The whole level Start at the beginning 16 guides, about 2 hours 54 minutes of reading. Take them in order or jump to the track you need.

Start with guide one

Level 2 of 4

Is this your level?

You hold crypto in your own wallet and you have made a swap. Now make it work for you.

Who this is for

You already have a self custody wallet, you have bought and moved crypto, and you have done at least one onchain swap. You want to use DeFi properly, run more than one wallet without getting muddled, and research what you buy instead of taking anyone's word for it.

Before you start

Comfortable with these? Then you are in the right place. If any of them are new, the Beginner level covers them first.

By the end

What you will be able to do once this level is behind you.

Set up a wallet structure that stays safe as your balance grows
Read a signature request and know exactly what it lets someone do
Get a better price on every swap and set orders that fill while you sleep
Provide liquidity, stake and borrow with a clear picture of the tradeoffs
Research a token and a protocol from primary sources in under an hour
Move between chains and layer 2s without losing funds in the gaps

The tracks

Four tracks, in the order they build on each other

Each track stands on its own, so jump to the one you need. Read in order and every guide can lean on the one before it.

Track 1

Security that scales

The habits that work at a hundred dollars stop working at ten thousand. Structure your wallets, read what you sign, and understand what your address says about you.

4 guides45 minNot startedStart this track Track 2

DeFi, used well

Better fills, orders that wait for your price, your first liquidity position, and a reliable way to tell where any yield is really coming from.

4 guides44 minNot startedStart this track Track 3

Staking, borrowing and stablecoins

Put idle assets to work with your eyes open: liquid staking, running a loan, choosing a stablecoin, and judging an airdrop before you chase it.

4 guides41 minNot startedStart this track Track 4

Research and multichain

Research a token from the contract up, read the dashboards the pros read, live across several chains, and keep a portfolio you can actually account for.

4 guides44 minNot startedStart this track

Every guide

All 16, with the reading time for each

01Hot, warm and cold: structuring your walletsOne wallet works at a hundred dollars. At ten thousand, the question is how many wallets, and what each one is allowed to do.Intermediate11 min readSecurity that scales 02Reading what you signEvery drainer needs one thing from you: a signature. Learn to read the prompt and most of them are out of work.Intermediate12 min readSecurity that scales 03Smart accounts, passkeys and gasless transactionsYour wallet can do more than sign with one key. Here is what the new account types can do, and what they ask of you.Intermediate12 min readSecurity that scales 04What your address says about youYour address has no name on it. It does not need one. Here is what it shows, how it gets tied to you, and how to stay in control.Intermediate10 min readSecurity that scales 05Getting a good fill: slippage, price impact and routingYou have swapped before. This is how to swap well, so the number you see is the number you get.Intermediate10 min readDeFi, used well 06Limit orders, DCA and TWAP onchainA market swap pays for speed. These tools let an order wait for your price, or spread it out, while you stay in control.Intermediate13 min readDeFi, used well 07Providing liquidity: your first poolYou have swapped against pools. Now be the pool, with a clear view of what you are paid for and what it costs.Intermediate10 min readDeFi, used well 08Where yield actually comes fromA yield is somebody else paying you. Find out who, and why, before you decide what the number is worth.Intermediate11 min readDeFi, used well 09Liquid staking tokens in practiceYou know what liquid staking is. This is how to hold it, exit it and borrow against it without surprises.Intermediate12 min readStaking, borrowing and stablecoins 10Running a loan: health factor, LTV and liquidationBorrowing is one transaction. Running the loan is the ongoing part, and it is where you stay in control.Intermediate10 min readStaking, borrowing and stablecoins 11Choosing a stablecoin: backing, redemption and riskEvery stablecoin says one dollar. What stands behind that dollar is different for each, and it decides your risk.Intermediate10 min readStaking, borrowing and stablecoins 12Airdrops and points: how they work, how to judge themAirdrops reward the people who show up early. Here is how they are built and how to tell a good one from a costly one.Intermediate9 min readStaking, borrowing and stablecoins 13Researching a token before you buy itMost bad tokens fail a check you could have run in ten minutes. Here is the full routine, from the contract to the calendar.Intermediate12 min readResearch and multichain 14Reading DeFi dashboards: TVL, fees, revenue and volumeThe numbers everyone quotes are useful once you know what each one leaves out. Here is how to read them.Intermediate10 min readResearch and multichain 15Living on more than one chainSeveral chains, one set of keys, and no money lost in the gaps between them. The habits that make multichain routine.Intermediate12 min readResearch and multichain 16Running a portfolio: sizing, rebalancing and recordsNot what to buy. How to hold whatever you hold, with rules you set before the market set them for you.Intermediate10 min readResearch and multichain

The ladder

Four levels, one path

Move up when this level feels easy, or step down a level whenever a guide leans on something you have not met yet. There is no penalty for either.

Level 1

Start the Intermediate level

Sixteen guides, about 2 hours of reading, and every one of them free. Your progress stays on this device.

Read guide one Back to Beginner

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Intermediate crypto: use it with confidence