The Almanac

Almanac

Guides that age well — the fundamentals, explained without hype.

Stuck transactions and nonces: how to unblock a wallet

A single underpriced transaction can freeze every transaction behind it. Understanding the nonce turns a frightening situation into a two-minute fix.

Mason Walker · October 9, 2026

intermediate

on-chain

The mempool: the waiting room every transaction passes through

Between broadcasting a transaction and seeing it confirmed, it sits in a public queue that anyone can read. That visibility explains fee spikes, stuck transactions and a whole category of trading behaviour.

Mason Walker·October 7, 2026· 4m

intermediate

on-chain

Confirmations and finality: when is a transaction actually done?

Some chains give you certainty in seconds, others give you steadily improving odds. Knowing which kind you are using decides how long you should wait before treating a payment as settled.

Mason Walker·October 5, 2026· 4m

intermediate

on-chain

How to use a block explorer like an analyst

A block explorer turns a public ledger into something you can actually read. Once you know which five fields matter, most on-chain questions answer themselves in under a minute.

Lauren Bennett·October 2, 2026· 4m

beginner

fundamentals

How to choose a crypto exchange: a working checklist

Fees are the easiest thing to compare and rarely the thing that costs you most. Here is the order of priority that survives contact with reality — starting with whether you get your money back.

Kayla Peterson·September 30, 2026· 3m

beginner

trading

Trading pairs: why the same coin has several prices

Every trade is priced in something else. Choosing the quote currency changes your fees, your liquidity and sometimes what you are actually exposed to.

Kayla Peterson·September 28, 2026· 3m

beginner

trading

Stop-losses in crypto: what they protect and what they don't

A stop-loss is a plan, not a guarantee. In markets that trade all night and gap through levels, understanding how yours will actually execute is more useful than where you place it.

Lauren Bennett·September 25, 2026· 4m

intermediate

trading

Perpetual swaps and funding rates, explained properly

Perpetual futures never expire, which creates a problem: what keeps the contract price near spot? The answer is a payment between traders, and it tells you a great deal about positioning.

Lauren Bennett·September 23, 2026· 4m

advanced

trading

Spot, margin and futures: a risk-first primer

The three ways to take a position differ mainly in how you can lose. Understanding liquidation before leverage is the difference between a bad trade and a wiped account.

Lauren Bennett·September 21, 2026· 4m

intermediate

fundamentals

Fiat on-ramps and off-ramps: getting money in and out

Converting between bank money and crypto is where most of the cost, friction and blocked-payment frustration lives. Here is how each route works and what it really charges.

Lauren Bennett·September 18, 2026· 4m

beginner

fundamentals

KYC and AML checks: what exchanges ask and why

Identity verification is the price of using a regulated platform. Here is what is collected, what happens to it, why accounts get frozen, and what your realistic options are.

Lauren Bennett·September 16, 2026· 4m

beginner

fundamentals

Proof of reserves: what it shows and what it leaves out

After several exchange failures, proof of reserves became the industry's answer to 'are the coins there?'. It is a genuine improvement on nothing, and a long way from an audit.

Lauren Bennett·September 14, 2026· 4m

intermediate

fundamentals

Choosing the right withdrawal network (and the memo trap)

The same token exists on several chains, and sending it over the wrong one is one of the most common ways people lose funds moving money off an exchange. Here is how to get it right every time.

Mason Walker·September 11, 2026· 4m

beginner

trading

Slippage: the cost that never appears on the fee schedule

Slippage is the difference between the price you expected and the price you got. It is usually the largest cost in a crypto trade, and almost the only one you can control by changing how you order.

Kayla Peterson·September 9, 2026· 4m

beginner

trading

How to read an order book without fooling yourself

The order book shows what people are willing to trade right now — and hides most of what will actually happen. Here is how to read depth, spread and imbalance, and where the display lies.

Lauren Bennett·September 7, 2026· 4m

intermediate

trading

Maker and taker fees: why your trade costs what it costs

Exchanges charge two different prices for the same trade depending on whether you supplied liquidity or consumed it. Over an active month the gap is larger than most headline fee comparisons.

Kayla Peterson·September 4, 2026· 4m

beginner

trading

Market, limit and stop orders: choosing the right one

The order type you choose decides whether you control your price or your certainty of filling. Here is what each one does, where each one hurts, and how they behave in thin crypto markets.

Lauren Bennett·September 2, 2026· 4m

beginner

security

Smart-contract wallets: programmable custody, explained

A smart-contract wallet replaces a single private key with code, which allows recovery, spending limits and paying fees in stablecoins. It also makes your wallet a contract with all that implies.

Mason Walker·August 31, 2026· 4m

advanced

security

Planning crypto inheritance without handing over the keys

Self-custody means no bank will help your family recover anything. A workable plan tells them what exists and how to reach it — without creating a copy of your keys that anyone can use today.

Lauren Bennett·August 28, 2026· 4m

intermediate

security

Metal seed backups: paper survives daily life, not disasters

A seed phrase on paper is one flood, fire or faded biro away from unrecoverable. Stamping it into metal costs less than most hardware wallets and removes an entire category of loss.

Lauren Bennett·August 26, 2026· 4m

beginner

security

How wallet drainers work, step by step

Drainer kits industrialised crypto theft: a template site, a signature request, and a wallet emptied in one confirmation. Understanding the sequence is what lets you break it.

Kayla Peterson·August 24, 2026· 4m

intermediate

security

Two-factor authentication for crypto accounts, ranked by strength

SMS codes, authenticator apps and security keys are not equivalent, and the gap between them is where account takeovers happen. Here is how each one fails and which to use where.

Lauren Bennett·August 21, 2026· 4m

beginner

security

Burner wallets: the case for a throwaway account

A burner wallet is a disposable account that holds almost nothing and does the risky interactions on your behalf. Used properly, it turns most wallet-drain incidents into a minor annoyance.

Kayla Peterson·August 19, 2026· 4m

beginner

security

The 25th word: how wallet passphrases work

A passphrase turns one seed phrase into an unlimited number of separate wallets, and gives you a plausible answer to someone demanding your keys. It also has no recovery path whatsoever.

Lauren Bennett·August 17, 2026· 4m

advanced

security

Multisig wallets: what they solve, and what they cost you

A multisig wallet requires several keys to approve a transaction, which removes the single point of failure at the heart of ordinary self-custody. It also introduces complexity that has lost people their funds.

Mason Walker·August 14, 2026· 5m

intermediate

security

How to verify a crypto address before you hit send

Address poisoning, clipboard malware and lookalike characters all exploit the same habit: copying an address without checking it. Here is a verification routine that takes seconds and survives all three.

Lauren Bennett·August 12, 2026· 5m

beginner

security

Token approvals: the permission that quietly drains wallets

Every DeFi app you touch asks for a token approval, and most of them ask for an unlimited one. Here is what that permission actually grants, how it gets abused, and the review routine that keeps it contained.

Kayla Peterson·August 10, 2026· 6m

intermediate

fundamentals

How to read a crypto market cap without fooling yourself

Market cap is the most quoted and least understood number in crypto. Here is what it genuinely measures, what it hides, and how to read it without fooling yourself.

Mason Walker·July 4, 2026· 8m

beginner

trading

How to Buy Bitcoin Safely (Step by Step)

A plain-English walkthrough of buying your first Bitcoin: choosing a platform, placing an order, keeping fees low, and moving coins to a wallet you control.

Mason Walker·July 3, 2026· 7m

beginner

security

Self-custody, explained for people who value sleep

Self-custody means holding the keys to your own crypto instead of trusting a company to hold them for you. Here is a calm walk through keys, seed phrases and the real trade-offs.

Mason Walker·July 2, 2026· 8m

beginner