8 Best-Selling DeFi Books Millions Trust

Campbell R. Harvey, Lisa JY Tan, and Simon Dingle recommend these best-selling DeFi books to help you master decentralized finance.

Updated on June 25, 2025
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There's something special about books that both critics and crowds love—especially in a rapidly evolving field like Decentralized Finance (DeFi). DeFi has surged into the spotlight as a revolutionary approach to finance, dismantling traditional intermediaries and reshaping how transactions happen worldwide. Millions have turned to these best-selling books to understand DeFi's potential, its risks, and its practical applications, reflecting the widespread validation by readers and experts alike.

Among the voices guiding this movement, Campbell R. Harvey, a Distinguished Professor of Finance at Duke University and blockchain educator, stands out for bridging academic rigor with real-world finance innovation. Similarly, Lisa JY Tan, founder and lead economist at Economics Design, brings clarity to token economics that underpin DeFi's complex systems. Simon Dingle, entrepreneur and fintech pioneer, offers an insider's perspective on how DeFi challenges traditional banking. Their recommendations have shaped much of the current discourse and helped popularize key DeFi concepts.

While these popular books provide proven frameworks and insights, readers seeking content tailored to their unique DeFi interests and experience levels might consider creating a personalized DeFi book that combines these validated approaches with your specific goals and background. This way, you get the best of expert knowledge and personal relevance.

Best for finance professionals and policymakers
Campbell R. Harvey, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Finance at Duke University and a leading blockchain educator, brings a deep academic and practical perspective to this exploration of Decentralized Finance. His recognition as UBRI Global Blockchain Educator of the Year in 2020 underscores his authority in the field. This book reflects his commitment to guiding finance professionals and policymakers through the ongoing disruption reshaping the industry, offering you a clear window into what’s changing and why it matters.
DeFi and the Future of Finance book cover

by Campbell R. Harvey, Ashwin Ramachandran, Joey Santoro, Vitalik Buterin, Fred Ehrsam··You?

2021·208 pages·Finance, DeFi, Cryptocurrency, Financial Systems, Blockchain

After analyzing the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, Campbell R. Harvey and his co-authors present a compelling case for the reinvention of finance through Decentralized Finance (DeFi). You’ll explore why traditional financial systems remain inefficient—think delayed stock settlements and costly credit card fees—and how DeFi protocols like Uniswap and Compound offer alternatives by removing intermediaries and enabling peer-to-peer interactions. This book breaks down complex developments in DeFi while carefully weighing the risks involved, making it particularly useful if you work in finance or policymaking and want to understand the future shape of financial services.

Published by Wiley
First Edition Released in 2021
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Best for beginners learning DeFi basics
This guide by Cameron Belford stands out for its straightforward approach to the often confusing DeFi world, targeting those who want to grasp decentralized finance from the ground up. The book breaks down key topics like peer-to-peer lending, decentralized exchanges, and Ethereum’s role, helping you keep pace with a fast-evolving ecosystem now valued at billions. Its step-by-step explanations make it a useful resource for anyone looking to start or deepen their DeFi journey, offering clarity on how to borrow, lend, trade, and invest without relying on traditional financial middlemen.
2021·158 pages·DeFi, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Lending, Trading

What started as a need to clarify the complex world of decentralized finance led Cameron Belford to craft this guide, aimed at demystifying DeFi for newcomers and enthusiasts alike. You’ll learn the nuts and bolts of DeFi systems—how borrowing, lending, trading, and investing operate without traditional intermediaries—along with practical insights into platforms like Ethereum, decentralized exchanges, and stablecoins. The book walks you through the DeFi ecosystem’s key components, such as decentralized insurance and derivatives, with clear explanations that make these cutting-edge topics accessible. If you’re eager to understand DeFi’s rapid growth and its financial possibilities, this book offers a thorough foundation without overwhelming jargon.

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Best for personalized DeFi tactics
This AI-created book on DeFi mastery is crafted based on your specific background, skill level, and interests within decentralized finance. You share the challenges you're facing and your goals, and the book focuses on the proven methods that align with your experience and aspirations. Customizing the content this way makes learning more efficient and relevant, so you can confidently tackle DeFi's complexities without unnecessary detours.
2025·50-300 pages·DeFi, DeFi Fundamentals, Risk Management, Yield Farming, Smart Contracts

This tailored book explores battle-tested methods specifically designed to overcome real-world challenges within DeFi. It covers foundational concepts and advanced techniques, combining widely validated knowledge with insights that match your unique background and interests. By focusing on your specific goals, it reveals how to navigate DeFi protocols, manage risks, and capitalize on growth opportunities with clarity and precision. This personalized approach ensures that you gain relevant, practical understanding without wading through unrelated material. The book examines decentralized finance through a lens that fits your experience level and priorities, making complex topics accessible and actionable.

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Best for investors exploring DeFi projects
This guide by Alex Anderson offers a thorough exploration of decentralized finance, a sector that has attracted over 10 billion USD from more than a million investors. The book’s detailed approach covers everything from understanding what DeFi is, to practical steps for investing, including an exclusive look at the top 11 projects in 2021. It’s designed to help you move beyond the initial confusion surrounding DeFi, providing clarity on service providers and investment strategies. If you're looking to engage with this rapidly growing financial ecosystem, this book lays out the foundational knowledge and actionable insights to get started wisely.
2020·126 pages·DeFi, Finance, Cryptocurrency, Investment Strategies, Project Analysis

When Alex Anderson wrote this guide, the booming DeFi landscape was rapidly evolving, demanding a resource that went beyond basic introductions. This book unpacks the mechanics of decentralized finance, explaining complex concepts like staking, project evaluation, and ecosystem entry with clear, accessible language. You'll gain practical insights into 11 promising projects from 2021, alongside step-by-step guidance to make your initial investments confidently. It's geared for those eager to move past confusion and understand how to navigate and participate effectively in DeFi's expanding opportunities.

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Best for understanding DeFi's impact on banking
Steven Boykey Sidley has worked extensively in technology and finance and is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and columnist. Alongside Simon Dingle, who brings firsthand experience founding fintech firms including cryptocurrency exchange Luno and open banking provider Curve, Sidley crafted this book to illuminate how decentralised finance is poised to disrupt traditional banking. Their combined expertise offers readers a grounded yet forward-looking perspective on the emerging DeFi landscape and its potential to transform global finance.
Beyond Bitcoin: Decentralised Finance and the End of Banks book cover

by Simon Dingle, Steven Boykey Sidley··You?

2022·252 pages·Finance, DeFi, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Financial Technology

Simon Dingle and Steven Boykey Sidley bring a rare blend of hands-on cryptocurrency experience and storytelling prowess to this exploration of decentralised finance. Drawing on Dingle's fintech founding roles and Sidley's tech and finance background, they unpack how DeFi is reshaping trust and financial transactions beyond traditional banks. You'll gain insight into the mechanics of DeFi protocols, profiles of key innovators, and an analysis of which players might thrive or fade in this unfolding revolution. This book suits those eager to understand DeFi's potential impact on global finance rather than just Bitcoin enthusiasts.

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Best for hands-on DeFi product insights
Decentralized Finance DeFi offers a hands-on exploration of Ethereum's rapidly growing financial ecosystem. This book breaks down complex DeFi concepts like loans, insurance, yield farming, NFTs, and flash loans into accessible explanations and practical examples. It caters to anyone looking to enter the decentralized finance space, guiding you through how top decentralized applications function and even how to create a profitable flash loan strategy without programming expertise. Its focus on actionable knowledge and real-world tools makes it a valuable resource for those wanting to understand and engage with the blockchain-driven transformation of finance.
2021·70 pages·DeFi, Loans, Insurance, Yield Farming, NFT

Drawing from the authors' focus on blockchain education, this book offers a structured journey through decentralized finance on Ethereum. You learn practical insights into key DeFi components like loans, insurance, yield farming, NFTs, and flash loans, even exploring how major dApps operate. For example, it guides you through building a profitable flash loan strategy without programming skills, a rare hands-on angle. If you're eager to grasp DeFi's core products and participate in this fast-evolving space, this concise guide lays a solid foundation. However, those seeking deep technical coding or advanced financial theory might find it more introductory than exhaustive.

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Best for rapid skill mastery
This AI-created book on DeFi learning is crafted based on your specific background, skill level, and interests in decentralized finance. By focusing on your personal goals and preferred topics, it offers a direct path to building your DeFi expertise without extra fluff. Personalized content means you get to concentrate on what truly matters to you, making the complex world of DeFi more approachable and actionable. It's a custom guide designed to accelerate your progress efficiently and confidently.
2025·50-300 pages·DeFi, Decentralized Finance, Blockchain Basics, Smart Contracts, Token Economics

This tailored book offers an immersive journey into decentralized finance, designed specifically to match your interests and experience level. It explores core DeFi concepts, key protocols, and practical applications, focusing on rapid skill-building through personalized content. The book reveals how DeFi ecosystems operate, examines various lending and trading mechanisms, and uncovers token economics, all while aligning with your unique learning goals. By tailoring insights and examples to your background, it ensures a focused, efficient learning experience that accelerates your understanding and confidence in navigating DeFi platforms. This personalized approach helps you grasp complex topics without unnecessary detours, making your path to DeFi proficiency both engaging and effective.

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Best for beginners seeking practical platform guides
Unlike many books that dive straight into complex jargon, DEFI Guidebook offers a carefully crafted introduction to decentralized finance that welcomes beginners and seasoned users alike. It stands out by combining detailed explanations of major DeFi platforms such as Uniswap and AAVE with accessible language and helpful screenshots, making it easier to understand the rapidly evolving DeFi ecosystem. This guidebook addresses the challenges newcomers face by breaking down blockchain and cryptocurrency fundamentals, which are critical to grasping decentralized money's future. Anyone looking to confidently explore and engage with DeFi will find this book a useful companion.
2021·512 pages·DeFi, Yield Farming, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Decentralized Exchanges

What started as an effort by Dr. Liew Voon Kiong and Liew Xiang Xiang to demystify the complex world of decentralized finance has become a practical entry point for beginners eager to navigate DeFi. You'll find clear explanations of DeFi platforms like Uniswap and Compound, alongside detailed walkthroughs of yield farming strategies, all explained with minimal jargon and plenty of screenshots to ease your learning curve. The book also grounds you in essential blockchain concepts, particularly focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum, which strengthens your understanding of decentralized money. This is ideal if you want a solid grasp of how to engage with DeFi platforms without getting overwhelmed, though advanced users might breeze through some sections.

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Best for economic principles and tokenomics
Lisa JY Tan, founder and lead economist at Economics Design, brings deep expertise bridging academic research and practical application in digital ecosystems. Her leadership in United Nations technology working groups informs this book’s approach to token economics and DeFi fundamentals. Driven by the need to clarify evolving economic principles in Web 3.0, Tan offers insights grounded in both theory and real-world consultancy, making this work a valuable resource for those navigating decentralized financial systems.
2021·364 pages·DeFi, Economics, Token Engineering, Incentive Structures, Mathematics

After analyzing evolving economic models and digital ecosystems, Lisa JY Tan developed a nuanced exploration of token economics tailored for the Web 3.0 landscape. Drawing from her extensive background as an economist and consultant for startups and global firms, she unpacks how incentive structures shape decentralized finance beyond mere technology. You’ll gain clarity on fundamental economic principles, the shift from traditional economics to the complexities of tokenized systems, and the mathematical frameworks underpinning these mechanisms. This book suits anyone eager to understand how economic behaviors drive value in DeFi and token engineering without requiring a deep technical or economic background.

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Best for DeFi investors managing risks
De. Fi is a team of experienced yield farmers and independent auditors of DeFi smart contracts, bringing a wealth of practical knowledge to this guide. Their firsthand involvement since DeFi's inception and their role as auditors give them unique insight into safely navigating this complex space. This book reflects their commitment to transparency, sharing both their profits and pitfalls to help you invest more confidently in decentralized finance.
2021·207 pages·DeFi, Finance, Cryptocurrency, Yield Farming, Smart Contracts

When De. Fi first recognized the volatile yet lucrative nature of DeFi investing, they committed to sharing their hard-earned lessons from both soaring successes and significant losses. This book offers you a detailed understanding of how to navigate the DeFi landscape safely, including insights into yield farming, smart contract auditing, and spotting scams. You'll find chapters dedicated to the evolution of DeFi protocols and practical rules for investors, making it especially useful if you want to deepen your grasp of decentralized finance mechanics. Whether you're an experienced yield farmer or just starting out, the book equips you with the skills to make informed investment decisions in this rapidly changing industry.

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Conclusion

These eight books reveal clear themes: a solid foundation in DeFi basics, deep dives into investment strategies, and thoughtful analyses of DeFi's potential to transform finance globally. Together, they offer proven frameworks that have helped countless readers grasp this complex field with confidence.

If you prefer to start with foundational knowledge, consider beginning with the Cryptocurrency DeFI Guidebook or DEFI Guidebook for accessible introductions. For those seeking validated investment approaches, combining insights from DeFi and The Wall Street Era is Over offers practical guidance. Meanwhile, readers curious about the economic theories behind DeFi will find Economics and Math of Token Engineering and DeFi indispensable.

Alternatively, you can create a personalized DeFi book to blend proven methods with your unique interests and skill level. These widely-adopted approaches have helped many readers succeed, and your tailored journey could be next.

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm overwhelmed by choice – which book should I start with?

Start with the "Cryptocurrency DeFI Guidebook" or "DEFI Guidebook". Both offer clear, beginner-friendly introductions that explain core DeFi concepts without jargon, helping you build a strong foundation before diving deeper.

Are these books too advanced for someone new to DeFi?

No, several books like "Cryptocurrency DeFI Guidebook" and "DEFI Guidebook" are designed for beginners, using accessible language and practical examples to ease your entry into DeFi.

What's the best order to read these books?

Begin with beginner guides, then explore investment-focused books like "DeFi" and "The Wall Street Era is Over". Finally, dive into economic and theoretical insights with "Economics and Math of Token Engineering and DeFi" for a rounded understanding.

Do I really need to read all of these, or can I just pick one?

You can pick one based on your goals, but combining books provides a broader perspective. For practical investing, pair "DeFi" with "The Wall Street Era is Over"; for foundational knowledge, start with the beginner guides.

Which books focus more on theory vs. practical application?

"Economics and Math of Token Engineering and DeFi" delves into theory and tokenomics, while "Decentralized Finance DeFi" and "The Wall Street Era is Over" offer more practical, hands-on advice and investment strategies.

Can I get a book tailored to my specific DeFi interests and experience?

Yes! While these expert-recommended books provide great insights, you can create a personalized DeFi book that combines proven methods with your unique goals and background for focused learning.

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