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Crypto Confidential: Winning and Losing Millions in the New Frontier of Finance
THE WILD INSIDE STORY OF CRYPTO'S GET-RICH-QUICK UNDERBELLY
Nat Eliason had six months to make as much money as possible before his first child was born. So, he turned to where countless others did in 2021: Crypto.
Within a year, he'd made millions writing code holding hundreds of millions of dollars of other people's money. He'd been hacked. He'd sold a picture of a monkey for two hundred grand. He'd become an influencer, speaking at conferences, and writing a weekly newsletter to tens of thousands of fans. Best of all, Nat had amassed a small fortune. But how much of this money was even real? And how many times can someone double down before they eventually lose everything?
Crypto Confidential is Nat's unfiltered, insider's account of the hyperactive, hyper-speculative, hyper-addictive, nearly unregulated, completely insane world being built on the blockchain. A behind-the-scenes exposé of the bull runs and breakdowns, revealing exactly how the crypto-sausage gets made. A story of getting rich, going broke, scamming and getting scammed— and how we can all be more educated participants during the inevitable next bull run.
Nat Eliason had six months to make as much money as possible before his first child was born. So, he turned to where countless others did in 2021: Crypto.
Within a year, he'd made millions writing code holding hundreds of millions of dollars of other people's money. He'd been hacked. He'd sold a picture of a monkey for two hundred grand. He'd become an influencer, speaking at conferences, and writing a weekly newsletter to tens of thousands of fans. Best of all, Nat had amassed a small fortune. But how much of this money was even real? And how many times can someone double down before they eventually lose everything?
Crypto Confidential is Nat's unfiltered, insider's account of the hyperactive, hyper-speculative, hyper-addictive, nearly unregulated, completely insane world being built on the blockchain. A behind-the-scenes exposé of the bull runs and breakdowns, revealing exactly how the crypto-sausage gets made. A story of getting rich, going broke, scamming and getting scammed— and how we can all be more educated participants during the inevitable next bull run.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 9, 2024
81 people are currently reading
1098 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
June 6, 2024
Might be biased but I think it’s pretty great
August 6, 2024
Book is entertaining, easy to read. Good storytelling. I couldn’t help but to feel disgusted, though, about the greed shown by everyone, including the author. No one was “building” anything (the gaming industry was and is doing pretty well without having to build a casino into the games), just selling smoke and trying not to be the last one holding the bag. Luckily for the main characters of the book, it wasn’t them. But many people lost and will keep losing many on this over the years. We shall see if crypto proves to do something useful for humanity. As of right now, I can’t see any way this world is better for it.
July 9, 2024
Most binge-able book I've read in a LONG time! This book is fast-paced and has some of the best storytelling I've ever seen in a non-fiction book. I really like how the dialogue and tone match the chaotic energy of many of the scenes, it's as if you're feeling all of the characters' nerves as the story progresses. Also, even though it's clearly about crypto, you absolutely don't need to be knowledgable about it to enjoy it. Can't recommend this enough, especially if you listen to it on Audible because Nat reads it to you.
August 2, 2024
There are always winners and losers during gold rushes. Nathaniel and his friends were winners who had a few losses. They found out that crypto (despite his claim that there were applications for their use) were great only if you found the patterns to get in and out before others. Those who used paper hands were being taken advantage of. Sell before others when you see a bull run or if you see that certain people are pushing them.
Crypto has no true application (I will stand by this until proven otherwise). It's a speculative vehicle that will have a few winners and many losers who want to become rich over night.
Crypto has no true application (I will stand by this until proven otherwise). It's a speculative vehicle that will have a few winners and many losers who want to become rich over night.
July 15, 2024
This is the second crypto book I read this year and a good counterbalance to Zeke Faux's Number Go Up. Whereas that book was showing what was happening at the highest levels with characters like SBF, Nat Eliason's firsthand account in Crypto Confidential shows what was happening with the actual builders (and gamblers) of the crypto world. Nat peels back the curtain on everything from emoji-laden discussions in Discord channels to the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with life-changing money for those who paid attention and timed things correctly. I like how Nat weaves together a story about his personal experience and explanations of the world of crypto, from smart contracts/the blockchain to "farming" (much better than Zeke Faux's explanations, imho). Crypto still seems like a convoluted Ponzi scheme to me, but I'm sure we haven't seen the last of its foundational technologies. This was a fast, quick read; both entertaining and informative.
August 22, 2025
Good paced grounded crypto mania story with interleaving fact/concept explaining sections. Good for non-technical thriller lovers but nerds should skip.
July 9, 2024
This book is an absolute thrill ride! It's not just exciting and easy to follow, but also super informative about a time when most of us were left scratching our heads. Remember all those stories about dog coins and your neighbor's brother making thousands of dollars overnight? We all knew someone involved, but had no idea what was actually going on. This book breaks it all down in a way that’s super easy to understand, with a storyline that keeps you hooked. I absolutely loved it and finally feel like I get what was happening!
July 9, 2024
Most binge-able book I've read in a LONG time! This book is fast-paced and has some of the best storytelling I've ever seen in a non-fiction book. I really like how the dialogue and tone match the chaotic energy of many of the scenes, it's as if you're feeling all of the characters' nerves as the story progresses. Also, even though it's clearly about crypto, you absolutely don't need to be knowledgable about it to enjoy it. Can't recommend this enough, especially if you listen to it on Audible because Nat reads it to you.
September 7, 2024
Felt like this could’ve just been a long form article, it got a bit boring for me despite the highs and lows the author was going through. It was alright though, I appreciated their effort to explain crypto terms and concepts in layman terms.
March 10, 2024
A story so wild that if I didn’t know the people involved I would struggle to believe it was real. Great book!
August 9, 2024
I recently read "Crypto Confidential" by Nat Eliason, a book that dives into the crypto mania during the pandemic. It took me back to my own experiences as an investor in the video game space during that crazy time.
"Crypto is like venture capital on steroids. You can be wrong fifty times and lose a bit of money each time, but that one time you’re right, you might get a one-hundred-time return or more.”
In December 2020, I had a video call with a gaming colleague who’d been deep into crypto for years. He explained coin swaps, farming, and other mechanics to earn in crypto, but almost everything was lost in translation. Things heated up six months later when some of my portfolio companies began pivoting from mobile free-to-play games to crypto games. By the end of 2021, after several sessions of sitting down with more educated crypto folks, I felt knowledgeable enough to grasp what was happening.
At this time, I had been following Nat Eliason for years, being a Twitter follower and a subscriber to his newsletter. I had no knowledge that he'd been swept into crypto quite fully until he started sharing about Web3 and crypto on Twitter and in his newsletter. He had even created a crypto investing course during this time, which I enrolled in, further clarifying the Web3 workings around me.
Why were game developers very capable of switching from free-to-play to web3 in the first place? It wasn't that they were abandoning free-to-play but rather embedding blockchain capabilities in the freemium model.
But it wasn't what other successful crypto games were doing, including Nat's game (known as CryptoCraft in the book). The only way to play the game was to own an NFT game character, which you could buy from NFT marketplaces like Opensea.
Twists and turns
As gaming companies shifted to what they called Web3, there were both fascinating and bewildering developments. For instance, many startups held these token rounds where investors poured money into British Virgin Islands entities holding tokens and investor funds.
My concern then was that investing in tokens instead of shares misaligned long-term interests and bypassed corporate governance standards. But many investors didn’t care; they were riding the wave of skyrocketing tokens in 2021. Personally, I wasn’t spellbound by these tokens; my focus was on long-term equity investment.
As more game companies pivoted to Web3, mismatches started emerging. Video games had always been about entertainment, but now, financial rewards were involved, which really felt off for me as a games investor. The primary motivation for participating in Web3 games seemed to be speculation—getting in early, riding the wave, and cashing out at the peak.
Despite this speculative frenzy, some founders aimed to build sustainable projects. Yet, many signs pointed to inflated token prices, leading these tokens to eventually crash to zero. Developers started thinking of game items and characters as NFTs—tradable blockchain assets—but the stickiness of Web3 games depended more on "getting rich" than gameplay quality. If a game’s assets tanked, so did the game.
During 2022, things stopped going up and to the right. STEPPN was probably the last "game" that became huge in crypto. Even Nat's game started going down in value.
"I thought I’d figured out the game and won, but there were levels at which I couldn’t compete. The Three Arrows guys and other big players like Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX were still using me as exit liquidity. Almost everything I had invested in since the hack scare had been going straight towards zero, too, probably for the same reason. Big investors got in early, waited for the tokens to be tradeable, and then started dumping them on public investors chasing the hype. For the investors, it was an incredible way to make money. But I was tired. They could have their win. I didn’t want to play anymore."
Now, in 2024, it’s clear that most Web3 gaming companies that pivoted from free-to-play are either struggling or have shut down. Out of at least 15 companies I’ve talked to, only about half a dozen are still around. Those that survived raised token rounds and held millions in investor money to sustain a skeleton team for the next wave.
This is what happened with Nat Eliason’s game company as well. The big question now is: When will we see the next wave?
Nat has well distilled the craziness, and it's definitely worth reading.
"Crypto is like venture capital on steroids. You can be wrong fifty times and lose a bit of money each time, but that one time you’re right, you might get a one-hundred-time return or more.”
In December 2020, I had a video call with a gaming colleague who’d been deep into crypto for years. He explained coin swaps, farming, and other mechanics to earn in crypto, but almost everything was lost in translation. Things heated up six months later when some of my portfolio companies began pivoting from mobile free-to-play games to crypto games. By the end of 2021, after several sessions of sitting down with more educated crypto folks, I felt knowledgeable enough to grasp what was happening.
At this time, I had been following Nat Eliason for years, being a Twitter follower and a subscriber to his newsletter. I had no knowledge that he'd been swept into crypto quite fully until he started sharing about Web3 and crypto on Twitter and in his newsletter. He had even created a crypto investing course during this time, which I enrolled in, further clarifying the Web3 workings around me.
Why were game developers very capable of switching from free-to-play to web3 in the first place? It wasn't that they were abandoning free-to-play but rather embedding blockchain capabilities in the freemium model.
But it wasn't what other successful crypto games were doing, including Nat's game (known as CryptoCraft in the book). The only way to play the game was to own an NFT game character, which you could buy from NFT marketplaces like Opensea.
Twists and turns
As gaming companies shifted to what they called Web3, there were both fascinating and bewildering developments. For instance, many startups held these token rounds where investors poured money into British Virgin Islands entities holding tokens and investor funds.
My concern then was that investing in tokens instead of shares misaligned long-term interests and bypassed corporate governance standards. But many investors didn’t care; they were riding the wave of skyrocketing tokens in 2021. Personally, I wasn’t spellbound by these tokens; my focus was on long-term equity investment.
As more game companies pivoted to Web3, mismatches started emerging. Video games had always been about entertainment, but now, financial rewards were involved, which really felt off for me as a games investor. The primary motivation for participating in Web3 games seemed to be speculation—getting in early, riding the wave, and cashing out at the peak.
Despite this speculative frenzy, some founders aimed to build sustainable projects. Yet, many signs pointed to inflated token prices, leading these tokens to eventually crash to zero. Developers started thinking of game items and characters as NFTs—tradable blockchain assets—but the stickiness of Web3 games depended more on "getting rich" than gameplay quality. If a game’s assets tanked, so did the game.
During 2022, things stopped going up and to the right. STEPPN was probably the last "game" that became huge in crypto. Even Nat's game started going down in value.
"I thought I’d figured out the game and won, but there were levels at which I couldn’t compete. The Three Arrows guys and other big players like Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX were still using me as exit liquidity. Almost everything I had invested in since the hack scare had been going straight towards zero, too, probably for the same reason. Big investors got in early, waited for the tokens to be tradeable, and then started dumping them on public investors chasing the hype. For the investors, it was an incredible way to make money. But I was tired. They could have their win. I didn’t want to play anymore."
Now, in 2024, it’s clear that most Web3 gaming companies that pivoted from free-to-play are either struggling or have shut down. Out of at least 15 companies I’ve talked to, only about half a dozen are still around. Those that survived raised token rounds and held millions in investor money to sustain a skeleton team for the next wave.
This is what happened with Nat Eliason’s game company as well. The big question now is: When will we see the next wave?
Nat has well distilled the craziness, and it's definitely worth reading.
May 14, 2025
Wow, all I can say is I had no idea this crazy world exists. It is the wild wild west. This book is NOT about Bitcoin, Coinbase specifically. I learned a lot. The author takes you through his personal journey of winning and losing BIG while intermittently sprinkling in some "lessons" or educating the reader in some basics in crypto. I was on the edge of my seat wondering it he was going to lose it all. (I will not tell) This book takes place a couple years ago, which in Crypto is ages ago. Coins or tokens have come and gone but if you are at all interested in the subject, the author writes in a way the "average person" can understand.
August 5, 2025
I came into this book a mild crypto skeptic, and left even more skeptical, but I can’t lie it was a fun and thrilling read. I’ve read Nat’s blog many times over the years, and it’s clear he’ll have a good career as an author. Maybe his sci-fi novel will be more up my alley!
July 10, 2024
Couldn't put it down! Mandatory reading before the next crypto bull run.
September 16, 2024
I love that it is based on a true story and covers the important terms we should know. I had little experience with Crypto before reading this book, so I had a lot of fun reading it! It is very honest and real following Nat's family life. Def would recommend.
December 21, 2024
Interesting first person account of the crazier, darker side of crypto. Made me stressed out! Which means the author did a good job communicating the franticness of that world
November 10, 2024
Fun to relive the 2021 / 2022 crypto euphoria through this first hand account. I liked the informative passages after each chapter that helped provide context. I struggle with the lack of sourcing and lack of citations.
August 22, 2024
Fun and entertaining story that brilliantly captures the craziness of the 2020/21 crypto markets. Audiobook narration was excellent.
December 22, 2024
This guy was Walter White 😛
An insightful read :)
An insightful read :)
June 29, 2024
Loved it. As a participant in the mania (employed at major Bitcoin companies during the same time period as the book covers), I thoroughly enjoyed reliving those chaotic ups and downs of the 2021 hype cycle.
I had many many, "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when that happened" moments while reading. Very cool to have a behind the scenes into someone who was playing the same games, but taking MUCH larger swings than I was at the time.
Well written, and hopefully indicative of more long-form to come from Nat.
Will definitely be recommending to friends and family.
I had many many, "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when that happened" moments while reading. Very cool to have a behind the scenes into someone who was playing the same games, but taking MUCH larger swings than I was at the time.
Well written, and hopefully indicative of more long-form to come from Nat.
Will definitely be recommending to friends and family.
March 30, 2025
As someone who doesn’t understand the world of crypto, I really enjoyed this one. Had to watch a few YouTube videos. While digital currencies and decentralized exchanges and apps are an interesting concept for the future, I don’t know enough to get involved. And any influencer/Friend of a friend telling you about the next bitcoin or promoting how many gains their friend has made is a crook or an idiot
September 13, 2024
surprisingly entertaining book about the state of crypto 2020-2022
October 25, 2024
Writing wise this is a great book - great pacing, cliffhangers and all the tricks in the book (no pun intended). But the whole crypto shill and the author's imagined self importance is just pathetic.
December 17, 2024
Disclaimer: I am a longtime Bitcoin maximalist.
With that out of the way, I have to say this book was pretty hilarious (not in a good way). The author opens with the scenario of the anticipated birth of his first child lighting a fire under him to get his finances in check. His response? Gamble on shit coins. He very briefly mentions his wife doing $4M in real estate sales that year alone so her multi-six figure commissions presumably serve as the ammunition for his recklessness. His friend who owns a coffee shop joins him on this adventure as they wildly dump their savings (god bless the women that put up with this insane behaviour) into one speculative 'project' after another.
This book was super frustrating because it represents everything that bitcoiners fight against. It is here that I'd also like to make the important distinction that bitcoin != crypto (read reputable books on your own if you care why). Unfortunately, bitcoin will continue to be lumped in with the garbage described in the book (NFTs, crypto 'games', airdrops, etc). I'm happy these guys didn't destroy their or their family's lives, but I'd be lying if I didn't find myself rooting against them at points. Like his friend losing all of his money that he desperately needs on a scam and then being presented another one and responding "I'm in!" with no further thought or research. Yikes. That person deserves to lose their money, I'm sorry.
I gave this book a star above the minimal one star for one reason - it was interesting to see the inner workings of a doomed 'crypto project'. It definitely served as confirmation that things are worse than even the mainstream media thinks they are. One of the core 'developers' and 'tokenomics engineers' learned how to code a few months before (and his lone project was hacked in a laughable way). Core decisions were being made on a whim and literally a "why not, lets try it" basis. There were also critical security flaws in the code itself. And the project highlighted in the book wasn't even one designed to be a scam from the jump, imagine how those look! All things considered, the author is in the 1% of the 1% when it comes to luck. I will give him him an ounce of credit however as he shows moments of self-awareness throughout the story. And hey, at the end of the day, he was financially successful in his pursuit. He obviously represents the overhelming minority in this outcome however and if your takewaway from this book is that you should get into crypto then you simply took away the opposite if its message. To use the author's favorite phrase, you are 'exit liquidity.'
I hope for their sake the author and his friend do not use their lottery winnings to purchase more lot tickets. Take the money and run!
With that out of the way, I have to say this book was pretty hilarious (not in a good way). The author opens with the scenario of the anticipated birth of his first child lighting a fire under him to get his finances in check. His response? Gamble on shit coins. He very briefly mentions his wife doing $4M in real estate sales that year alone so her multi-six figure commissions presumably serve as the ammunition for his recklessness. His friend who owns a coffee shop joins him on this adventure as they wildly dump their savings (god bless the women that put up with this insane behaviour) into one speculative 'project' after another.
This book was super frustrating because it represents everything that bitcoiners fight against. It is here that I'd also like to make the important distinction that bitcoin != crypto (read reputable books on your own if you care why). Unfortunately, bitcoin will continue to be lumped in with the garbage described in the book (NFTs, crypto 'games', airdrops, etc). I'm happy these guys didn't destroy their or their family's lives, but I'd be lying if I didn't find myself rooting against them at points. Like his friend losing all of his money that he desperately needs on a scam and then being presented another one and responding "I'm in!" with no further thought or research. Yikes. That person deserves to lose their money, I'm sorry.
I gave this book a star above the minimal one star for one reason - it was interesting to see the inner workings of a doomed 'crypto project'. It definitely served as confirmation that things are worse than even the mainstream media thinks they are. One of the core 'developers' and 'tokenomics engineers' learned how to code a few months before (and his lone project was hacked in a laughable way). Core decisions were being made on a whim and literally a "why not, lets try it" basis. There were also critical security flaws in the code itself. And the project highlighted in the book wasn't even one designed to be a scam from the jump, imagine how those look! All things considered, the author is in the 1% of the 1% when it comes to luck. I will give him him an ounce of credit however as he shows moments of self-awareness throughout the story. And hey, at the end of the day, he was financially successful in his pursuit. He obviously represents the overhelming minority in this outcome however and if your takewaway from this book is that you should get into crypto then you simply took away the opposite if its message. To use the author's favorite phrase, you are 'exit liquidity.'
I hope for their sake the author and his friend do not use their lottery winnings to purchase more lot tickets. Take the money and run!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2025
Absolute nonsense from what is probably a sober voice on the crypto subject. Unfortunately, many will read this book and believe that in learning /pursuing this activity they may somehow contribute to the world and make a small fortune fueling crypto bubble v5/6. They are likely wrong on both counts.
December 18, 2024
What is “confidential” here?
December 15, 2024
I was never a crypto advocate or an early adopter, nor was I caught by the crypto fever. When it was required, I opened the wallet and used crypto to pay or transfer money. My interest in the “Crypto Confidential” by Nathaniel Eliason was purely "professional," - I wanted to see if someone can write an engaging book from scratch without writer’s experience.
I learned about Nat and his blog via "Readwise" newsletter, he was sharing his experiences of learning to write a book. Eventually after reading about his journey, my interest was awakened to read the book itself. Since he mentioned that audio version was narrated by himself, so I was eager to spent one of my monthly Audible credits on it and wasn't disappointed. The book is structured well, with personal stories and inner workings of the crypto world alternating in consistent order, chapter after chapter. The technical aspects are explained really well, so even a non-technical outsider can grasp them fast.
Below I am listing a few of the ideas that I found interesting from the book and consider worth remembering:
- Get in early and sell as it becomes mainstream.
- You gotta buy when the market is dead; if you rush in when it's a new hype cycle, you're someone else's extra liquidity.
- Most of the code is open source, and therefore copying and pasting was a normal way to launch new stuff, like tokens.
- People around Nat lost a ton of money on crypto projects in many different ways; however, they still kept going, while there was always a possibility they would make more money than they'd lost.
- Nat's approach to learning: get to a very basic threshold of competence, and then start practicing as soon as possible to fill in the gaps.
- Blockchain trilemma: You can't have a fully decentralized, fully secure, and inexpensive blockchain all at once. Since as soon as you try to decrease the cost by centralizing, you lose security. The way out is to build extra layers for optimization to e.g., submit a bigger transaction pool at once to lower the gas fees.
- Anyone can make a stupid mistake, like leaving their private key on Github for others
- Signs of the end of the mania:
- when mainstream media starts talking about the crypto
- when family start asking you about it
- when celebrities start to promote crypto related projects
- when projects are launching faster, then you can keep up with them
- when price prediction gets outrageous (see latest prediction on Bitcoin price)
- when leverage become the norm
- when you think that you figured it all out and have a felling that you will become insanely rich
While I don't dismiss crypto outright or view it as mere speculation, I recognize that wherever fast money can be made, gambling and exploitation often follow. And where gambling exists, there is also an addiction: people who just can’t stop and come to slot machines and casinos over and over again. This is exactly how the book felt to me: diary of junkie, someone waking up each day to search for a new token or NFT project to satisfy his addiction. Nevertheless there’s genuine technological innovation behind the “hype” which will undoubtedly alter our lives sooner rather then later.
I learned about Nat and his blog via "Readwise" newsletter, he was sharing his experiences of learning to write a book. Eventually after reading about his journey, my interest was awakened to read the book itself. Since he mentioned that audio version was narrated by himself, so I was eager to spent one of my monthly Audible credits on it and wasn't disappointed. The book is structured well, with personal stories and inner workings of the crypto world alternating in consistent order, chapter after chapter. The technical aspects are explained really well, so even a non-technical outsider can grasp them fast.
Below I am listing a few of the ideas that I found interesting from the book and consider worth remembering:
- Get in early and sell as it becomes mainstream.
- You gotta buy when the market is dead; if you rush in when it's a new hype cycle, you're someone else's extra liquidity.
- Most of the code is open source, and therefore copying and pasting was a normal way to launch new stuff, like tokens.
- People around Nat lost a ton of money on crypto projects in many different ways; however, they still kept going, while there was always a possibility they would make more money than they'd lost.
- Nat's approach to learning: get to a very basic threshold of competence, and then start practicing as soon as possible to fill in the gaps.
- Blockchain trilemma: You can't have a fully decentralized, fully secure, and inexpensive blockchain all at once. Since as soon as you try to decrease the cost by centralizing, you lose security. The way out is to build extra layers for optimization to e.g., submit a bigger transaction pool at once to lower the gas fees.
- Anyone can make a stupid mistake, like leaving their private key on Github for others
- Signs of the end of the mania:
- when mainstream media starts talking about the crypto
- when family start asking you about it
- when celebrities start to promote crypto related projects
- when projects are launching faster, then you can keep up with them
- when price prediction gets outrageous (see latest prediction on Bitcoin price)
- when leverage become the norm
- when you think that you figured it all out and have a felling that you will become insanely rich
While I don't dismiss crypto outright or view it as mere speculation, I recognize that wherever fast money can be made, gambling and exploitation often follow. And where gambling exists, there is also an addiction: people who just can’t stop and come to slot machines and casinos over and over again. This is exactly how the book felt to me: diary of junkie, someone waking up each day to search for a new token or NFT project to satisfy his addiction. Nevertheless there’s genuine technological innovation behind the “hype” which will undoubtedly alter our lives sooner rather then later.
January 12, 2025
I recently finished Crypto Confidential and couldn’t wait to share my thoughts. This book is a riveting dive into the highs and lows of the cryptocurrency world. What really stood out to me is how it reads more like a memoir or diary than a technical guide, which made it surprisingly engaging. The writing is easy to follow and story-like, making even complex topics feel approachable. I didn’t expect it to be such a page-turner, but I finished it in just a weekend, even while juggling family activities!
The book doesn’t assume any prior knowledge of cryptocurrency, which I really appreciated as someone who wanted a grounded, beginner-friendly introduction. The author mixes his personal journey—balancing family life with his wife and young daughter—with the unpredictable world of crypto, which made it incredibly relatable.
One of the biggest takeaways for me is how murky the cryptocurrency space can be. While there’s a lot of money to be made, the majority of coins and tokens will go to zero. The key is distinguishing between fads and more established projects, and this book really emphasizes the importance of being cautious and well-informed.
What I loved most about Crypto Confidential is how it strips away the romanticism around cryptocurrency. It doesn’t hype crypto the way many social media influencers do. Instead, it provides a realistic view of the risks, rewards, and ethical gray areas—like how influencers sometimes profit at the expense of their audiences.
If I had to point out a downside, it’s that the author has significant programming knowledge, which helped him succeed in ways that might not be accessible to the average person. That said, the book is still an excellent resource, especially for those just starting out in crypto.
I’d absolutely recommend Crypto Confidential to anyone looking to understand the basics of cryptocurrency before diving into investments. It’s a fantastic starting point for navigating a notoriously difficult part of the investing world.
I am keen to learn more in this space! Are there any must-reads anyone would recommend?
The book doesn’t assume any prior knowledge of cryptocurrency, which I really appreciated as someone who wanted a grounded, beginner-friendly introduction. The author mixes his personal journey—balancing family life with his wife and young daughter—with the unpredictable world of crypto, which made it incredibly relatable.
One of the biggest takeaways for me is how murky the cryptocurrency space can be. While there’s a lot of money to be made, the majority of coins and tokens will go to zero. The key is distinguishing between fads and more established projects, and this book really emphasizes the importance of being cautious and well-informed.
What I loved most about Crypto Confidential is how it strips away the romanticism around cryptocurrency. It doesn’t hype crypto the way many social media influencers do. Instead, it provides a realistic view of the risks, rewards, and ethical gray areas—like how influencers sometimes profit at the expense of their audiences.
If I had to point out a downside, it’s that the author has significant programming knowledge, which helped him succeed in ways that might not be accessible to the average person. That said, the book is still an excellent resource, especially for those just starting out in crypto.
I’d absolutely recommend Crypto Confidential to anyone looking to understand the basics of cryptocurrency before diving into investments. It’s a fantastic starting point for navigating a notoriously difficult part of the investing world.
I am keen to learn more in this space! Are there any must-reads anyone would recommend?
January 16, 2025
This was recommended by Scott Pape ‘The Barefoot Investor’. I know little about Crypto, other than it is what you use on the Dark Web to get drugs delivered to you home via Australia Post. I am an amateur historian with an interest in Economics. It occurred to me that Crypto has the same elements as ‘Tulip Mania’ of the 1600’s and the Dot Com bubble more recently. Change the medium and all bubbles have the same elements.
Eliason does a good job of describing his experience with Crytpo, which allowed him in the end the pursue his passion for becoming a writer. He writes in a style that emulates Michael Lewis. He juxtaposes his pending parenthood with what he learned with Crypto. The book follows both his wife’s pregnancy and the rapid boom – bust Crypto cycles (mostly about the Crypto). He ends each of the 25 chapters with a technical ‘dummies guide’ to Crypto. If you were just interested in Crypto you could read just this, and skip the parts about his wife. Her pregnancy gave the book and Eliason urgency, which lengthened the book.
It occurred to me that Crypto is just as, if not more, vulnerable to ‘bank runs’ as currency produced by Government Fiat. It reinforced that all trading conduits rely on trust. Trading of Crypto could be lucrative if you are smart, have balls of steel, and your time is not occupied by better and more stable options.
My conclusion was that I would prefer to keep my get rich slow strategies in the manner of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger. It is not for me, and I am more interested in my passion which seems to be working out okay. Eliason did well from his experience and acknowledged he could have been damaged and burned it he stayed longer that he did. He was able to turn his experience into his first book and financially support himself whilst doing so. It will be interesting to see if he can transition, like Michael Lewis after writing Liar’s Poker, and write prose based on the experience of others about subject matter of interests the reading public. He is now on my radar and I look forward to his next book.
Eliason does a good job of describing his experience with Crytpo, which allowed him in the end the pursue his passion for becoming a writer. He writes in a style that emulates Michael Lewis. He juxtaposes his pending parenthood with what he learned with Crypto. The book follows both his wife’s pregnancy and the rapid boom – bust Crypto cycles (mostly about the Crypto). He ends each of the 25 chapters with a technical ‘dummies guide’ to Crypto. If you were just interested in Crypto you could read just this, and skip the parts about his wife. Her pregnancy gave the book and Eliason urgency, which lengthened the book.
It occurred to me that Crypto is just as, if not more, vulnerable to ‘bank runs’ as currency produced by Government Fiat. It reinforced that all trading conduits rely on trust. Trading of Crypto could be lucrative if you are smart, have balls of steel, and your time is not occupied by better and more stable options.
My conclusion was that I would prefer to keep my get rich slow strategies in the manner of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger. It is not for me, and I am more interested in my passion which seems to be working out okay. Eliason did well from his experience and acknowledged he could have been damaged and burned it he stayed longer that he did. He was able to turn his experience into his first book and financially support himself whilst doing so. It will be interesting to see if he can transition, like Michael Lewis after writing Liar’s Poker, and write prose based on the experience of others about subject matter of interests the reading public. He is now on my radar and I look forward to his next book.
October 30, 2024
It was awesome finally reading a book about cryptocurrency that was written by someone who was actually involved in cryptocurrency, as opposed to someone writing about someone or someone's in the cryptocurrency space like so many other books.
Nathaniel wasn't just dabbling in your typical mainstream currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum either, he was involved with some of the biggest money makers and losers during the 2021 cryptocurrency bull market.
He was deep in the weeds with some of the hottest crypto Twitter darlings, and would go stealth behind the scenes reviewing code and later even creating his own coins by teaching himself how to do it. This guy was even on Discord, which as some of you may know is where the real gamblers play.
The book actually deserves 5 stars when you just focus on the cryptocurrency aspect of it because the guy gives incredible advice on the space as a whole, which could actually be utilized in the traditional finance sector as well, but there were things about the guy I didn't like personally, which explains the 4 star rating I chose to give his book instead.
I highly recommend this book to anyone getting into trading slash gambling. In fact, having a copy of this book on your shelf as a reference would be an excellent idea, because again, the advice he provides in it could possibly save you a lot of money and heartache some day.
Possible Errors Found within the Book:
Page 59 - I think he meant to say: But it's for a reason, not for a season.
Page 159 - I think he meant to say: Shit. I said, and or I put down the stack of books you were packing.
Page 178 - I think he meant to say: And became immersed, not become immersed.
Nathaniel wasn't just dabbling in your typical mainstream currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum either, he was involved with some of the biggest money makers and losers during the 2021 cryptocurrency bull market.
He was deep in the weeds with some of the hottest crypto Twitter darlings, and would go stealth behind the scenes reviewing code and later even creating his own coins by teaching himself how to do it. This guy was even on Discord, which as some of you may know is where the real gamblers play.
The book actually deserves 5 stars when you just focus on the cryptocurrency aspect of it because the guy gives incredible advice on the space as a whole, which could actually be utilized in the traditional finance sector as well, but there were things about the guy I didn't like personally, which explains the 4 star rating I chose to give his book instead.
I highly recommend this book to anyone getting into trading slash gambling. In fact, having a copy of this book on your shelf as a reference would be an excellent idea, because again, the advice he provides in it could possibly save you a lot of money and heartache some day.
Possible Errors Found within the Book:
Page 59 - I think he meant to say: But it's for a reason, not for a season.
Page 159 - I think he meant to say: Shit. I said, and or I put down the stack of books you were packing.
Page 178 - I think he meant to say: And became immersed, not become immersed.
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