Keith H. Black 
Investing in Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets [EPUB ebook] 
A Guide to Understanding Technologies, Business Models, Due Diligence, and Valuation

Preface ix

Part One Defining Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets

Chapter 1 Money, Banking, and Inflation 3

Chapter 2 Centralized Finance (Ce Fi) and Traditional Finance (Trad Fi) Markets 15

Chapter 3 Uses of Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers 31

Chapter 4 Bitcoin Mining and Proof-of-Work Protocols 43

Chapter 5 Ethereum Blockchain and Smart Contracts 57

Chapter 6 Proof-of-Stake Protocols and Other Layer 1 Blockchains 71

Chapter 7 Layer 2 Blockchains and Scaling Solutions 85

Chapter 8 Stablecoins, Crypto Yields, and Central Bank Digital Currencies 93

Chapter 9 Oracles and Insurance Tokens 109

Chapter 10 Privacy Tokens 117

Chapter 11 Decentralized Finance (De Fi): Borrowing, Lending, and Decentralized Exchanges 123

Chapter 12 Composability, Stacking DApps, and Bridges 135

Chapter 13 Blockchain Applications Beyond Financial Markets 145

Chapter 14 NFTs, Metaverse, and Web 3.0 155

Chapter 15 Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and Governance 169

Part Two Investing in Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets

Chapter 16 Risks, Regulations, and Taxes 179

Chapter 17 Tokenization of Off-Chain Assets 193

Chapter 18 Fundamental Valuation Models 203

Chapter 19 Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Security Token Offerings (STOs), and Tokenomics 217

Chapter 20 Trading and Technical Analysis 233

Chapter 21 Investing Directly in Crypto: Wallets, Custody, and Security 251

Chapter 22 Derivative Markets: Futures, Options, and Perpetual Swaps 261

Chapter 23 Building Portfolios of Stocks, Bonds, Crypto Stocks, and ETFs 277

Chapter 24 Investing Through Private Equity and Hedge Funds 289

Chapter 25 Due Diligence and Technology Risks: FTX, Terra Luna, Hacks, and Scams 301

Notes 315

About the Author 329

About the Companion Website 331

Index 333

KEITH BLACK, PHD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, CDAA is the Managing Director of Education at RIA Channel, where he creates web-based content on cryptocurrencies and alternative investments. He teaches courses on cryptocurrency investments and investment manager due diligence at the University of Massachusetts.
He previously served as the Managing Director of Content Strategy at the CAIA Association, where he was a co-author of the second, third, and fourth editions of the Level I and II CAIA curriculum. At Ennis Knupp + Associates, Keith advised foundations, endowments and pension funds on their asset allocation and manager selection strategies in hedge funds, commodities, and managed futures. Prior experience includes commodities derivatives trading, stock options research and Cboe floor trading, and building quantitative stock selection models for mutual funds and hedge funds. Dr. Black has served on the faculty at Illinois Institute of Technology.
Dr. Black has written or contributed to over 30 books and refereed journal articles, including The Journal of Wealth Management, The Journal of Trading, and The Journal of Alternative Investments. Dr. Black earned a BA from Whittier College, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph D from the Illinois Institute of Technology.