Learn crypto, one idea at a time.

Cryptocurrency is digital money that lives on a blockchain — a shared, tamper-resistant ledger maintained by thousands of computers instead of a single bank. Because every transaction is recorded publicly, you can verify balances and transfers without trusting a middleman.

Bitcoin, launched in 2009, was the first successful cryptocurrency. Today there are thousands of assets, from Ethereum's programmable smart contracts to stablecoins pegged to the US dollar.

• Coins vs tokens: coins run on their own blockchain; tokens are built on top of one.
• Supply is set by code — Bitcoin caps at 21 million coins.
• You hold assets in a wallet secured by private keys.

A crypto wallet doesn't hold coins; it holds the keys that prove ownership. The private key signs transactions, while the public address receives funds. Whoever controls the private key controls the assets.

Custodial wallets (like an exchange account) manage keys for you — convenient, but you rely on the provider. Self-custody wallets put you in full control, along with full responsibility.

• Never share your seed phrase or private key with anyone.
• Use hardware wallets for large, long-term holdings.
• Back up your seed phrase offline in more than one safe place.

In spot trading you exchange one asset for another and settle immediately. Buy BTC with USDT and the bitcoin is yours, with no expiry date and no leverage unless you choose it.

Spot is the foundation of every exchange. Prices come from an order book where buyers post bids and sellers post asks; the best bid and ask form the spread.

• You own the underlying asset.
• Profits are simply the price difference when you sell.
• No funding fees or liquidation on an unleveraged spot position.

A market order executes immediately at the best available price. It's fast and certain to fill, but the price can slip in thin order books.

A limit order only fills at your chosen price or better. It gives you control but may never execute if the market doesn't reach your level.

A stop order sits dormant until a trigger price is hit, then fires a market (or limit) order. Traders use stops to cap losses or to enter on a breakout.

• Market = speed and certainty of execution.
• Limit = price certainty, not execution certainty.
• Stop = conditional execution triggered by price.

Each candle summarises one time period with four numbers: open, high, low and close. The body spans open to close; the wicks show the extremes.

A green candle closes above its open (buyers won the period); red closes below (sellers won). Long wicks hint at rejection, while large bodies show conviction.

• Doji (a tiny body) signals indecision.
• Engulfing candles can mark reversals.
• Volume confirms whether a move has real participation.

A futures contract is an agreement to profit or lose from an asset's price without holding it. Perpetual futures never expire, so you can hold a position as long as it stays funded and healthy.

You post collateral (margin) and choose leverage to control a larger notional position. Long positions profit when price rises; short positions profit when it falls.

• No expiry — but funding payments keep perps tethered to spot.
• Leverage magnifies both gains and losses.
• Positions can be liquidated if equity falls below maintenance margin.

Perpetual contracts have no expiry, so exchanges use a funding payment to keep their price close to spot. When perps trade above spot, longs pay shorts; when below, shorts pay longs.

Funding is exchanged periodically between traders — not paid to the exchange. The mark price (a smoothed index) is used for PnL and liquidation to resist manipulation.

• Positive funding = longs pay shorts.
• High funding signals crowded positioning.
• Hold times matter: funding accrues while you stay open.

Leverage lets you control a position larger than your collateral. At 10x, $100 of margin controls $1,000 of notional. A 1% price move becomes roughly a 10% move on your margin.

Margin is the collateral backing the trade. Initial margin opens the position; maintenance margin is the minimum equity you must keep to avoid liquidation.

• Higher leverage = smaller buffer before liquidation.
• Never risk more than you can afford to lose.
• Leverage is a tool, not a strategy.

Liquidation happens when a position's equity drops below the maintenance-margin requirement. The exchange closes the position to stop losses from exceeding your collateral.

The exact liquidation price depends on entry, leverage, side and fees. The closer your entry is to the liquidation price, the less room the market has to move.

• Use stop-losses before you need them.
• Add margin or reduce size to lower liquidation risk.
• Avoid maximum leverage on volatile assets.

Scalping takes many tiny profits over minutes, relying on tight spreads and fast execution. Swing trading holds for days or weeks to capture larger moves. Dollar-cost averaging buys a fixed amount on a schedule, smoothing your entry price.

There is no single best strategy — match it to your time, temperament and risk tolerance, then test it with small size.

• Scalping demands discipline and low fees.
• Swing trading suits part-time traders.
• DCA removes emotion from accumulation.

Professional traders risk a small, fixed percentage of capital per idea — often 1–2%. Position size is derived from that risk budget and the distance to your stop, not from how confident you feel.

Size = (Account × Risk%) ÷ (Entry − Stop). If the stop is far away, the position must be smaller.

• Define your stop before you enter.
• Cap total exposure across correlated trades.
• Journal every trade to find leaks in your process.

Use a strong, unique password and enable two-factor authentication. Bithood never asks for your password, seed phrase or 2FA code over email or chat.

Common scams include fake support agents, 'guaranteed return' schemes, phishing links and giveaway impersonators. Slow down, verify URLs and never send funds to someone you met online.

• Bookmark the official site instead of clicking links.
• Enable 2FA and withdrawal whitelists.
• If an offer feels urgent or too good to be true, it's probably a scam.