EasyCryptoGuides https://easycryptoguides.com/ Guides, reviews, and news that explain cryptocurrency in plain language. en-gb Starter hardware wallet https://easycryptoguides.com/reviews/hardware-wallets-what-we-actually-test https://easycryptoguides.com/reviews/hardware-wallets-what-we-actually-test Sat, 15 Aug 2026 03:03:44 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A solid first device if you want keys offline and can store a recovery phrase properly. The SEC cancelled a crypto-exemption vote. That is not “clarity”. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-cancels-crypto-exemption-vote-clarity-that-did-not-happen https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-cancels-crypto-exemption-vote-clarity-that-did-not-happen Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Commissioners were due to consider proposing a tailored offering regime for some crypto fundraising. The session was pulled. Existing securities law did not take the afternoon off. How buying crypto actually works https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/how-buying-crypto-actually-works https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/how-buying-crypto-actually-works Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Buying cryptocurrency is usually buying from a company, then optionally taking the keys. Confusing those two steps is how people think they “own Bitcoin” when they own a balance in an app. Trezor’s shipping partner leaked customer details. The device is not the leak. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/trezor-shipmonk-leak-a-parcel-vendor-is-not-the-wallet https://easycryptoguides.com/news/trezor-shipmonk-leak-a-parcel-vendor-is-not-the-wallet Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides ShipMonk told Trezor it had unauthorised access to order data. About 13,700 recent buyers were exposed. Hardware wallets and keys were not. Delayed prices on a publication are not a bug https://easycryptoguides.com/news/delayed-prices-on-a-publication-are-not-a-bug https://easycryptoguides.com/news/delayed-prices-on-a-publication-are-not-a-bug Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Our header quotes a cached snapshot copied from the same production table the old site used. If it says delayed, it is telling the truth — on purpose. How to read a crypto headline without getting played https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/how-to-read-a-crypto-headline-without-getting-played https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/how-to-read-a-crypto-headline-without-getting-played Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A calmer reading method for the news cycle: separate what happened from what someone wants you to feel, and notice which facts would still matter if the candle were red instead of green. A practical checklist for keeping crypto safer https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-practical-checklist-for-keeping-crypto-safer https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-practical-checklist-for-keeping-crypto-safer Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Security here is less about secret knowledge and more about boring habits: slow down, verify destinations, and treat your recovery phrase like a spare house key — because that is what it is. Stablecoins: useful, not magic https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/stablecoins-useful-not-magic https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/stablecoins-useful-not-magic Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Stablecoins are how a lot of crypto activity avoids living entirely in volatile units. They are also how people forget that “stable” is a product claim, not a law of nature. Modern software wallet (category) https://easycryptoguides.com/reviews/software-wallets-what-we-look-for-before-we-recommend-one https://easycryptoguides.com/reviews/software-wallets-what-we-look-for-before-we-recommend-one Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Fine for small balances and learning, if you practise recovery and treat every signature as real. Not a substitute for a hardware device once the number would ruin your month. A backup is an estate plan, not a treasure map https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-backup-is-an-estate-plan-not-a-treasure-map https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-backup-is-an-estate-plan-not-a-treasure-map Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Self-custody without a tested restore and a boring instruction for the living is a story you tell yourself. Company accounts inherit like company accounts. Clever schemes you cannot explain will fail your future self. Ethereum without the jargon https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/ethereum-without-the-jargon https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/ethereum-without-the-jargon Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Bitcoin is mostly a ledger of coins. Ethereum adds a way to run small programs on that shared computer. Here is what that means in ordinary language, including the bits that confuse newcomers. What is Bitcoin, in plain language? https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/what-is-bitcoin-in-plain-language https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/what-is-bitcoin-in-plain-language Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Bitcoin is software that keeps a shared record of who can spend which coins — without a bank in the middle. Here is the mechanism, the limits, and the ways a headline turns that into something it is not. Major centralised exchange (category) https://easycryptoguides.com/reviews/centralised-exchanges-a-checklist-not-a-league-table https://easycryptoguides.com/reviews/centralised-exchanges-a-checklist-not-a-league-table Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A reasonable on-ramp if you use withdrawals, enable real two-factor authentication, and never store more than you are willing to treat as a balance at a private company. The marketing is louder than the account agreement. How crypto wallets actually work https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/how-crypto-wallets-actually-work https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/how-crypto-wallets-actually-work Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides If you remember one idea, make it this: the network holds the coins. Your wallet holds the keys. That distinction explains most of the fear, the scams, and the recovery phrases. What is a blockchain, really? https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/what-is-a-blockchain-really https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/what-is-a-blockchain-really Sun, 02 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Strip away the slogans and a blockchain is a ledger that many computers keep in sync, with a method for agreeing on the next page. That design choice has costs as well as benefits. What is a cryptocurrency? https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/what-is-a-cryptocurrency https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/what-is-a-cryptocurrency Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Cryptocurrency is an entry on a public ledger that you can move if you hold the matching keys. That one sentence explains most of the wonder and most of the ways people get hurt. A wallet signature is not a handshake https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-wallet-signature-is-not-a-handshake https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-wallet-signature-is-not-a-handshake Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A signature proves a key agreed to a particular message. That message might be a send, a spending permission, a login, or a listing. Read the wallet warning. The site’s caption is not the message. Regulation is a process memo, not permission https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/regulation-is-a-process-memo-not-permission https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/regulation-is-a-process-memo-not-permission Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Policy arrives as paper: orders, licences, enforcement, and the occasional law. None of that is a hall pass for a phone app, a tax holiday, or a green candle. Here is the map of instruments without a jurisdiction ranking. An exchange balance is an IOU, not a wallet https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/an-exchange-balance-is-an-iou-not-a-wallet https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/an-exchange-balance-is-an-iou-not-a-wallet Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A centralised exchange credits you in its ledger. The chain may not know your name. That is convenient until the company pauses, gets hacked, or goes to court. Here is the custody map without a venue ranking. Mining is a lottery for the next page, not an energy sermon https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/mining-is-a-lottery-for-the-next-page-not-an-energy-sermon https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/mining-is-a-lottery-for-the-next-page-not-an-energy-sermon Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Proof-of-work mining is a race to propose the next block, paid in new coins and fees. Pools are companies. Energy use is a values argument. The engineering claim is narrower: rewriting history is supposed to be expensive. A spot ETF is a wrapper, not a new bitcoin https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-spot-etf-is-a-wrapper-not-a-new-bitcoin https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-spot-etf-is-a-wrapper-not-a-new-bitcoin Wed, 27 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A spot crypto exchange-traded product is a company vehicle that holds the asset and lists a ticker. Useful in a brokerage account. It is not a wallet, not a protocol upgrade, and not “Bitcoin approved”. A bridge is extra software, not a tunnel https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-bridge-is-extra-software-not-a-tunnel https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/a-bridge-is-extra-software-not-a-tunnel Wed, 13 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A cross-chain bridge is a contract — or a committee — that watches one notebook and writes on another. Useful. Historically accident-prone. Here is the product map without a ranking of remaining holes. An NFT is a receipt on a chain, not a painting in a vault https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/an-nft-is-a-receipt-not-a-painting-in-a-vault https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/an-nft-is-a-receipt-not-a-painting-in-a-vault Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A non-fungible token is usually a unique entry in a contract, pointing at metadata and a file. Ownership is the token. Copyright, hosting, and the shop front are other products. Here is the map without a floor-price sermon. Hardware wallets are a practice, not a shopping list https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/hardware-wallets-are-a-practice-not-a-shopping-list https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/hardware-wallets-are-a-practice-not-a-shopping-list Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides The device keeps keys offline. The phrase is still the spare key. Firmware, the receive-address check, and a tested restore are the product. A brand name is not a vault. On-chain fees are an auction, not a punishment https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/on-chain-fees-are-an-auction-not-a-punishment https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/on-chain-fees-are-an-auction-not-a-punishment Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides A network fee is a bid for limited room in the next block — or the next batch. Wallets guess. Failed Ethereum transactions can still cost gas. Layer-2s are cheaper because they share the bill, not because fees were abolished. DeFi is software with rules you cannot call support about https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/defi-is-software-with-rules-you-cannot-call-support-about https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/defi-is-software-with-rules-you-cannot-call-support-about Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Decentralised finance is a set of contracts that hold coins and follow instructions. No helpdesk will unwind a confused click. Here is the product map without a farm ranking. Staking is a lock and a queue, not a savings account https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/staking-is-a-lock-and-a-queue-not-a-savings-account https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/staking-is-a-lock-and-a-queue-not-a-savings-account Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Staking is how some chains replace mining: capital at risk, software that can be slashed, and a withdrawal that is a queue. Liquid staking tokens are another product on top. None of that is a guaranteed yield. The wrong network is still the wrong city https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/the-wrong-network-is-still-the-wrong-city https://easycryptoguides.com/guides/the-wrong-network-is-still-the-wrong-city Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Most stranded funds are not hacks. They are a deposit address copied from the right app on the wrong network, or a memo left blank. Here is the map before you press send. Faster crypto ETP listings are a process change, not a hall pass https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-generic-listing-standards-faster-etp-listings-not-clarity-for-everyone https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-generic-listing-standards-faster-etp-listings-not-clarity-for-everyone Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 17 September 2025 the SEC approved generic listing standards for Commodity-Based Trust Shares, including some digital assets. That shortens a queue. It does not rewrite Bitcoin. The GENIUS Act is a stablecoin statute. It is not MiCA, and it is not a dollar. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/genius-act-a-stablecoin-statute-is-not-mica https://easycryptoguides.com/news/genius-act-a-stablecoin-statute-is-not-mica Fri, 18 Jul 2025 19:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 18 July 2025 the US president signed the GENIUS Act, the first federal statute aimed at payment stablecoins. Reserves and licences are the plot — not a promise that every dollar token is interchangeable. Circle went public. USDC is still a company token. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/circle-ipo-a-stablecoin-issuer-went-public https://easycryptoguides.com/news/circle-ipo-a-stablecoin-issuer-went-public Thu, 05 Jun 2025 16:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Circle Internet Group began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 5 June 2025. That is a company event for the firm behind USDC — not a change to the token’s contract. Coinbase’s contractor breach is an insider story, not a chain failure https://easycryptoguides.com/news/coinbase-contractor-breach-insiders-are-still-a-custody-risk https://easycryptoguides.com/news/coinbase-contractor-breach-insiders-are-still-a-custody-risk Wed, 14 May 2025 21:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides In a 14 May 2025 filing, Coinbase said overseas support contractors stole account data and that it would not pay a $20 million ransom. Keys in cold storage were not the headline. Names were. Pectra changed Ethereum accounts and validators. It did not write a price. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/ethereum-pectra-account-and-validator-changes-not-a-price-thesis https://easycryptoguides.com/news/ethereum-pectra-account-and-validator-changes-not-a-price-thesis Wed, 07 May 2025 12:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Pectra activated on 7 May 2025. Wallets can opt into contract-like behaviour, validators can get bigger, and rollups get more blob space. None of that is a candle. A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is forfeited coins, not a buy button https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-was-forfeited-coins-not-a-buy-button https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-was-forfeited-coins-not-a-buy-button Thu, 06 Mar 2025 18:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 6 March 2025 the White House signed an order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve from forfeited BTC. No taxpayer market order was required that day. The SEC dropped its Coinbase case. That is a dismissal, not a statute. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-drops-coinbase-case-a-dismissal-is-not-a-new-statute https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-drops-coinbase-case-a-dismissal-is-not-a-new-statute Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 27 February 2025 the SEC filed a stipulation to dismiss its civil enforcement action against Coinbase. The 2023 complaint is off the docket. The Exchange Act is not. The Bybit theft was a company wallet. The chain did what signatures do. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/bybit-hack-largest-exchange-theft-still-a-company-wallet https://easycryptoguides.com/news/bybit-hack-largest-exchange-theft-still-a-company-wallet Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Bybit lost a record sum from a wallet its signers controlled. Later attribution pointed at North Korea. A 2026 lawsuit tries to freeze what can still be reached. Ross Ulbricht’s pardon is Silk Road history, not a market mechanism https://easycryptoguides.com/news/ross-ulbricht-pardon-silk-road-history-not-a-market-mechanism https://easycryptoguides.com/news/ross-ulbricht-pardon-silk-road-history-not-a-market-mechanism Tue, 21 Jan 2025 18:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 21 January 2025 Ross Ulbricht, convicted for operating the Silk Road marketplace, received a presidential pardon. The ledger did not come up for a vote. A political memecoin is still a token with a supply schedule https://easycryptoguides.com/news/trump-memecoin-a-political-token-is-still-a-token https://easycryptoguides.com/news/trump-memecoin-a-political-token-is-still-a-token Fri, 17 Jan 2025 23:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 17 January 2025 an official TRUMP token launched on Solana. Celebrity and a campaign are marketing. The product is still a mint, a pool, and a wallet. What “regulatory clarity” actually means when you read it in a headline https://easycryptoguides.com/news/what-regulatory-clarity-actually-means-when-you-read-it-in-a-headline https://easycryptoguides.com/news/what-regulatory-clarity-actually-means-when-you-read-it-in-a-headline Mon, 30 Dec 2024 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Policymakers, exchanges, and token issuers all love the word clarity. It rarely means the thing a retail reader hopes: that the hard questions have been retired. Bitcoin above $100,000 is a round number, not a strategy https://easycryptoguides.com/news/bitcoin-above-100000-is-a-round-number-not-a-strategy https://easycryptoguides.com/news/bitcoin-above-100000-is-a-round-number-not-a-strategy Thu, 05 Dec 2024 09:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 5 December 2024 bitcoin traded above $100,000 for the first time. Round numbers are how headlines keep time. They are not laws of physics. A US election is a vote, not a protocol upgrade https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-election-2024-a-vote-is-not-a-protocol-upgrade https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-election-2024-a-vote-is-not-a-protocol-upgrade Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 5 November 2024 Donald Trump won the US presidential election after a campaign that talked about crypto. A vote is personnel and statutes later. It is not a patch. DMM Bitcoin’s theft is Japan’s custody lesson, again https://easycryptoguides.com/news/dmm-bitcoin-hack-japan-exchange-theft-after-coincheck https://easycryptoguides.com/news/dmm-bitcoin-hack-japan-exchange-theft-after-coincheck Fri, 31 May 2024 06:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 31 May 2024 DMM Bitcoin reported an unauthorised outflow of 4,502.9 BTC. A company wallet was emptied. Bitcoin’s rules were not. Spot ether ETPs got a listing yes. Trading is a later stamp. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-spot-ether-etps-approved-same-wrapper-different-asset https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-spot-ether-etps-approved-same-wrapper-different-asset Thu, 23 May 2024 21:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Nasdaq, Cboe and NYSE may list trusts that hold ether. That is the same wrapper idea as January’s bitcoin products — a different asset, still not a wallet. CZ’s four-month sentence is about a person, not Binance the chain https://easycryptoguides.com/news/cz-sentence-is-a-person-not-binance-the-chain https://easycryptoguides.com/news/cz-sentence-is-a-person-not-binance-the-chain Tue, 30 Apr 2024 20:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides The founder of Binance was sentenced in Seattle after a Bank Secrecy Act plea. A person went to prison. A token did not get a patch. Samourai Wallet’s arrests are a legal theory about mixing as a service https://easycryptoguides.com/news/samourai-wallet-arrests-mixing-as-a-service-is-a-legal-theory https://easycryptoguides.com/news/samourai-wallet-arrests-mixing-as-a-service-is-a-legal-theory Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 24 April 2024 the US charged Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill over Samourai Wallet. Privacy software and a business that takes a fee are being argued in court, not on a mailing list. Bitcoin’s fourth halving is the same schedule with new wrappers around it https://easycryptoguides.com/news/bitcoin-fourth-halving-same-schedule-new-etf-context https://easycryptoguides.com/news/bitcoin-fourth-halving-same-schedule-new-etf-context Sat, 20 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 20 April 2024 Bitcoin’s block subsidy halved again, as the code said it would. Spot ETPs were already trading. Those are two facts, not one destiny. Ethereum fees went quiet. That is still a story about demand. https://easycryptoguides.com/news/ethereum-fees-went-quiet-that-is-still-a-story-about-demand https://easycryptoguides.com/news/ethereum-fees-went-quiet-that-is-still-a-story-about-demand Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides When the network is cheap, it is tempting to declare a new era of usability. More often it is a lull in who is bidding for the same block space. Trezor’s support portal leak was a helpdesk, not the device https://easycryptoguides.com/news/trezor-support-portal-leak-was-a-helpdesk-not-the-device https://easycryptoguides.com/news/trezor-support-portal-leak-was-a-helpdesk-not-the-device Wed, 17 Jan 2024 20:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides On 17 January 2024 Trezor said a support ticketing vendor had been accessed. Hardware wallets stayed intact. The inbox did not. US spot bitcoin ETFs are a wrapper, not a new Bitcoin https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-spot-bitcoin-etfs-approved-a-wrapper-not-a-new-bitcoin https://easycryptoguides.com/news/us-spot-bitcoin-etfs-approved-a-wrapper-not-a-new-bitcoin Wed, 10 Jan 2024 21:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale and others got to list products that hold bitcoin. You buy a share. A custodian holds coins. That is the product. A hacked SEC account is not an ETF approval https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-x-hack-a-compromised-account-is-not-an-approval https://easycryptoguides.com/news/sec-x-hack-a-compromised-account-is-not-an-approval Tue, 09 Jan 2024 21:00:00 GMT EasyCryptoGuides Someone took the phone number behind the SEC’s X login and announced ETF approval a day early. Social media is not the Federal Register.