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Introduction to Digital Assets

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Crypto is the only asset class where the settlement layer is public, the market never closes, and the exchange might be the counterparty. Those three facts change how trading works, and most explanations skip past them to talk about prices.

The course starts with what a cryptocurrency actually is and how a public blockchain reaches agreement, then moves to market infrastructure: centralised venues against decentralised ones, automated market makers and the constant product rule that prices every trade on them, stablecoins, and the liquidity problems specific to smaller tokens. From there it is trading mechanics, including perpetual futures and the funding payments that anchor them to spot in the absence of any expiry, and the arbitrage that exists between venues because capital cannot move instantly. It closes on custody, security and the regulatory picture.

No prior crypto knowledge is assumed. Familiarity with markets and market making helps but is not required, and the two courses are designed to be read in either order.

What Is a Cryptocurrency?2 questionsA digital bearer asset with no issuer, and what that structure means for anyone trading it.How Public Blockchains Work (Bitcoin, Ethereum)2 questionsBlocks, chains and finality, and the operational facts that matter when you are moving assets between venues.Exchanges: Centralized vs Decentralized2 questionsTwo venue models with different trust assumptions, and what each means for execution.Types of Tokens: Layer 1 vs Layer 2, Utility, Governance, and Stablecoins2 questionsThe categories, what actually gives each one value, and which are the plumbing of crypto trading.The Role of Consensus: Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake2 questionsHow a network with no authority agrees, and the economic security argument behind each mechanism.
On-Chain vs Off-Chain Trading2 questionsWhere the trade actually happens, and the settlement difference that shapes everything else.Decentralized Finance (DeFi): AMMs, DEXs, and Liquidity Pools2 questionsMarket making by formula rather than by quote, and the impermanent loss that decides whether providing liquidity pays.Stablecoins and their Role in Liquidity and Arbitrage2 questionsThe dollar rails of crypto, why they exist, and the depeg risk that touches every position at once.Price Oracles and the Oracle Problem2 questionsA smart contract cannot see a price, so someone has to tell it one, and that channel is the weakest point in most of DeFi.Bridges and Cross-Chain Risk2 questionsAssets are native to one chain, so moving value between chains means trusting something, and that something holds the largest pots in crypto.
Volatility, 24/7 Markets, and Gap Risk2 questionsContinuous trading changes what risk looks like, and removes the pause that traditional markets rely on.Liquidity Challenges in Altcoins2 questionsThin books, fragmented across venues, and why that is both the opportunity and the trap.Funding Rates and Perpetual Futures2 questionsCrypto's defining instrument, the mechanism that keeps it anchored, and the trade that mechanism creates.Arbitrage Opportunities in Crypto: Spot, Futures, Cross-Exchange2 questionsWhere the inefficiencies are, why they persist, and what it actually costs to capture them.Liquidation Engines and Insurance Funds2 questionsWhat actually happens when a leveraged position runs out of margin, and why the last line of defence can reach into a winning trade.
Wallet Security, Private Keys, and Cold Storage Best Practices2 questionsCustody is an operational risk with no recourse, and trading firms solve it differently from holders.Regulatory Overview and Its Impact on Trading2 questionsHow regulation shapes what can be traded, where, and by whom, and why it is a market-structure variable.
Yield Farming and Staking Mechanics2 questionsWhere crypto yields actually come from, and how to tell a real one from a subsidised one.Intro to Crypto Options and Structured Products2 questionsOptions on crypto, how the market differs from traditional venues, and the structured products that are options in disguise.

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  • Every lesson in all seven courses, with the worked examples and interactive simulators
  • Graded questions on every lesson, with explanations for the wrong answers as well as the right one
  • The trainers, timed assessments and brainteaser library that go with them