Beginner
This guide is the beginner entry point for Blockchain foundations. It curates a small set of high-quality articles, books, and videos to help you build the mental model behind wallets, transactions, blocks, and consensus before diving into ecosystem-specific modules (e.g., Ethereum, Solana).
Legend: ★ marks the most recommended resources.
Learning Path
graph TD
A["Stage 0: Blockchain"] --> B1["Stage 1.1: Ethereum"]
A --> B2["Stage 1.2: Solana"]
A --> B3["Stage 1.3: Stellar"]
B1 --> C["Stage 2: Defi"]
B2 --> C
B3 --> C
C --> D["Stage 3: Cross Chain"]
Milestones:
- Complete wallet backup and anti-phishing checks on a test wallet.
- Complete one testnet transaction and explain fee fields in your own words.
- Verify the same transaction in an explorer and explain the final status.
Stage notes:
- Stage 0: Start here (Blockchain foundations) — use the resources on this page.
- Stage 1.1: Ethereum — Beginner
- Stage 1.2: Solana — Beginner
- Stage 1.3: Stellar — Beginner
- Stage 2: Defi — Beginner
- Stage 3: Cross Chain — Beginner
Minimal Must-Learn Path
Recommended MVP duration: 1 week. If a resource is long, complete only the required part listed in each step.
- Articles (Day 1): read ★What is Web3? and Why is blockchain important?. Required outcome: explain why blockchain exists and what problem it solves.
- Article deep dive (Day 2): study Bitcoin protocol Explained. Required outcome: explain block, transaction, mining, and consensus at a high level.
- Book (Day 3-4): read selected parts of ★Mastering Bitcoin. Required part: introductory chapters about keys/wallets, transactions, and blocks.
- Videos (Day 5-6): watch ★Blockchain - A visual demo and But how does bitcoin actually work?. Required outcome: connect visual intuition with the protocol concepts you read.
- Consolidation (Day 7): revisit the same resources and create a one-page summary of wallet, transaction lifecycle, and finality concepts. Required outcome: complete the page milestones (testnet tx + explorer verification + fee explanation).
Recommended Articles
- ★What is Web3? - High-level overview of Web3.
- Why is blockchain important? - Intro to why blockchain matters.
- Bitcoin protocol Explained - Walkthrough of Bitcoin whitepaper concepts.
Recommended Books
- ★Mastering Bitcoin - A practical, developer-oriented introduction to Bitcoin and blockchain fundamentals.
Recommended Videos
- ★Blockchain - A visual demo - This is a very basic visual introduction to the concepts behind a blockchain.
- But how does bitcoin actually work? - This video succinctly explains the intricacies of Bitcoin's decentralized operation, blockchain foundation, mining process, and its role in finance.