[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide:hardware-wallets-explained::en":3,"guides-all::en":10},{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"topic":7,"updated_at":8,"body":9},"hardware-wallets-explained","Hardware Wallets Explained","What a hardware wallet actually protects you from, what it does not, and how to buy and set one up without undoing the point of owning it.","wallet-security","2026-08-17T16:27:44+00:00","\u003Cp>A hardware wallet is a small dedicated device whose only job is to keep your private keys away from your computer and phone. It is the single most effective upgrade most people can make to how they hold crypto — and it is also widely misunderstood.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>What it actually does\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Your keys are generated on the device and never leave it. When you want to move funds, your computer builds the transaction and sends it to the device, the device shows you the details on its own screen, you approve with a physical button, and only the signature comes back. Malware on your laptop can rewrite what your browser displays, but it cannot reach into the device, and it cannot press the button for you.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>What it does not protect against\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>A hardware wallet does not stop you from approving a bad transaction. If you are tricked into signing a token approval that grants an unknown contract permission to move your funds, the device will sign it exactly as instructed. It also does not protect a seed phrase you have typed into a website, photographed, or stored in cloud notes. And it does not help if you lose both the device and the backup.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Buying one safely\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Buy directly from the manufacturer or an authorised reseller, never from a marketplace listing, an auction site, or a stranger. Tampered devices and pre-filled seed cards are a real and recurring scam. A genuine device generates a fresh seed phrase in front of you during setup. If a device arrives with a seed phrase already written down, or asks you to enter one supplied in the box, it is compromised — stop and contact the manufacturer.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Setting it up properly\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Write the recovery phrase on paper or steel, by hand, and store it somewhere fire- and flood-resistant that is not the same place as the device. Never type it into anything. Set a PIN. Then send a small test amount, wipe the device, and restore it from your written phrase before moving real money — this proves your backup works while the stakes are low.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>The bottom line\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>A hardware wallet moves your biggest risk from remote attackers to your own handling of the backup. That is a much better trade, but only if you treat the recovery phrase as the real secret and the device as replaceable hardware.\u003C\u002Fp>",[11,17,22,26,30,35,39,43,44,49,53,57,61,65,69,73,77,81,85,89,93,97,101,105,109,113,117,121,125],{"slug":12,"title":13,"excerpt":14,"topic":15,"updated_at":16},"an-etf-share-or-the-coin-itself","An ETF Share or the Coin Itself","Both track the same price and they are not the same asset. What each one actually makes you own, the three-way choice most people mistake for a two-way one, and which risk you are picking up.","market-literacy","2026-08-18T03:30:02+00:00",{"slug":18,"title":19,"excerpt":20,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"api-keys-and-third-party-trading-tools","API Keys and Third-Party Trading Tools","Bots, trackers and tax tools all ask for exchange API keys. What each permission actually grants, and the one you should almost never hand over.","exchange-safety",{"slug":23,"title":24,"excerpt":25,"topic":7,"updated_at":16},"bridging-crypto-between-chains","Bridging Crypto Between Chains Without Losing It","A bridge is a custody decision dressed up as a transfer. What the three designs actually do with your coin, why bridges are the most attacked component in crypto, and the checks that survive all of them.",{"slug":27,"title":28,"excerpt":29,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"checking-a-crypto-address-before-you-send","How to Check a Crypto Address Before You Send","A crypto transfer cannot be recalled, and the most common way people lose money is sending to an address that was never the one they meant. Here is the check that catches it.",{"slug":31,"title":32,"excerpt":33,"topic":34,"updated_at":8},"crypto-tax-guide","The Crypto Records to Keep Before Tax Time","What you owe is set where you live, and this page does not touch it. What travels between jurisdictions is the record-keeping — and the fact that exchanges are not archives.","tax",{"slug":36,"title":37,"excerpt":38,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"custodial-vs-non-custodial-wallets-explained","Custodial vs Non-Custodial Wallets Explained","The single biggest decision in how you hold crypto: who controls the keys, and what that means for security and responsibility.",{"slug":40,"title":41,"excerpt":42,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"exchange-safety-checklist","How to Evaluate a Crypto Exchange's Safety","Before you deposit a dollar, run any exchange through this checklist — proof-of-reserves, custody model, licensing, and security track record.",{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},{"slug":45,"title":46,"excerpt":47,"topic":48,"updated_at":8},"how-crypto-withdrawals-work","How Crypto Withdrawals Work","Networks, addresses, confirmations and fees — what actually happens when you withdraw crypto, and the mistakes that make it unrecoverable.","crypto-basics",{"slug":50,"title":51,"excerpt":52,"topic":48,"updated_at":8},"how-to-buy-bitcoin","How to Buy Bitcoin for the First Time","The purchase takes ten minutes. What takes longer are the four decisions around it: where the coin will live, which venue may legally sell to you, and what the quote really costs.",{"slug":54,"title":55,"excerpt":56,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"how-to-check-a-token-before-you-buy","How to Check a Token Before You Buy","Six checks you can run yourself on any token, with a block explorer and the contract. None of them require trusting the project's own description.",{"slug":58,"title":59,"excerpt":60,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"how-to-check-an-exchange-licence-claim","How to Check an Exchange Licence Claim","A licence badge in a footer is a claim, not evidence. Four steps to verify it against the register, and what the answer does and does not cover.",{"slug":62,"title":63,"excerpt":64,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"how-to-read-a-crypto-whitepaper","How to Read a Crypto Whitepaper","A whitepaper has no standard, no reviewer and no obligation to stay true. What to read first, what to verify elsewhere, and which sections to skip.",{"slug":66,"title":67,"excerpt":68,"topic":48,"updated_at":8},"how-to-spot-a-crypto-scam","How to Spot a Crypto Scam","The patterns behind almost every crypto scam are older than crypto. Learn the five that keep working, and the checks that defuse them.",{"slug":70,"title":71,"excerpt":72,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"how-to-trade-futures","How to Trade Crypto Futures, Starting With the Risk","A perpetual costs you money whether you are right or wrong, and the venue picks the moment your position closes. The numbers to know before the entry, not after it.",{"slug":74,"title":75,"excerpt":76,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"market-cap-and-supply-explained","Market Cap and Supply, Explained","Why a coin's unit price tells you nothing, what market cap actually measures, and the supply figures that quietly change the answer.",{"slug":78,"title":79,"excerpt":80,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"proof-of-reserves-explained","Proof of Reserves Explained","What a proof-of-reserves report actually proves, what it quietly leaves out, and how to read one without mistaking it for a full audit.",{"slug":82,"title":83,"excerpt":84,"topic":48,"updated_at":8},"reading-a-block-explorer","How to Read a Block Explorer","A block explorer is the public record every claim about a transaction can be checked against. What the fields mean, and the three things worth verifying yourself.",{"slug":86,"title":87,"excerpt":88,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"seed-phrase-security","How to Store a Seed Phrase Safely","Your recovery phrase is the account. Here is how to back it up so a fire, a flood, a thief or a phishing site cannot take your crypto with it.",{"slug":90,"title":91,"excerpt":92,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"token-approvals-and-how-to-revoke-them","Token Approvals and How to Revoke Them","Most wallet drains are not stolen keys. They are permissions the owner granted once and forgot. Here is what an approval is and how to take it back.",{"slug":94,"title":95,"excerpt":96,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"two-factor-authentication-for-crypto-accounts","Two-Factor Authentication for Crypto Accounts","Not all second factors are equal. Why SMS codes are the weakest option, what a security key does that an app cannot, and what to fix first.",{"slug":98,"title":99,"excerpt":100,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"understanding-crypto-exchange-fees","Understanding Crypto Exchange Fees","Trading fees are the smallest part of what an exchange charges you. Here is where the rest of the cost hides, and how to measure it.",{"slug":102,"title":103,"excerpt":104,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"what-a-smart-contract-audit-proves","What a Smart Contract Audit Does and Does Not Prove","An audit is a review with a scope and a date, not a guarantee. How to read one, and the four things a badge on a website never tells you.",{"slug":106,"title":107,"excerpt":108,"topic":48,"updated_at":8},"what-backs-a-stablecoin","What Actually Backs a Stablecoin","A stablecoin is only as stable as whatever stands behind it. The three designs, what an attestation does and does not prove, and the question that matters most.",{"slug":110,"title":111,"excerpt":112,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"what-happens-when-a-crypto-exchange-fails","What Happens When a Crypto Exchange Fails","If an exchange freezes withdrawals or files for bankruptcy, what actually happens to your balance — and what you can do before that day.",{"slug":114,"title":115,"excerpt":116,"topic":48,"updated_at":8},"what-staking-actually-involves","What Staking Actually Involves","Staking is not a savings account. What you commit, what can reduce it, and the difference between doing it yourself and letting a platform do it.",{"slug":118,"title":119,"excerpt":120,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"what-to-do-if-your-wallet-is-drained","What to Do If Your Wallet Is Drained","The first hour matters, and instinct gives the wrong advice. What can still be saved, what cannot, and why recovery services make it worse.",{"slug":122,"title":123,"excerpt":124,"topic":21,"updated_at":16},"when-an-exchange-freezes-your-withdrawal","When an Exchange Freezes Your Withdrawal","Most frozen withdrawals are a compliance review, not a collapse. How to tell which one you are in, what shortens a hold, and the signals that mean stop waiting.",{"slug":126,"title":127,"excerpt":128,"topic":48,"updated_at":8},"why-a-transaction-is-stuck","Why a Transaction Is Stuck, and What to Do","A pending transaction has not failed and has not happened. Why fees, ordering and nonces leave transactions waiting, and which fixes are real."]