Market structure
PnL screenshots: reconcile the money before admiring the return
Deposits, unsold inventory and fees can radically change the interpretation.
Research · History · Reference
All entries A–Z · 11 / 15
438 · Articles and references
KOLs & promotion
PnL screenshots: the missing denominator
A displayed winner is not a complete trading record.
Scam patterns
Poisoned software dependencies
A familiar or mistyped package adds key theft or transaction manipulation to a build.
Binance, CZ & Trump
Political token conflicts
An official or close family receives token revenue while holding policy influence.
Crypto history
Poly Network cross-chain exploit
Poly Network suffered a major cross-chain exploit in 2021 and later recovered much of the transferred value.
Chains & networks
Polygon PoS: checkpoints are not the whole security model
Examine the specific network instead of treating every Polygon product as interchangeable.
Origins & history · 1993 onward
Privacy after the public ledger: what zero knowledge does and does not hide
A valid proof, a hidden amount and an anonymous user are three different claims. Privacy has to be assessed across the whole interaction.
Blockchain fundamentals
Private keys and control
A private key creates signatures accepted under an account or script's rules.
Wallets & security
Private whitelist sales
Selected accounts can trade while the public is blocked or taxed.
Origins & history · 2015–2018
Programmable money: why token standards changed the industry
Common interfaces made wallets and markets reusable. They did not make every asset economically equivalent or safe.
Blockchain fundamentals
Proof of stake: agreement has rules, participants and penalties
Validator activity explains chain agreement, not the honesty of every application.
Blockchain fundamentals
Proof-of-work mining
How Bitcoin miners build blocks, how nodes validate them, and how to examine mining investment claims.
Wallets & security
Proxy-upgrade rugs
A proxy delegates calls to implementation code replaceable by an administrator.
Wallets & security
PSBT: moving an unsigned Bitcoin transaction between devices
An offline signer still needs to verify the outputs and fee of the transaction it signs.
Blockchain fundamentals
Public mempools
A public mempool exposes pending transaction data before inclusion.
Scam patterns
QR-code substitution
A payment or connection QR code is replaced on a page, document or physical surface.
Crypto history
QuadrigaCX and the missing custody record
QuadrigaCX entered creditor protection after founder Gerald Cotten died and customer assets could not be reconciled.
Blockchain fundamentals
Reading the Bitcoin white paper: what each part actually solves
A guide to signatures, transaction ordering and proof of work, with the limits kept separate from the promises made by later products.
Market structure
Rebate-driven fake activity
Fee rebates or token rewards make circular trading profitable.
Scam patterns
Recovery scams: the second loss
A promise to retrieve stolen crypto can become another request for money or keys.
Scam patterns
Recovery-phrase verification scams
A form claims recovery words must be validated, synchronised or upgraded.
Wallets & security
Reentrancy
An external call transfers control before the caller finishes state updates.
KOLs & promotion
Referral income: a promoter can profit when you overtrade
The event that triggers payment explains more than the enthusiasm of the recommendation.
Scam patterns
Relationship investment fraud
A long conversation builds trust before a controlled crypto platform is introduced.
Scam patterns
Relationship-based investment fraud
Trust can be built for weeks before the fake trading platform appears.
Scam patterns
Remote-access tool abuse
A victim installs legitimate remote-control software at a scammer's direction.