Changelog
What we add, what we fix, and what we improve. A transparent record so readers can see how the site evolves.
- Added
Phase 2 — Crypto Tax & Recordkeeping Basics (course #8)
Launched the eighth full-length course: Crypto Tax & Recordkeeping Basics — seven intermediate lessons (~20 min each) plus a 10-question final quiz. Covers the conceptual framework distinguishing taxable from non-taxable events (acquisition vs disposal vs receipt); cost-basis methods (FIFO, HIFO, specific identification, average cost, UK Section 104 pooling) and which jurisdictions permit which; real-time recordkeeping discipline (txhash, UTC timestamp, fiat values, transaction type, counterparty) that turns April from catastrophic reconstruction into a copy job; the US framework (IRS Notice 2014-21, Rev. Rul. 2019-24, 2025 1099-DA finalisation, Form 8949 / Schedule D / Schedule 1, wash-sale non-applicability); the UK framework (HMRC Cryptoassets Manual, Section 104 pooling with same-day + 30-day rules, DeFi Manual, annual CGT exemption); the EU framework (DAC8 effective 2026, MiCA regulatory layer, member-state variation across Germany's 1-year exemption, France's 30% PFU, Netherlands' Box 3, Portugal's structure, Spain, Italy); and a final lesson on hidden taxable events (airdrops, hard forks, DeFi swaps, LP token mints, NFT royalties, staking rewards, lending interest, wrapped tokens). Strict editorial rule: no personalised tax advice — every lesson includes a safetyWarning pointing readers to a qualified tax professional in their jurisdiction. Added 7 glossary entries (cost-basis, taxable-event, capital-gain, fifo, hifo, section-104, dac8) — glossary now stands at 267 terms. 2 courses remain in the stub list.
/courses/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/lesson-1-taxable-vs-non-taxable-events/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/lesson-2-cost-basis-methods/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/lesson-3-recordkeeping-discipline/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/lesson-4-united-states-framework/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/lesson-5-uk-framework/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/lesson-6-eu-framework/courses/crypto-tax-and-recordkeeping-basics/lesson-7-hidden-taxable-events - Improved
Phase 3 Session 1 — Source citations on every scam + cross-links across every learn topic
Structural quality lift across two large sections. Every one of the 35 scam pages now renders a 'Sources & further reading' block with 3-5 primary/secondary citations — FBI IC3 reports, FTC alerts, SEC and CFTC enforcement, NIST guidelines, Chainalysis crime reports, Global Anti-Scam Organization case files, and the relevant EIPs and protocol docs. Sources include the type badge (primary / secondary / contextual) so readers can weigh each citation appropriately. Separately, the cross-link map at src/data/relationships.ts was expanded from 10 learn topics to all 37 — the 27 previously-orphaned topics (consensus, daos-governance, bridges-crosschain, blockchain-security, exchanges, reading-charts, portfolio-management, reading-whitepapers, news-literacy, defi-risk, crypto-privacy, gas-fees, stablecoins-deep-dive, layer1-vs-layer2, how-to-defi, airdrops-guide, market-cycles, mev-explained, understanding-nfts, hardware-wallets, understanding-oracles, zero-knowledge-explained, transaction-anatomy, self-custody, crypto-taxes-by-country, ai-and-crypto, etf-institutional) now each carry 3-5 references to related coins, scams, glossary terms, tools, and emerging trends. The 'More Topics' / 'Related' sections at the bottom of each learn page now surface meaningful connections instead of an empty box. No new pages; pure quality improvement on existing content.
- Added
Phase 2 — On-Chain Research (course #7)
Launched the seventh full-length course: On-Chain Research — eight intermediate lessons (~22 min each) plus a 12-question final quiz. Covers block-explorer literacy (addresses, transactions, internal calls, event logs, calldata); the mempool as a public information surface plus private submission via Flashbots Protect / MEV-Share; decoding the four signature types (on-chain transactions, ERC-20 approvals, EIP-712 Permits, personal_sign) field-by-field; the proxy vs implementation distinction on Etherscan; ten token-contract red-flag patterns (mint, blacklist, hidden admin transfers, mutable fee-on-transfer, unlocked LP, theatrical ownership renunciation, function-selector mismatches, suspicious external calls, anti-bot honeypot logic); Dune dashboard skepticism and SQL-query reading; wash-trading and insider-wallet pattern detection; and a complete 30-minute pre-purchase research walk-through combining all of the above. Added 7 glossary entries (mempool, calldata, event-log, proxy-contract, internal-transaction, fee-on-transfer, contract-verification) — glossary now stands at 260 terms. 3 courses remain in the stub list.
/courses/courses/on-chain-research/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-1-block-explorer-literacy/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-2-mempool-and-pending-state/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-3-approvals-and-signatures-revisited/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-4-verified-contracts-and-proxies/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-5-token-contract-red-flags/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-6-dune-dashboards-and-sql-literacy/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-7-wash-trading-and-insider-wallets/courses/on-chain-research/lesson-8-pre-purchase-walkthrough - Added
Phase 2 — DeFi Safety Course (course #6)
Launched the sixth full-length course: DeFi Safety Course — eight intermediate lessons (~22 min each) plus a 12-question final quiz. Covers AMM math and the structural differences between Uniswap V2/V3/V4, Curve StableSwap, and Balancer; lending markets (Aave, Compound, Morpho) with collateral-factor and health-factor mechanics; how to read audit reports critically (severity classifications, what audits cover, what they routinely miss); the four exploit classes that account for most DeFi losses (reentrancy, flash-loan price manipulation, oracle manipulation, governance attacks) with named case studies (DAO, Curve, Mango, Beanstalk, Cream); oracle design (Chainlink, TWAP, Pyth) and the manipulation conditions for each; bridge exploits at mechanism level (Ronin $625M, Wormhole $325M, Harmony $100M, Multichain $130M+, Nomad $190M); impermanent loss and LVR with the actual math; and a 10-item pre-deposit checklist for any DeFi allocation. Added 6 glossary entries (twap, collateral-factor, governance-attack, audit-report, reentrancy) — glossary now stands at 253 terms. 4 courses remain in the stub list.
/courses/courses/defi-safety-course/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-1-amms-explained/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-2-lending-markets/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-3-reading-audits/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-4-the-exploit-catalogue/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-5-oracle-design/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-6-bridges-revisited/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-7-impermanent-loss/courses/defi-safety-course/lesson-8-pre-deposit-checklist - Added
Phase 2 — Stablecoins & Payments (course #5)
Launched the fifth full-length course: Stablecoins & Payments — seven intermediate lessons (~22 min each) plus a 10-question final quiz. Covers the three structural stablecoin designs (fiat-backed, crypto-collateralized, algorithmic) and how to identify the family at first read; the technical and substantive difference between attestations and full audits; the two most-studied depeg events (TerraUSD May 2022 death-spiral collapse and USDC/SVB March 2023 72-hour recovery) and why one was structural-terminal while the other was a resolvable counterparty event; where stablecoin payments genuinely outperform fiat rails (cross-border remittance corridors with functioning ramp infrastructure, B2B crypto-native settlement, payroll in unstable-currency jurisdictions) versus where the marketing exceeds the substance; the four major regulatory regimes (MiCA, NYDFS, MAS PS Act, UK FSMA) and how they're converging on common reserve-and-redemption requirements; the seven-layer risk stack underneath a single 'USDC' balance (issuer, contract, chain, bridge, custody, jurisdiction, sanctions); and a final synthesis on reading stablecoin claims structurally rather than via marketing language. Added 5 glossary entries (stablecoin, depeg, attestation-report, collateralization-ratio, redemption-mechanism) — glossary now stands at 248 terms. 5 courses remain in the stub list.
/courses/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/lesson-1-the-three-designs/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/lesson-2-attestations-vs-audits/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/lesson-3-depegs-in-depth/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/lesson-4-stablecoin-payments/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/lesson-5-regulatory-frameworks/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/lesson-6-counterparty-and-chain-risk/courses/stablecoins-and-payments/lesson-7-use-cases-vs-marketing - Added
Phase 2 — Scam Defense & Recovery Evidence Course (course #4)
Launched the fourth full-length course: Scam Defense & Recovery Evidence — eight intermediate lessons (~22 min each) collapsing the 35 documented scam patterns into five operational adversary families, then walking through pig-butchering's six-stage script, drainer-signature mechanics from the victim's perspective, fake-support and impersonation patterns, the first-24-hours irreversible window, evidence preservation forensics (with capture half-life), report-filing that triggers exchange-compliance freezes and joins pattern databases, and the recovery-scam ecosystem that arrives within hours of any compromise becoming public. 12-question final quiz (9/12 to pass). Added 4 glossary entries (pig-butchering, address-poisoning, money-mule, recovery-scam) — glossary now stands at 243 terms. 6 courses remain in the stub list.
/courses/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-1-the-five-macro-families/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-2-pig-butchering-in-depth/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-3-drainer-attacks-from-a-victims-view/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-4-impersonation-and-social-engineering-at-scale/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-5-the-first-24-hours/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-6-evidence-preservation-forensics/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-7-reporting-that-goes-somewhere/courses/scam-defense-and-recovery/lesson-8-the-recovery-scam-wave - Added
Phase 2 — Self-Custody Masterclass (course #3)
Launched the third full-length course: Self-Custody Masterclass — eight intermediate lessons (~22 min each) on the cryptography and operational discipline behind holding your own keys properly. Covers the custody decision (four real choices, not two), BIP-39 entropy and seed generation, BIP-32 hierarchical deterministic wallets and the 'wrong path on restore' trap, BIP-39 passphrases and plausible deniability done right, backup architectures (paper / metal / SLIP-39 / multi-location), 2-of-3 multisig for individuals (with the wallet-descriptor backup discipline), inheritance and incapacity planning that survives probate, and the realistic assessment of supply-chain and wrench attacks. 12-question final quiz (9/12 to pass). Added 12 glossary entries (bip-32, bip-39, bip-44, slip-39, passphrase, hd-wallet, derivation-path, entropy, mnemonic, decoy-wallet, plausible-deniability, secure-element) — glossary now stands at 239 terms. 7 courses remain in the stub list.
/courses/courses/self-custody-masterclass/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-1-the-custody-decision/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-2-entropy-and-seeds/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-3-hd-wallets-and-derivation-paths/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-4-passphrases-done-right/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-5-backup-architectures/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-6-multisig-for-individuals/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-7-inheritance-and-incapacity/courses/self-custody-masterclass/lesson-8-supply-chain-and-operational-paranoia - Added
Phase 2 — Crypto Security Bootcamp (course #2)
Launched the second full-length course: Crypto Security Bootcamp — eight intermediate lessons (~20 min each) on threat modelling, phishing-resistant 2FA, hardware wallets without blind-signing, the weekly token-approval audit, phishing & social engineering patterns, device/browser/network hygiene, exchange-account security, and the first-60-minutes incident-response playbook. Includes a 12-question final quiz (9/12 to pass), per-lesson mini-quizzes, primary-source links on every lesson, glossary cross-links, and a downloadable completion summary on pass. No financial advice, no preferred wallet/exchange, no affiliate links. Added 3 glossary entries (sim-swap, social-engineering, wallet-drainer) — glossary now stands at 227 terms. 8 courses remain in the stub list.
/courses/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-1-the-threat-model/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-2-2fa-done-right/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-3-hardware-wallets-in-practice/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-4-token-approvals/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-5-phishing-and-social-engineering/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-6-device-and-network-hygiene/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-7-exchange-account-security/courses/crypto-security-bootcamp/lesson-8-incident-response - Added
Phase 2 — Courses system + first complete course
Launched /courses with a full lesson + final-quiz framework. The first course — Crypto Beginner: 7-Day Course — is live with 7 plain-English lessons (~12-15 min each), a 10-question final quiz, key-terms cross-linked to the glossary, primary-source links per lesson, lesson-complete tracking via localStorage, and a downloadable completion summary on quiz pass. 9 additional courses are scoped and listed as 'Coming soon' on the index. New components: Course/CourseLesson/CourseFinalQuiz data types, CourseSchema JSON-LD, LessonMiniQuiz, CourseFinalQuiz. Homepage 'Learn the Basics' CTA now points at the new course. Footer + nav updated.
/courses/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/day-1-what-is-crypto/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/day-2-wallets-and-private-keys/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/day-3-coin-vs-token-categories/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/day-4-the-5-scams-you-must-recognise/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/day-5-stablecoins-and-real-uses/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/day-6-the-security-routine/courses/crypto-beginner-7-day/day-7-what-comes-next - Improved
Trust, freshness, and data-integrity fixes
Corrected residual "5 minutes" market-refresh claims on methodology, compare, and terms pages (actual implementation is 15 minutes / 900s). Replaced the homepage "Peer Reviewed" trust badge with "Editorially Reviewed" — we will only re-introduce "Peer Reviewed" when content is reviewed by named external experts. Live price widgets now show a relative "Updated N min ago" timestamp; when the CoinGecko API is unavailable, the widget falls back to clearly-labelled "Example data" with an amber border instead of silently showing stale numbers. Added two new shared components: <SourcesList> (renders a labelled Primary/Secondary/Contextual sources section) and inline "Report an error" links on ~20 additional content pages. Extended <PageMeta> with nextReviewDue and contentType (evergreen / fast-moving / regulatory / market-data) so each page advertises its review cadence.
- Improved
Migration from Netlify to self-hosted (Hetzner + Coolify)
Site moved from Netlify to a self-hosted Hetzner Cloud VPS (Nuremberg, EU) running Coolify. Cloudflare sits in front as CDN/DNS. Build is now a multi-stage Docker image (Node 20 alpine → Next standalone start). Removed netlify.toml and @netlify/plugin-nextjs dev dependency. Updated privacy policy to disclose Hetzner + Cloudflare as data processors instead of Netlify.
- Improved
Site-wide accessibility, schema, and trust signals
Added skip-to-content link, BreadcrumbList JSON-LD on 9 more pages, Article/CollectionPage/HowTo schema on 11 more pages, /changelog and /start-here pages, and inline 'Report an error' UI on every content page. Corrected residual count claims (37 learn topics, 27 emerging trends).
- Added
Six new learn topics
Added in-depth learn topics: Zero-Knowledge Proofs Explained, Transaction Anatomy (UTXO vs account, gas, RBF/CPFP), Self-Custody (BIP-39, Shamir, multisig, inheritance), Crypto Tax Rules by Country (US 1099-DA, UK Section 104, EU DAC8), AI Meets Crypto, and Bitcoin ETFs & Institutional Crypto.
- Improved
Expanded existing topics
crypto-privacy now covers ERC-5564 stealth addresses, address reuse risks, and jurisdiction-specific privacy-tool legality. mev-explained covers MEV-Share, Order Flow Auctions, and private mempool setup. bridges-crosschain catalogues Harmony Horizon ($100M, June 2022) and Multichain ($130M+, July 2023) hacks.
- Fixed
Corrected scam statistics with primary source attribution
Replaced unattributed '$17B global losses' with FBI IC3-attributed $12.5B US crypto fraud losses (2024). Clarified that $5.6B is total US crypto fraud (FBI IC3 2023 report) while $3.96B is the investment-fraud subset. Updated quiz question #14 with correct sourcing.
- Added
New interactive tools
Launched Scam Triage Wizard (/scam-checker), Scam Scenario Lab (/scam-lab) with 6 realistic scam scenarios, Token Red Flag Analyzer (/tools/token-red-flags) with 20-item checklist, Wallet Chooser (/tools/wallet-chooser) wizard, and Bridge Safety Guide (/tools/bridge-safety).
- Added
Programmatic comparison and buy guides
Added 19 'Coin vs Coin' comparison pages (e.g., /compare/bitcoin-vs-ethereum) with live market data, technical comparison tables, and FAQ schema. Added 16 'How to Buy [Coin] Safely' guides at /buy/[coin].
- Added
Editorial trust pages
Published /editorial-standards (six principles, four-step review process, content review schedule) and /correction-policy (correction types, 48-hour review SLA). Added Post-Scam Response Center at /post-scam.
- Improved
API efficiency
Reduced CoinGecko API calls per revalidation cycle from 92 to ~2 by routing all coin-price requests through a single batch URL (Next.js Data Cache deduplicates the shared URL across 90 coin pages, the comparison page, and homepage). Increased revalidation interval from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. Projected monthly usage went from worst-case ~795k calls to ~5,760 — well inside the 100k Demo plan budget.
- Fixed
Migration from Vercel to Netlify
Site moved to Netlify hosting with auto-deploy via GitHub webhook + SSH deploy key. Updated privacy policy hosting reference. Configured Cloudflare DNS, custom domain, SSL.
Spotted an error or inaccuracy? Report it . We aim to acknowledge corrections within 48 hours.