Market capitalizationvs.Fully diluted valuation
Market cap uses circulating supply. FDV uses a broader total or maximum supply figure. Both use a reference price; neither tells you how much cash went into a token.
LEARNING PATHS
Find your footing.
Follow the thread.
Crypto conversations get easier a few words at a time. Choose a reading thread and follow six connected ideas at your own pace.
PATH 01 · 6 CONCEPTS
Start here
First wallet, first questions.
Pick up the words behind your first wallet and transaction. Six connected concepts give you a place to start.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadBlockchain
A shared ledger whose blocks are linked by cryptographic hashes.
Bitcoin
A peer-to-peer monetary network whose native asset is bitcoin, usually written as BTC.
Wallet
Software or hardware that manages blockchain accounts and helps authorize transactions.
Private key
Secret key material used to create signatures or perform other private-key operations in a public-key system.
Transaction
An authorized request to change a blockchain’s state, such as moving assets or calling a contract.
Consensus
Agreement about which valid blockchain history and state the network accepts.
PATH 02 · 6 CONCEPTS
Build on the basics
Follow the DeFi rabbit hole.
Get from “what’s a swap?” to liquidity pools and impermanent loss, one useful word at a time.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadSmart contract
A program on a blockchain that executes defined rules when it is invoked.
DeFi
Decentralized finance: financial applications that use blockchain protocols and smart contracts.
Decentralized exchange
An exchange whose trading execution or settlement relies on blockchain protocols.
Automated market maker
A trading mechanism that uses an algorithm and available liquidity to quote or determine exchange prices.
Liquidity pool
Assets held under a protocol’s rules to support activities such as swaps or lending.
Impermanent loss
A liquidity position’s value shortfall compared with holding the deposited assets, caused by changing relative prices.
PATH 03 · 6 CONCEPTS
Essential for everyone
Keys, custody and wallet prompts.
Understand what your wallet holds, what a signature can allow and how common scams try to catch you out.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadPrivate key
Secret key material used to create signatures or perform other private-key operations in a public-key system.
Seed phrase
Recovery words used by many wallets to derive the keys that control an account.
Self-custody
Controlling the authorization needed to move your own blockchain assets.
Hardware wallet
A dedicated device designed to generate, protect and use signing keys without exposing them to a general-purpose computer.
Token approval
Permission for a specified spender to move tokens under the token contract's rules.
Phishing
Deception that impersonates a trusted person or service to obtain secrets or harmful authorizations.
PATH 04 · 6 CONCEPTS
Market basics
Read the market, beyond the price.
Decode the numbers on a coin page, from market cap and FDV to why a trade can slip and a leveraged position can get liquidated.
See the words beside a live chartOpen your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadMarket capitalization
An asset's reference price multiplied by its estimated circulating supply.
Fully diluted valuation
A hypothetical valuation multiplying a reference price by a broader total or maximum supply figure.
Liquidity
The ability to trade an amount of an asset without a large delay or adverse price effect.
Slippage
The difference between an expected execution result and the result actually obtained.
Leverage
Exposure to a position larger than the capital directly supporting it.
Liquidation
The forced repayment or closing of a position that no longer meets its collateral or margin rules.
PATH 05 · 6 CONCEPTS
Go a level deeper
Layer 1, Layer 2 and the route between.
Follow the thread from a base chain to a rollup, learn how rollup designs differ and see what crossing a bridge involves.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadLayer 1
A blockchain's base network, responsible for its own consensus and canonical state.
Layer 2
A system that processes activity outside a base blockchain while relying on it for key security or settlement functions.
Rollup
A scaling system that executes transactions separately and publishes required data and commitments to a base chain.
Optimistic rollup
A rollup that accepts submitted execution results subject to a process for challenging invalid results.
Zero-knowledge rollup
A rollup that uses cryptographic validity proofs to demonstrate correct execution of transaction batches.
Bridge
A mechanism for moving assets, asset representations or messages between blockchain environments.
PATH 06 · 6 CONCEPTS
Bitcoin basics
How Bitcoin records a payment.
Start with Bitcoin and satoshis, follow spendable transaction outputs, then connect proof of work and mining to the block subsidy halving.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadBitcoin
A peer-to-peer monetary network whose native asset is bitcoin, usually written as BTC.
Satoshi
One hundred millionth of a bitcoin, commonly shortened to sat.
UTXO
An unspent Bitcoin transaction output that a future transaction can consume.
Proof of work
A mechanism that requires computational work to qualify a candidate block for acceptance.
Mining
The process of building candidate blocks, searching for valid proof of work and publishing successful results.
Halving
Bitcoin’s scheduled halving of the block subsidy every 210,000 blocks.
PATH 07 · 6 CONCEPTS
Build your foundation
From a transaction to a shared ledger.
Follow a transaction into a block, see what cryptographic hashes contribute, and learn how consensus and finality shape the accepted history.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadBlockchain
A shared ledger whose blocks are linked by cryptographic hashes.
Transaction
An authorized request to change a blockchain’s state, such as moving assets or calling a contract.
Block
A batch of blockchain data that is accepted as one step in the network’s history.
Cryptographic hash
A deterministic digest designed to make reversing it or finding certain matching inputs computationally impractical.
Consensus
Agreement about which valid blockchain history and state the network accepts.
Finality
The degree of assurance that an accepted transaction or block will not be replaced.
PATH 08 · 6 CONCEPTS
Apps and communities
Apps, tokens and shared decisions.
Connect Web3 to smart contracts and dapps, learn what an NFT identifies, then explore how DAOs and governance tokens organize decisions.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadWeb3
A broad label for internet applications using blockchains for functions such as ownership, payments or coordination.
Smart contract
A program on a blockchain that executes defined rules when it is invoked.
Dapp
A decentralized application with important backend logic or state running on a decentralized network.
Non-fungible token
A token with an individual identity rather than interchangeable units, commonly called an NFT.
DAO
A decentralized autonomous organization: a group coordinating decisions and resources through defined rules, often using blockchain contracts.
Governance token
A token used in a protocol or organization's decision-making system.
PATH 09 · 6 CONCEPTS
From foundations to proofs
From a hash to a proof.
Explore hashes and key pairs, see how signatures establish authorization, then build toward Merkle trees and zero-knowledge proofs.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadCryptographic hash
A deterministic digest designed to make reversing it or finding certain matching inputs computationally impractical.
Public key
The shareable part of a public-key pair, used to verify signatures or perform certain encryption operations.
Private key
Secret key material used to create signatures or perform other private-key operations in a public-key system.
Digital signature
Cryptographic evidence that a message was authorized by the key corresponding to a verifying public key.
Merkle tree
A tree of hashes that commits to many data items through one root hash.
Zero-knowledge proof
A cryptographic way to demonstrate a claim without revealing the secret information used to establish it.
PATH 10 · 6 CONCEPTS
Ethereum foundations
The pieces behind an Ethereum transaction.
Follow Ethereum from smart contracts and the EVM to gas, ERC-20 token interfaces and proof-of-stake consensus.
Open your first word to start this thread.
Open this threadEthereum
A blockchain that runs programmable accounts and applications, with ether as its native asset.
Smart contract
A program on a blockchain that executes defined rules when it is invoked.
EVM
The Ethereum Virtual Machine, which executes Ethereum contract bytecode according to shared rules.
Gas
The unit Ethereum uses to measure the computation and other resources a transaction consumes.
ERC-20
An Ethereum interface standard for fungible tokens, including balances, transfers and spending allowances.
Proof of stake
A consensus approach that uses committed assets to help select validators and hold them accountable.
QUICK DISTINCTIONS
Often mixed up.
Similar words, different jobs. Open either definition to get the full context.
APRvs.APY
APR usually quotes an annualized rate without compounding. APY includes compounding under stated assumptions. A displayed rate can change; it is not a guaranteed return.
Private keyvs.Seed phrase
A private key creates signatures. A seed phrase lets many wallets derive and recover their keys. They are different secrets, and either can give someone control of funds.
Layer 1vs.Layer 2
Layer 1 is the base blockchain with its own consensus. Layer 2 processes activity separately while relying on the base chain for security or settlement. The details depend on the design.
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