A reading list for company bitcoin treasuries

Further reading, checked 11 November 2026. This page is a short list of official texts, protocol documents and books that directors and accountants may find useful. It is education, not advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold bitcoin. There are no affiliate links. Official tax, accounting and legal rules still sit on the Sources page, which is the citation register this site relies on. If a link here conflicts with a primary source, the source wins.

Books

These titles are further reading, not advice, and not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold bitcoin. There are no affiliate links. Where a book is opinionated or speculative, the entry says so. This page makes no price claims.

Start here

• Inventing Bitcoin: The Technology Behind The First Truly Scarce and Decentralized Money Explained, by Yan Pritzker (2019). A short introduction to how bitcoin works, written for a general reader. The official book site was no longer serving a live page when we checked it on 11 November 2026; the link is a snapshot of that site. inventingbitcoin.com (Wayback Machine, 18 January 2021).
• Bitcoin is for Everyone, by Natalie Brunell (Harriman House, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, 18 November 2025). An accessible introduction to bitcoin and to problems in the current financial system, written by a financial journalist. Education, not advice. Pan Macmillan: Bitcoin is for Everyone.

Protocol and technical

• Mastering Bitcoin, 3rd edition, by Andreas M. Antonopoulos and David A. Harding, published as an open source repository. github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook. This is a protocol reference that explains how bitcoin works, including how wallets work. It is not a custody recommendation. For a company treasury, see our custody guides, which start from multisig.
• Mastering the Lightning Network, by Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Olaoluwa Osuntokun and René Pickhardt. First edition published on 21 December 2021 by O'Reilly Media, with an open manuscript in the same way as Mastering Bitcoin. github.com/lnbook/lnbook. A protocol reference on the Lightning Network, a second-layer payment protocol that runs on top of bitcoin. It is not a recommendation that a company should use Lightning.
• The Internet of Money, a series of collected talks by Andreas M. Antonopoulos (Volume One, Volume Two and Volume Three are listed on the author's series page). An introduction to why people find bitcoin interesting, rather than a technical manual. aantonop.com/books/iom/.

Money and economics

• The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking, by Saifedean Ammous (Wiley, 2018). An economic history and an argument for sound money. The book is opinionated, so treat it as further reading, not advice. This page makes no price claims. Wiley: The Bitcoin Standard.
• The Fiat Standard, by Saifedean Ammous. A discussion of the fiat monetary system, by the same author. It is opinionated. The publisher page we opened does not state a first publication year, so none is given here. The Saif House: The Fiat Standard.
• Broken Money, by Lyn Alden (originally published August 2023, according to the author's page). An account of the evolution of money, looking at it through the lens of technology. The live author page returned a captcha from this network; the link is a snapshot of that page. lynalden.com/broken-money/ (Wayback Machine, 11 October 2026).
• The Big Print: What Happened To America And How Sound Money Will Fix It, by Lawrence Lepard. Opinionated monetary commentary on inflation and the monetary system. The official book site we opened does not state a publication year, so none is given here. The live site did not complete a TLS handshake from this network on 11 November 2026; the link is a snapshot of that site. thebigprintbook.com (Wayback Machine, 10 May 2026).
• Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies, by Nik Bhatia. An account of how monetary systems have been organised in layers, from gold and bank money to bitcoin and central bank digital currencies. The official book site we opened carries a 2022 copyright line but does not state a first publication date, so none is given here. layeredmoney.com.
• The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is Key to an Abundant Future, by Jeff Booth. An argument about technology, deflation and how today's economic systems are designed. It is opinionated. The author's books page we opened does not state a publication year, so none is given here. jeffreybooth.com/books.

History

• The Blocksize War, by Jonathan Bier (announced on the author's site on 15 March 2021). A chronology of the 2015 to 2017 dispute over how much data a bitcoin block may contain, and over who controls the protocol rules. farside.co.uk: The Blocksize War.
• When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany, by Adam Fergusson. A history of inflation in Weimar Germany. The PublicAffairs edition we opened is listed as on sale on 12 October 2010; we did not confirm an earlier edition's year from a publisher page we could open, so that earlier date is not stated here. PublicAffairs / Hachette: When Money Dies.

Wider perspectives

• The Sovereign Individual, by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Copyright 1997. The official publisher page for the later Touchstone paperback (26 August 1999) uses the subtitle "Mastering the Transition to the Information Age". A contemporaneous Publishers Weekly review of the 1997 Simon and Schuster edition, which we opened, gives the subtitle of that edition as "How to Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State". The book is speculative and opinionated. The live publisher page returned 403 from this network; the link is a snapshot of that page. Simon and Schuster: The Sovereign Individual (Wayback Machine, 15 August 2026).
• Bitcoin: the Future of Money?, by Dominic Frisby (Unbound, 2014). An early account of bitcoin's origins and the debate around it. This is the title listed on the author's page; later books listed there are about tax and gold, so this is the bitcoin book used here. theflyingfrisby.com/about.
• Check Your Financial Privilege, by Alex Gladstein (Bitcoin Magazine Books, 10 March 2022). Looks at bitcoin, human rights and financial privilege, including examples from countries outside reserve-currency systems. It is opinionated. Bitcoin Magazine Books: Check Your Financial Privilege.

Protocol documents and official explainers

• Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (Satoshi Nakamoto, 2008). The original paper. PDF and HTML.
• Bitcoin Optech. Technical news and topic notes used by practitioners. bitcoinops.org and topics.
• Bitcoin Improvement Proposals index. BIP index. A BIP is a proposal document, not a regulator's statement.
• Running a full node. bitcoin.org/en/full-node. See also running a node for a company.
• Miniscript. A language for writing Bitcoin scripts, including delayed recovery paths. bitcoin.sipa.be/miniscript. See timelocked recovery.

UK primary sources

• HMRC Cryptoassets Manual, including CRYPTO41000 on Corporation Tax. Manual home: Cryptoassets Manual.
• FCA cryptoasset regime policy statements. FCA cryptoasset regime.
• FCA Handbook PERG 18, perimeter guidance on cryptoassets. PERG 18.

More UK legislation, CARF guidance and the 2027 regime texts are listed on Sources and in the October 2027 regime guide.

US primary sources

• IRS Digital assets. irs.gov/filing/digital-assets.
• FinCEN Notice 2020-2, FBAR and virtual currency. Notice 2020-2 (PDF). The FBAR and Form 8938 guide explains what this notice does and does not settle.
• IRS comparison of Form 8938 and the FBAR. Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements.

Accounting standards

• FASB ASU 2023-08 (PDF). ASU 2023-08. See US accounting.
• FRC FRS 102. FRS 102. FRS 105 and the UK comparison are on Sources and FRS 102 versus FRS 105.
• IFRS Foundation, Holdings of Cryptocurrencies, June 2019 agenda decision. Holdings of Cryptocurrencies.

Custody, security and independent tests

• Jameson Lopp, how the metal backup tests are run. Test methodology. These are the author's independent experiments, not an official standard. See steel backups for multisig.
• NCSC small organisations guide to cyber security. NCSC guide. See securing the accounts around company bitcoin.

Wallet software labels, and how to export them, are covered in wallet labels and BIP 329.

Read next

• Sources, the citation register behind the guides.
• Start here, a first 90 days plan.
• Glossary, terms used in the guides.

Sources

Primary sources only. Each link was checked on 11 November 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current version with your adviser.

1. Satoshi NakamotoBitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (PDF)
2. bitcoin.orgBitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (HTML)
3. Andreas M. Antonopoulos and David A. HardingMastering Bitcoin, 3rd edition, open source repository
4. Andreas M. AntonopoulosThe Internet of Money, author series page
5. Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Olaoluwa Osuntokun and René PickhardtMastering the Lightning Network, open source repository
6. WileyThe Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking
7. The Saif HouseThe Fiat Standard, hardcover (publisher page)
8. Pan Macmillan / Harriman HouseBitcoin is for Everyone, by Natalie Brunell
9. Dominic FrisbyAbout: lists Bitcoin: the Future of Money? (Unbound, 2014)
10. Lyn AldenBroken Money, author page (Wayback Machine snapshot, 11 October 2026)
11. Lawrence LepardThe Big Print, official book site (Wayback Machine snapshot, 10 May 2026)
12. Jeff BoothThe Price of Tomorrow, author books page
13. Nik BhatiaLayered Money, official book site
14. Bitcoin Magazine BooksCheck Your Financial Privilege, by Alex Gladstein
15. Jonathan Bier / Farside InvestorsThe Blocksize War, publication note, 15 March 2021
16. Yan PritzkerInventing Bitcoin, official book site (Wayback Machine snapshot, 18 January 2021)
17. PublicAffairs / Hachette Book GroupWhen Money Dies, by Adam Fergusson
18. Simon and Schuster / TouchstoneThe Sovereign Individual, official publisher page (Wayback Machine snapshot, 15 August 2026)
19. Bitcoin OptechHome
20. Bitcoin OptechTopics
21. Bitcoin Improvement ProposalsIndex
22. bitcoin.orgRunning a full node
23. Pieter Wuille and othersMiniscript
24. HMRCCryptoassets Manual
25. HMRCCRYPTO41000: Corporation Tax, contents
26. FCACryptoasset regime policy statements
27. FCAHandbook PERG 18
28. IRSDigital assets
29. FinCENNotice 2020-2: FBAR filing requirement for virtual currency (PDF, 31 December 2020)
30. IRSComparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements
31. FASBASU 2023-08, Intangibles: Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60) (PDF)
32. FRCFRS 102
33. IFRS FoundationHoldings of Cryptocurrencies, June 2019 agenda decision
34. Jameson LoppMetal backup stress test methodology
35. NCSCSmall organisations guide to cyber security