the Future of Finance. The book contends that the current financial landscape is ripe for disruption, and that we are witnessing the reinvention of finance in real time.

The writers give the reader a thorough appraisal of the current financial system's flaws and how DeFi solves many of them. The basis of DeFi is that we interact with peers—there is no brick and mortar and all of the expenditures that go along with it. Savings and lending are being reimagined. Trading is done with algorithms that are far apart from traditional brokerages.

The book delves into some of the most cutting-edge protocols, including Uniswap and Compound. Many of the businesses included in the book you may not have heard of, but you will in the future.

As with any new technology, there are a plethora of hazards, which the writers meticulously list and determine which can be successfully addressed.

DeFi and the Future of Finance provides readers with a glimpse of the future and is ideal for anyone working in any section of the finance industry as well as financial policymakers. Over the next decade, the financial sector will be dramatically altered. The book teaches you how to become a part of the disruption rather than a victim of it.

Author: Campbell R. Harvey, Ashwin Ramachandran and Joey Santoro

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/DeFi-Future-Finance-Campbell-Harvey/dp/1119836018/

Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 stars (from 290 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #49,830 in Books

#3 in Banking (Books)

#19 in Web Encryption

#20 in Computer Cryptography

Carol Coye Benson's practice at Glenbrook is focused on mobile payments, national infrastructures, and developing financial technology. Carol was a managing director at Deutsche Bank's Global Institutional Services division before launching Glenbrook Partners, where she oversaw marketing, client online services, and Internet development.

Carol Coye Benson's practice at Glenbrook is focused on mobile payments, national infrastructures, and developing financial technology. Carol was a managing director at Deutsche Bank's Global Institutional Services division before launching Glenbrook Partners, where she oversaw marketing, client online services, and Internet development.

Russ Jones has over 30 years of expertise as an executive, analyst, and consultant to his clients. He is a commercial Internet technology pioneer with a strong history in payments market analysis, strategy creation, and product conceptualization.

Payments Systems in the U.S. is a detailed overview of the payment systems (cards, cheques, ACH, wires, and cash) that transport money between and among consumers and businesses in the United States. The writers explain how payment systems function, how they evolved, who uses them, who provides them, who profits from them, and how they are evolving in clear and colorful writing in Cryptography. Anyone working in the payments sector or using payment solutions can benefit from understanding this. Among the best books on banking, the third edition includes a glossary of industry terminology, updated information about each system, and adds a chapter on payments innovation.

Author: Carol Coye Benson, Scott Loftesness and Russ Jones

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Payments-Systems-U-S-Third-Professional/dp/0982789742/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 161 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #59,091 in Books

#3 in Banking Law (Books)

#5 in Banking (Books)

#28 in Retailing Industry (Books)

Joshua Rosenbaum is a Managing Director in the Global Industrial Group of UBS Investment Bank. He provides advice, structures, and initiates M&A, corporate finance, and capital market deals. He formerly worked in the World Bank's direct investment section, the International Finance Corporation. He obtained his AB from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School with Baker Scholar honors.

Joshua Pearl is a Director in Leveraged Finance at UBS Investment Bank. He is responsible for the origination, structuring, and execution of leveraged loan and high yield bond financings, as well as leveraged buyouts and restructurings. He formerly worked in Capital Markets at Moelis & Company and Leveraged Finance at Deutsche Bank. He earned his bachelor's degree in business from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

A solid technical foundation is a crucial tool for success in the ever-changing world of finance. However, due to the fast-paced nature of this environment, no one has been able to fully codify the lifeblood of the corporate financier's work—namely, valuation. Rosenbaum and Pearl have filled this void by writing the book they wished existed when they were trying to break into Wall Street.

Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions is a highly accessible and authoritative book that focuses on the primary valuation methodologies currently used on Wall Street—comparison companies, precedent transactions, discounted cash flow, and leveraged buyout analysis. These valuation approaches are utilized in the context of M&A transactions, LBOs, IPOs, restructurings, and investment decisions for both public and private enterprises. Throughout the book, the writers create a historical knowledge base and define essential terms, financial concepts, and processes using a step-by-step how-to approach for each methodology. They also provide an in-depth examination of the principles of LBOs as well as an organized M&A sale process.

Following the subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent credit crunch, the world of finance is returning to valuation and key due diligence basics. This entails using more realistic assumptions to govern risk management as well as a diverse set of value drivers. While valuation has always included a significant amount of "art" as well as time-tested "science," the artistry is always altering in response to market developments and conditions. This book is particularly timely in this regard since, in addition to outlining the technical fundamentals of valuation, the authors incorporate practical judgment skills and perspective to help guide the science.

Author: Joshua Rosenbaum and Joshua Pearl

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/0470442204/

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 206 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #66,887 in Books

#6 in Banking (Books)

#18 in Consolidation & Merger

#34 in Business Finance

Scarlett Sieber is the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Money20/20, the world's largest gathering place for the fintech industry. She is a Senior Advisor to NASA and has a distinguished career in financial services and technology. She is a frequent contributor for Forbes and The Financial Brand.

Sophie Guibaud is the co-founder and Chief Commercial and Growth Officer of Fiat Republic, a banking and payments API for crypto platforms that focuses on compliance. She is a pioneer in embedded finance, having spent the previous 10 years building and implementing the go-to-market strategy for Banking-as-a-Service and embedded financial offerings across multiple industries.

Scarlett Sieber and Sophie Guibaud, professional growth strategists, entrepreneurs, and fintech disruptors, provide a thought-provoking and page-turning conversation on the most powerful and exciting trend in fintech yet: embedded finance, in Embedded Finance: When Payments Become An Experience. In the book, you'll learn about the past, present, and future of fintech, from how industry heavyweights like Google and Amazon are using embedded finance to supercharge their customers' experiences to the offerings of smaller, niche players poised to dominate their own corners of the market as they address unmet customer needs.

The writers present the following:

• Practical examples from around the world of how technology businesses and brands are using embedded finance to alter our online and offline shopping experiences as we know them.
• The essential trends, actors, and technology that are paving the road for integrated finance to take over our lives.
• The role, opportunities, and strategies for banks, technology businesses, and brands, including the tools required to develop their own embedded finance plan.
• The impact of embedded finance on society, consumers, businesses, and the economy as a whole, stressing embedded finance as a dominant force for our future.
• An amazing vision of how our daily lives will appear in 2030, fueled by integrated finance

Among the best books on banking, Embedded Finance is an indispensable and eye-opening exploration of one of the most exciting and influential technologies in development today. It details a financial services, banking, and technology revolution that has already begun.

Author: Scarlett Sieber and Sophie Guibaud

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Embedded-Finance-Payments-Become-Experience/dp/1119891051/

Ratings: 5.0 out of 5 stars (from 3 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #75,551 in Books

#7 in Banking (Books)

#73 in Banks & Banking (Books)

#81 in Venture Capital (Books)

Jerome McCluskey is a partner in Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy's New York office and a member of the firm's Leveraged Finance Group. Michael Bellucci is a partner in Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy's New York office and a member of the firm's Leveraged Finance Group.

The syndicated loan market and underlying credit agreements are significantly more complex today than ever before. The art of corporate loan syndications, loan trading, and investing in this asset class has altered substantially since the global financial crisis. Lenders are becoming more varied, borrowers are becoming more demanding, and rules are becoming more strict. As a result, the credit agreement has evolved, with many new terms and several adjustments to existing ones.

The LSTA's Complete Credit Agreement Guide educates you on today's credit agreements and assists you in navigating these complex instruments. This comprehensive handbook has been completely updated to reflect seven years of significant upheaval that has all but altered the credit sector as we know it. It covers everything you need to know about these new developments, such as what to look for in large sponsor-driven deals, the rise of "covenant lite" agreements for corporate borrowers looking for fewer covenant restrictions, Yankee Loans, other products resulting from globalization, and other product developments driven by investor diversification.

You'll benefit from the authors' comprehensive examination of today's credit agreements, as well as their advice on how to safeguard your loan, manage defaults, and handle cross-border transactions. This trustworthy manual includes:

• Commitments, Loans, and Letters of Credit
• Interest and Fees
• Amortization and Maturity
• Conditions Precedent
• Representations
• Covenants
• Guarantees and Security
• Defaults and Enforcement
• Interlender, Voting, and Agency issues
• Defaulting Lenders
• Assignments, Participations, and Disqualified Lender ListsBorrower Rights
• Regulatory Developments

Credit agreement structuring and management has always been a challenging procedure, but it is now more intricate than ever. Whether you work for a syndicated lending company, a bank, a hedge fund, a pension fund, an insurance company, or another financial institution, the LSTA's Complete Credit Agreement Guide keeps you ahead of the curve in today's credit landscape.

Author: Jerome McCluskey and Michael Bellucci

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/LSTAs-Complete-Credit-Agreement-Second/dp/1259644863/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 40 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #78,619 in Books

#8 in Banking (Books)

#13 in Financial Interest

#22 in Accounting (Books)

Brett King is an international bestselling author, recognized commentator, and well-known business futurist. He has spoken to over a million people in over 50 countries about how technology is disrupting business, changing behavior, and affecting society. He advised the Obama White House, the Federal Reserve, and the National Economic Council on the future of banking in the United States, and he consults with governments and authorities worldwide.

Bank 4.0 investigates the fundamental transformation that is already occurring in banking and pursues it to its logical conclusion. What will the banking industry look like in 30 years? 50 years? The world's greatest banks have been pushed to adjust to new consumer behaviors; regulators are reconsidering friction, licensing, and regulation; and Fintech start-ups and tech titans are reimagining how banking integrates into consumers' daily lives. Banks must develop new competencies, jobs, and skills in order to survive. The future of banking is incorporated in voice-based smart assistants like Alexa and Siri, as well as soon smart glasses, which will guide you on everyday spending and money decisions. In the impending Bank 4.0 era, your bank will either be technologically integrated in your environment or it will cease to exist.

In this last chapter of Brett King's BANK series, we investigate the future of banks in the face of technological innovation and discover a revolution already underway. Bank 4.0 demonstrates that we are no longer on Wall Street, with re-engineered banking systems, selfie-pay, and self-driving cars. Among the best books on banking, Bank 4.0 will assist you in the following ways:

• Recognize the historical parallels that point to a fundamental shift in finance.
• Discover low-friction technological experiences that undercut today's products.
• Consider the evolution of identity, value, and possessions as cash and credit cards become outdated.
• Learn how Fintech and digital "disruptors" are reshaping banking economics through behavior, psychology, and technology.
• Examine how blockchain, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and other cutting-edge technologies are laying the groundwork for the future of banking systems.

If you look at specific technology or businesses disrupting the space, you may overlook the most important signs of the future, as well as the fact that most of what we've learned about banking over the last 700 years is no longer relevant.

When the world's largest bank isn't any of the names you'd anticipate, branch networks are a burden rather than an asset, and advising is the domain of Artificial Intelligence, we may have to start from scratch. Bank 4.0 transports you to a future where banking is instant, smart, and omnipresent, and where you must adapt faster than ever before in order to survive.

Author: Brett King

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Bank-4-0-Banking-Everywhere-Never/dp/1119506506/

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 334 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #98,364 in Books

#9 in Banking (Books)

#60 in Business Planning & Forecasting (Books)

#97 in Banks & Banking (Books)

Robert Z. Aliber is Emeritus Professor of International Economics and Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in the United States. He was the director of the Center for Studies in International Finance, a member of the research staff for the Committee for Economic Development and the Commission on Money and Credit, and a senior economic counselor for the United States Department of State's Agency for Economic Development.

For 33 years, Charles P. Kindleberger was the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT and the author of nearly 30 books. He was best recognized as a financial historian, dubbed "the maestro of the field" on financial crises by the Economist.

Following the most recent global market crises, this seventh edition of an investment classic has been substantially reworked and enlarged. Renowned economist Robert Z. Aliber proposes that recent global financial crises are not isolated events, but rather symptoms of fundamental instability in the international economy.

Kindleberger is deadly serious beneath the amusing anecdotes, exquisite epigrams, and graceful turns of words. To him, the way humans earn their living is no funny matter, especially when they try to do it at the expense of one another. As he so convincingly explains, manias, panics, and collapses are the result of an economic system that fosters cupidity, chicanery, and rapacity rather than a fervent belief in the Golden Rule. In Manias, Panics, and Crashes, the volatility of 2007-8 reminded us, all too vividly, that financial crises do not occur in remote times and locations. The story is brought right up to date in this new version of Charlie Kindleberger's classic study of man's recurrent financial follies, updated by Robert Aliber. A wealth of knowledge not only for finance and economics students, but also for central bankers and financial market practitioners

Author: Robert Z. Aliber and Charles P. Kindleberger

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Manias-Panics-Crashes-History-Financial/dp/1137525754/

Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 stars (from 208 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #101,268 in Books

#10 in Banking (Books)

#15 in Macroeconomics (Books)

#72 in Business Finance

PAG, a major private equity firm, is led by Weijian Shan as Chairman and CEO. Previously, he was a partner at TPG and co-managing partner of TPG-Asia (previously known as Newbridge Capital), a managing director at JP Morgan, and a Wharton School professor. He received his MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as his MBA from the University of San Francisco. He is the bestselling author of the memoir Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America.

Money Games by Weijian Shan is the compelling story of one of the most successful buyout deals in history: the American firm Newbridge Capital's acquisition and turnaround of what was formerly Korea's largest bank.

This insider's narrative, full of mystery and suspense, is told by the deal's principal architect, acclaimed author and private equity investor Weijian Shan. With billions of dollars on the line and the country's economic future at stake, Newbridge Capital aimed to become the first foreign corporation in history to acquire control of one of Korea's most beloved financial institutions.

In a proud country still recovering from a humiliating IMF bailout during the Asian Financial Crisis, Newbridge Capital needed every ounce of talent, determination, and patience to bring the acquisition to completion.

Shan takes readers inside the battle for control of the bank, a complex, often infuriating process that involved balancing Newbridge's interests with those of the government, bank employees, and Korea's powerful industrial titans.

Finally, the author describes how Newbridge converted the faltering bank into a brilliant example of modern banking—as well as a highly profitable venture. Few buyouts have been written about with such clarity, precision, and insight in the private equity world—and none with such thoroughness, covering not only the dealmaking but also the change and final exit of the investment.

Money Games is a must-read for everyone who has ever pondered how private equity investors find bargains, turn around businesses, and generate enormous value—or anybody interested in a compelling story of high-stakes money-making. It is regarded as one of the best books on banking.

Author: Weijian Shan

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Money-Games-Inside-American-Dealmakers/dp/1119736986/

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 77 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #121,175 in Books

#14 in Banking (Books)

#18 in International Business (Books)

#42 in Private Equity (Books)