Level 2 · Intermediate
Connect the mechanisms: transactions, fees, oracles and DeFi. Work through calculations and practical decisions after the foundations.
Your modules · Intermediate
35 modules, in a suggested learning order.
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 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 wallets, recovery and Lightning
A recovery phrase can reconstruct the keys of a deterministic wallet.
Ethereum gas and EIP-1559
Gas measures computational resources; the effective gas price determines their cost.
EVM and smart contract composability
The Ethereum Virtual Machine executes instructions deterministically.
Ethereum proof of stake and slashing
Validators commit ETH and participate in proposing blocks and attesting to the chain.
Token approvals and wallet security
An ERC-20 approval lets a spender contract transfer a specified allowance on your behalf.
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.
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.
AAVE governance and protocol risk
AAVE is associated with ecosystem governance, including decisions about supported assets, risk parameters and protocol evolution.
Multisig: policy, backups and recovery
A multisignature arrangement requires several signatures under a defined policy, such as two of three keys.
Tokenization and real-world asset rights
Tokenization records or represents rights using a digital token.
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.
AML, KYC, CDD and EDD explained
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks seek to prevent misuse of the financial system.
Travel Rule: information accompanying transfers
The Travel Rule concerns information about the originator and beneficiary accompanying covered transfers.
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.
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.
Treasury, fees and liquidity across networks
An asset balance is not the same as immediately usable liquidity.
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.
Explore another level
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 →Check what you have learned
Six questions with explanations and links to revisit missed concepts.
Take the path review →