Learn New Skills in FinTech, BlockChain, and Crypto

Below are links to some of my favorite educational resources, ranging from college-level courses to newsletters from some of the industry's brightest. Use these resources to continue your knowledge journey in the world of FinTech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency.

Courses

Coursera

Coursera offers online classes and certificate programs via the massive open online course (MOOC) model. Their courses are offered in partnership with leading universities such as Duke, Stanford, and Yale. You can take most courses for free or pay to earn a certificate. Taking classes through Coursera is a convenient way to boost your resume with college-level classes. One thing to keep in mind is how old the course is -- always review the date the course was recorded as some technical content may get outdated such as software versions that are being taught. Check out the following FinTech, blockchain, and crypto related course offerings:

a16z Crypto Startup School

a16z is a venture capital firm with funds specializing in FinTech and crypto/blockchain. In 2020, they recorded a Crypto Startup School with some of the industry's leading thinkers and practitioners as the teachers. The school aims to teach people "how to build a crypto company" and the content delivers on that promise. I highly recommend these free videos to anyone interested in working for or starting a crypto firm.

CryptoZombies

CryptoZombies is fun! It's an interactive school that teaches about blockchains and how to make smart contracts in Solidity or Libra by making your own crypto-collectibles game. It's free and a great way to supplement (or substitute!) more formal and boring methods of learning to code.

Newsletters & Blogs

The Fintech Blueprint by Lex Sokolin

Sokolin delves into everything including roboadvisors, DeFi/CeFi, crypto, neo-banks, and more. Solokin is also a LinkedIn Top Voice and regularly posts content.

FinTech Business Weekly By Jason Mikula

Mikula covers a wide range of topics including traditional FinTech, cryptocurrencies and CBDCs, with solid analysis and research. He has valuable and interesting content like a July 2021 survey he commissioned on "who is using crypto, how & why?"

Fintech Brain Food by Simon Taylor

Taylor does an excellent job at bringing together all of the industry happenings in FinTech and crypto from new firms/products to M&A activity. Taylor is the Simon is Co-Founder and Blockchain Lead at 11:FS and brings a lot of industry knowledge to the table.

Articles, Newsletters, & Videos by a16z

a16z offers a lot of content from the VC-perspective that I find helpful in thinking about strategy when it comes to FinTech and blockchain businesses.

Articles, Newsletter, & Podcast by Farnam Street

Farnam street's goal is to help you master the best of what other people have already figured out. It's not a FinTech or blockchain site but offers more of what I call a "liberal arts" content -- and some of the best around. If you like to think about thinking and enjoy trying to constantly make better decisions, this site is for you. If you are not familiar with mental models or the Feynman Learning Technique, I suggest you get started here.