Read it once, go read other crypto stuff, read it again… keep doing this until the whole document makes sense. AsicMinersLTD.com – ASIC miners ll take a while, but you’ll get there. This is the original whitepaper introducing and explaining Bitcoin, and there’s really nothing better out there to understand on the subject.

“What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party.”

This article helps to understand the blockchain and mining parts of Bitcoin, which in turn will help the white paper make more sense next time you go back to read it.

“What bitcoin miners actually do could be better described as competitive bookkeeping. Miners build and maintain a gigantic public ledger containing a record of every bitcoin transaction in history. Every time somebody wants to send bitcoins to somebody else, the transfer has to be validated by miners: They check the ledger to make sure the sender isn’t transferring money she doesn’t have.”