Beginner
How crypto markets work
Start with the difference between a blockchain, an exchange and the asset you trade. Learn what a quoted price actually represents.
Read articleFOLITIC / CRYPTO TRADING GUIDE
Crypto Trading Guide
Learn how crypto markets work, plan spot trades and analyse futures, perpetuals and decentralised markets. Follow eight stages from foundational concepts to advanced research and risk management.
Start with How crypto markets work, then follow the next lesson links. Explore 32 lessons with worked examples, exercises and further reading.
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Crypto Foundations
Understand digital assets, custody, trading pairs and the market before placing a trade.
Beginner
Coins tokens and stablecoins explained
A coin, a token and a stablecoin can carry very different rights and risks. Classify the instrument before comparing its price.
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Beginner
Wallets custody and safe transfers
A correct trading decision can still fail through an incorrect transfer. Learn how custody, networks and transaction checks fit together.
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Beginner
Trading pairs quotes and return calculations
Read the base asset and quote asset first. Then calculate returns in the currency that matters to your portfolio.
Read articleSpot Trading and Execution
Read orders and liquidity, calculate costs and plan a complete spot trade.
Beginner
Market limit and stop orders in crypto
Order instructions define what you control and what remains uncertain. Learn the tradeoff between execution speed, price limits and conditional exits.
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Beginner
Reading order books spreads and slippage
A narrow spread does not guarantee deep liquidity. Calculate the actual average fill when an order consumes several price levels.
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Beginner
Trading fees and the real cost of a round trip
Trading costs apply to the whole process. Reconcile fills, fees, funding and transfers before deciding whether a strategy made money.
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Beginner
Building a complete spot trading plan
A spot trading plan connects a reason to trade with an exit condition, size and review date. Write the plan before choosing the order button.
Read articleTechnical and Market Analysis
Study price structure, volume and indicators without confusing a signal with certainty.
Intermediate
Candlesticks trends and market structure
A candle compresses a period of trading into four prices. Learn what it reveals, what it hides and how to describe a trend consistently.
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Intermediate
Support resistance and breakout confirmation
Support and resistance are areas to investigate, not walls that price must respect. Define a breakout and its failure before trading it.
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Intermediate
Moving averages RSI and ATR in context
Moving averages, RSI and ATR answer different questions. Use them to describe trend, momentum and movement size without counting the same evidence twice.
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Intermediate
Volume open interest and funding together
Volume, open interest and funding describe different parts of a derivatives market. Combine them without treating positioning data as a direction signal.
Read articleFundamental and Onchain Research
Assess token supply, network activity and the limits of wallet and market data.
Intermediate
Token supply market cap and unlocks
A low token price is not a valuation argument. Examine circulating supply, dilution and unlock schedules before comparing projects.
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Intermediate
Evaluating a crypto network beyond its token price
Network activity becomes useful only when you know what it measures. Connect usage, security and token economics before drawing a valuation conclusion.
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Intermediate
Reading blockchain transactions without guessing intent
A blockchain transfer proves a recorded action, not the owner’s motive. Learn to read transaction evidence before calling a movement a purchase or sale.
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Intermediate
Exchange flows whale activity and data limitations
Large transfers can matter, but counting them carelessly creates false signals. Learn how net flows, internal transfers and labels change the interpretation.
Read articleFutures and Perpetuals
Understand contract exposure, funding, margin and liquidation before using derivatives.
Advanced
Dated futures basis and settlement
A dated futures contract has an expiry and a settlement rule. Its price can differ from spot without creating a free profit.
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Advanced
Perpetual futures and funding payments
Perpetual contracts use funding to help connect their price with a reference market. Learn how the payment affects a position over time.
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Advanced
Margin leverage and liquidation explained
Leverage changes the relationship between collateral and exposure. Liquidation depends on maintenance rules, equity and the price reference used by the venue.
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Advanced
Linear inverse and collateral currency risk
The same market move can produce different settlement amounts across contract designs. Read the multiplier, profit currency and collateral rules together.
Read articleRisk and Trading Psychology
Size positions, measure portfolio risk and build repeatable decision habits.
Advanced
Position sizing with stops and trading costs
Choose position size from a defined loss scenario, then check affordability and margin. Starting with maximum leverage reverses the process.
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Advanced
Portfolio correlation drawdowns and stress tests
Owning many tokens can still mean taking one broad market bet. Measure shared exposure and the capital needed to recover after a drawdown.
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Advanced
Trading psychology and a useful journal
A journal should explain decisions, not merely list profits. Separate process quality from outcomes and identify habits that can be changed.
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Advanced
Counterparty risk security and recovery planning
Market risk is only one way to lose access to capital. Build an operating plan for custody, venue failure and account recovery.
Read articleDeFi and Market Structure
Explore swaps, liquidity pools, lending and the operational risks of decentralised trading.
Advanced
How decentralised swaps and AMMs work
An automated market maker prices swaps from a pool’s state. Learn why your trade changes the price and why a quoted output can move before execution.
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Advanced
Liquidity provision and impermanent loss
Providing liquidity changes the mix of assets you hold. Fee income must be compared with the value of simply holding the starting assets.
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Advanced
DeFi lending collateral and liquidation
Borrowing against crypto creates a liability that can grow while collateral falls. Monitor the complete position rather than the advertised borrowing rate.
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Advanced
Bridges MEV and transaction execution risk
A transaction’s route and ordering can change its outcome. Examine bridge assumptions, execution visibility and recovery paths before moving capital.
Read articleAdvanced Strategies and Review
Test basis trades, execution routes and strategies before writing a complete trading plan.
Advanced
Cash and carry basis trades and their limits
Buying spot and selling a futures contract can isolate part of the basis. The position still requires financing, collateral and reliable settlement.
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Advanced
Arbitrage routes after fees and transfer delays
An apparent price loop can disappear after fees or before the final trade. Calculate the executable route, not a chain of midpoint prices.
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Advanced
Backtesting without hindsight or overfitting
A convincing historical chart can be a poor test. Keep future information out, count failed experiments and simulate the conditions you could actually trade.
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Advanced
Building and reviewing a complete crypto trading case
Bring the guide together in one fictional trading case. The final output is a documented decision, including the valid choice not to trade.
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