I have been following the development of cryptocurrencies since 2010. I have not paid much attention to it as I thought its just hype and it will pass quickly.
Last year, however, after seeing the various companies/ICO's pop up like mushrooms after the rain, I decided to dedicate more time and effort to diving bit deeper into the topic and learn what there is to know about this.
My first call of course was what 99% of people would have done in my shoes: google "bitcoin" or "blockchain". I have watched videos, red articles about the topic but things still have not quite made sense to me until I stumbled across this video:
This is probably the most clear and succinct explanation of how blockchain works, which is not overwhelming even for someone who heard about the topic for the first time today.Secondly, I have realised that we are talking about virtual currency without having a fundamental understanding of what/how the "old" currency- cash or money works. So I have researched who the thought leaders are connecting the the two.
I have found Andreas Antonopoulos, a scholar, expert on both blockchain and money. Check out his short lecture on Bitcoin, also covering the basic behaviour of money too here: