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Beginner
Start from the basics: ledgers, signatures, wallets and the main uses of cryptoassets. No technical background required.
12 modules · View path →02 · IntermediateIntermediate
Connect the mechanisms: transactions, fees, oracles and DeFi. Work through calculations and practical decisions after the foundations.
35 modules · View path →03 · AdvancedAdvanced
Analyze system design, failure scenarios, custody and infrastructure. These lessons assume the linked intermediate concepts.
17 modules · View path →Search all 64 guides, including institutional topics and regulation.
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What is a blockchain?
A blockchain is a shared record whose updates are grouped into blocks linked by cryptographic fingerprints.
Hashes, keys and signatures
A cryptographic hash maps data to a fixed-length fingerprint.
Block anatomy and Merkle trees
A block contains transactions and metadata.
Consensus and finality
Validation asks whether an operation follows the rules.
From signing to settlement
A wallet builds a transaction for a selected network, destination and fee.
Security, scaling and governance
A secure base chain can host an insecure application.
Bitcoin UTXOs explained
Bitcoin records unspent transaction outputs, or UTXOs.
Bitcoin mining and difficulty
A miner constructs a candidate block and searches for a header whose double SHA-256 hash does not exceed the target.
Bitcoin supply, halving and fees
The first transaction in a block, called the coinbase transaction, lets the miner claim the permitted subsidy and transaction fees.
Bitcoin fees, mempool and confirmations
Fees are commonly quoted in satoshis per virtual byte.
Bitcoin Script, SegWit and Taproot
Bitcoin Script specifies spending conditions, such as signatures, multiple signers or time constraints.
Bitcoin wallets, recovery and Lightning
A recovery phrase can reconstruct the keys of a deterministic wallet.
Ethereum accounts and transactions
Ethereum maintains shared state including balances, contract code and storage.
EVM and smart contract composability
The Ethereum Virtual Machine executes instructions deterministically.
Ethereum gas and EIP-1559
Gas measures computational resources; the effective gas price determines their cost.
Ethereum proof of stake and slashing
Validators commit ETH and participate in proposing blocks and attesting to the chain.
Layer 2 rollups explained
A rollup executes activity outside the base layer and publishes information connecting its state to Ethereum.
Token approvals and wallet security
An ERC-20 approval lets a spender contract transfer a specified allowance on your behalf.
Chainlink and the oracle problem
A lending contract needs collateral prices, but its blockchain does not natively know every market price.
How Chainlink Data Feeds work
Data Feeds aggregate observations and expose results to applications, commonly through a proxy pointing to an aggregator.
CCIP and cross-chain messages
Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol supports messages and token transfers between supported networks.
Verifiable randomness and automation
Smart contracts may need verifiable randomness or an external trigger when a condition is met.
What is the LINK token used for?
LINK participates in the economics of Chainlink services, including payments and certain staking arrangements.
Oracle and interoperability risks
Evaluate an oracle at the level of its particular feed and deployment.
Aave lending pools and aTokens
Aave is a liquidity protocol deployed on multiple networks.
DeFi interest rates: APR and APY
Borrower interest funds supplier returns, after protocol allocations.
Collateral, LTV and liquidation thresholds
Loan-to-value limits the amount that can initially be borrowed against collateral.
Aave health factor and liquidation
The health factor is threshold-weighted collateral value divided by total debt value.
E-mode, isolation and flash loans
Efficiency mode permits parameter arrangements for defined groups of correlated assets.
AAVE governance and protocol risk
AAVE is associated with ecosystem governance, including decisions about supported assets, risk parameters and protocol evolution.
Digital asset custody: beyond key storage
Custody combines the authority to move assets with obligations to safeguard and account for them.
MPC wallets and threshold signing
Multi-party computation allows participants to calculate a result jointly without revealing their private inputs to one another.
Multisig: policy, backups and recovery
A multisignature arrangement requires several signatures under a defined policy, such as two of three keys.
HSMs and FIPS 140: what validation means
A hardware security module provides a controlled environment for cryptographic operations and key protection.
Crypto settlement and reconciliation
Settlement is the completion of the obligations created by a transaction.
Operational controls for digital assets
An operational control should have a defined risk, owner, frequency, evidence and exception process.
Tokenization and real-world asset rights
Tokenization records or represents rights using a digital token.
Stablecoins: reserves, pegs and redemption
A stablecoin aims to track a reference value, often a currency.
MiCA / MiCAR: scope and authorisation
MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, creates an EU framework for specified crypto-assets and related service providers.
DORA and digital operational resilience
DORA is the EU framework for digital operational resilience in the financial sector, applicable from 17 January 2025.
Travel Rule: information accompanying transfers
The Travel Rule concerns information about the originator and beneficiary accompanying covered transfers.
AML, KYC, CDD and EDD explained
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks seek to prevent misuse of the financial system.
GDPR and blockchain data minimisation
A public address can be personal data when it relates to an identifiable individual.
Hot, warm and cold wallets
A wallet manages access to assets recorded on a network.
Liquidity pools and automated market makers
A liquidity pool holds assets under contract rules so users can exchange or borrow them.
Impermanent loss with a worked example
Impermanent loss measures how a liquidity-provider position differs from simply holding its initial assets as relative prices change.
Ethereum blobs and data availability
Blobs provide a dedicated mechanism for publishing data associated with Ethereum transactions, particularly useful to rollups.
Staking rewards and the risks behind the rate
Staking commits assets to a proof-of-stake mechanism, directly or through a service.
Designing a digital asset operating model
An operating model assigns decisions, execution and evidence across a service.
Asset admission and network due diligence
Supporting a ticker is not the same as supporting every token with that name.
Withdrawal controls and beneficiary changes
A withdrawal joins client intent, asset availability and signing authority.
Investigating reconciliation breaks
Reconciliation compares independent views of the same economic position at a defined time.
Treasury, fees and liquidity across networks
An asset balance is not the same as immediately usable liquidity.
Incident response and controlled recovery
An alert becomes an incident through investigation, not through its severity label alone.
Provider due diligence and exit planning
A provider assessment should follow the service dependency rather than its product name.
Tokenized securities across their lifecycle
Issuance is only the first event in a security’s life.
Read a transaction explorer
An explorer presents an indexed view of a network.
Recognise a wallet scam
Attackers can imitate a support agent, a familiar website or a message from a friend.
Coin, token, network and address
A network defines an execution and settlement environment.
Understand a DEX swap
A decentralised exchange can execute a trade through smart contracts and liquidity pools.
Bridges and cross-chain risk
A bridge coordinates information or value between environments.
Supply, FDV and token unlocks
Tokenomics describes issuance, distribution, incentives and rights.
MEV and transaction ordering
Maximal extractable value concerns value available through transaction inclusion, exclusion and ordering beyond ordinary block rewards and fees.
Smart wallets and account abstraction
A smart wallet can implement programmable validation and execution rules.