Lesson 1Token supply mechanics: issuance schedules, inflation, halving, minting, burning, capped vs. uncapped supplyThis part looks closely at how token supply works, covering issuance, inflation, halvings, minting, and burning. Learners will compare limited and unlimited supplies, model how value gets diluted, and see how supply rules impact prices and motivations.
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 part teaches learners to carefully read whitepapers and protocol details. It covers the layout, main economic and technical points, token sharing, management, and spotting warning signs, missing info, and promises that seem too good to be true.
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 part explains staking, delegation, and validator money matters in proof-of-stake setups. It covers reward setups, penalties, lock-ups, liquid staking, and how these affect safety, cash flow, and tokens in circulation.
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 part breaks down how various token types grab and share economic value. It separates utility, governance, payment, and commodity-style tokens, and looks at fee movements, value building, and rules affecting each type.
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 part shows how to make sense of on-chain activity measures like active addresses, transactions, fees, and gas. Learners will link basic data to user actions, network wellbeing, blockages, and long-term money sustainability of systems.
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 part introduces main blockchain setups and agreement methods. It compares Proof-of-Work, Proof-of-Stake, mixed designs, and layer-2 scaling, with focus on safety, spread-out control, speed, and compromises in actual 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 part explains how stablecoins, wrapped tokens, and cross-chain links operate. It covers design types, backing, bridge safety dangers, and overall effects on cash flow, borrowing, and spread of problems across blockchain worlds.
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 part explores how network effects push protocol and app uptake. It covers user and builder growth, uptake patterns, buildability, and how systems compete, team up, and hold strong points 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
