Lesson 1Token supply mechanics: issuance schedules, inflation, halving, minting, burning, capped vs. uncapped supplyThis section delves into token supply mechanics, covering issuance, inflation, halvings, minting, and burning. Learners will compare capped and uncapped supplies, model dilution effects, and evaluate how supply policies impact pricing and incentives in crypto markets.
Genesis allocations and vesting schedulesBlock rewards, emissions, and tail inflationHalving events and supply shock narrativesMinting, burning, and fee-burn mechanismsDilution, float, and fully diluted valuationLesson 2Reading and extracting key information from whitepapers and protocol specificationsThis section equips learners to critically analyse whitepapers and protocol specs. It covers their structure, key economic and technical claims, token distribution, governance, and spotting red flags, missing data, or unrealistic promises.
Typical whitepaper structure and sectionsIdentifying core problem, scope, and audienceConsensus, security, and threat assumptionsToken distribution, unlocks, and incentivesRed flags, omissions, and unverifiable claimsLesson 3Staking, delegation, and validator economics: rewards, slashing, lock-ups, and effects on circulating supplyThis section outlines staking, delegation, and validator economics in proof-of-stake systems. It discusses reward structures, slashing, lock-ups, liquid staking, and their effects on security, liquidity, and circulating supply dynamics.
Validator roles, hardware, and responsibilitiesReward schedules, APR, and real yieldSlashing conditions and risk managementDelegation models and staking poolsLiquid staking tokens and rehypothecationLesson 4How tokens capture economic value: utility, governance, payment, and commodity-like characteristicsThis section analyses how various token types capture and distribute economic value. It differentiates utility, governance, payment, and commodity-like tokens, and reviews fee flows, value accrual, and regulatory implications for each.
Utility tokens and access-rights designGovernance tokens and voting powerPayment tokens and medium-of-exchange rolesCommodity-like and asset-backed token traitsValue accrual, buybacks, and fee-sharing modelsLesson 5On-chain activity metrics and interpretation: active addresses, transaction counts, fees, throughput, and gas dynamicsThis section teaches interpretation of on-chain activity metrics like active addresses, transactions, fees, and gas. Learners will link these to user behaviour, network health, congestion, and the economic sustainability of protocols.
Active addresses, users, and sybil concernsTransaction counts, throughput, and batchingGas, base fees, and priority fees explainedMEV, reorgs, and fee market dynamicsInterpreting dashboards and avoiding misreadsLesson 6Overview of blockchain architectures and consensus mechanisms (PoW, PoS, hybrid, layer-2 solutions)This section introduces core blockchain architectures and consensus mechanisms. It compares PoW, PoS, hybrid designs, and layer-2 scaling, emphasising security, decentralisation, throughput, and trade-offs in real-world networks.
Monolithic vs modular blockchain designsProof-of-Work security and incentivesProof-of-Stake variants and finality modelsHybrid and committee-based consensusLayer-2 rollups, channels, and data availabilityLesson 7Stablecoins, wrapped tokens, and cross-chain bridges: mechanics, use cases, and systemic implicationsThis section explains the workings of stablecoins, wrapped tokens, and cross-chain bridges. It covers design models, collateralisation, bridge security risks, and systemic effects on liquidity, leverage, and contagion in blockchain ecosystems.
Fiat- and crypto-collateralized stablecoin modelsAlgorithmic and hybrid stablecoin stabilizationWrapped assets and synthetic token designBridge architectures and security assumptionsSystemic risks, depegs, and contagion channelsLesson 8Network effects and adoption curves: protocols, applications, and developer ecosystemsThis section investigates how network effects propel protocol and application adoption. It covers user and developer growth, adoption curves, composability, and how ecosystems compete, coordinate, and build lasting advantages over time.
Direct and indirect network effects in protocolsAdoption curves and S-curve modelingDeveloper ecosystems and tooling flywheelsComposability, liquidity pools, and moatsMultichain competition and winner-take-most
