Crypto Beyond Bitcoin: Ethereum, DeFi & Stablecoins
Learn how Ethereum, Layer 2 networks, stablecoins and DeFi protocols work, and calculate their fees, liquidation levels and risks before you use them. The course builds skills for informed decisions; it does not promise returns.
Self-study course Self-study course: written lessons, videos and downloadable materials for independent learning. There is no supervision, assessment, individual feedback or tutoring. Self-check quizzes are evaluated automatically in your browser — we do not see your results.
All 13 lessons free
Before you start
- Bitcoin basics: blockchain, wallets, seed phrases and exchanges
- Comfort with percentages and simple formulas
- Understanding that crypto-assets can lose value quickly
What you will be able to do
- Calculate Ethereum and Layer 2 transaction fees in gwei, ETH and euros
- Evaluate stablecoin designs by reserves, redemption rights and de-peg risk
- Calculate swap results, price impact and impermanent loss for AMM pools
- Compute health factor and liquidation price for a DeFi loan
- Trace any crypto yield to its source and assess smart-contract, bridge and token risks
- Apply EU MiCA rules and a written personal risk framework to crypto decisions
Lessons in this course
Ethereum: Smart Contracts, Gas and Proof of Stake
Understand what a smart contract is, calculate Ethereum transaction fees in gwei and euros, and see how proof of stake secures the network.
Layer 2 Networks and Scaling
Learn how rollups make Ethereum cheaper, compare optimistic and zero-knowledge rollups, and calculate when moving to a Layer 2 pays off.
Stablecoins in Depth: Reserves, Algorithms and De-Pegging Risk
Analyse how fiat-backed, crypto-backed and algorithmic stablecoins hold their peg, why they de-peg and what MiCA requires in the EU.
Decentralised Exchanges and Automated Market Makers
See how an automated market maker prices a swap with the constant-product formula, and calculate fees, price impact and safe slippage settings.
Liquidity Pools and Impermanent Loss with Numbers
Calculate what a liquidity provider earns and loses, use the impermanent loss formula, and compare fee income with simply holding the tokens.
Lending and Borrowing Protocols: Collateral and Liquidation
Calculate loan-to-value, health factor and liquidation price on a DeFi lending protocol, and understand how interest rates follow utilisation.
Staking and Yield: Where Returns Come From and Their Risks
Trace every crypto yield back to its source, calculate net and real staking returns, and compare staking, liquid staking and reward-token farming.
Tokenomics: supply schedules, unlocks and valuation pitfalls
Read a token's supply schedule, calculate circulating and fully diluted values, and judge how unlocks and emissions dilute holders.
Smart-contract risk, bridges and hacks
Understand how smart contracts and bridges fail, learn from documented hacks, and estimate how stacked risks reduce a DeFi yield.
NFTs and tokenisation of real-world assets: uses and risks
Understand what NFTs and tokenised real-world assets give their holder legally and technically, and calculate their real costs.
On-chain data: wallets, flows and what they can and cannot tell
Read common on-chain metrics such as exchange flows, active addresses and total value locked, and separate real signals from price effects and noise.
Regulation in the EU: MiCA, licensed providers and investor rights
Understand MiCA's token categories, how to check that a provider is licensed, which rights you have and where MiCA does not protect you.
Safe practices and a personal crypto risk framework
Apply DeFi-specific security habits and build a tiered allocation framework with position caps and a stress test.
Day Trading & Intraday Execution
After this course, continue with "Day Trading & Intraday Execution" to learn how to plan, execute and review short-term trades with strict risk rules.
View course outline