Money is turning into software. Learn how it works.
Protocol Insights explains crypto, stablecoins, payments and the rules around them from primary sources — regulators, central banks, statistics agencies and the protocols' own documentation. No ads, no affiliate links, no price tips.
The lead explainers
All sections →- Stablecoins & Payments · Beginner
What is a stablecoin?
Tokens designed to stay at $1: what backs them, how redemption works, and why runs happen.
- Fintech · Beginner
How do card payments work?
Issuer, acquirer and network explained, plus who pays interchange and how disputes work.
- Regulation · Beginner
SEC vs CFTC: who regulates crypto?
Securities vs commodities, spot vs derivatives: how the two US agencies divide crypto oversight.
Nine sections, one map
Directory →Crypto Basics
What crypto is, how blockchains and wallets work
02Networks & Ecosystems
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, layer 2s and smart contracts
03DeFi
Decentralized exchanges, lending, oracles and their risks
04Stablecoins & Payments
How dollar-pegged tokens work and where they break
05Fintech
Card rails, open banking, digital banks, instant payments, CBDCs
06Markets & Macro
Inflation, interest rates, ETFs and how markets move
07Regulation
Who regulates what: SEC, CFTC, MiCA, AML rules and tax basics
08Security & Privacy
Keys, wallets, scams and account protection
09Mining, Staking & Infrastructure
Consensus, mining, staking, nodes and bridges
Payments & fintech
More in Fintech →- Fintech · Beginner
What is open banking?
How consent-based bank data sharing and pay-by-bank work, and the rules in the UK, EU and US.
- Fintech · Intermediate
Instant payment systems: FedNow, Pix and UPI
How 24/7 account-to-account payments work, and how the US, Brazil and India built theirs.
- Fintech · Beginner
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) explained
How pay-in-four works, what late payments cost, why stacking loans matters, and the new UK rules.
- Fintech · Beginner
Digital banks vs traditional banks
Licensed bank or app with a partner bank? What it means for deposit insurance and failures.
Rules of the road
More in Regulation →- Regulation · Intermediate
MiCA explained
The EU's crypto rulebook: token types, issuer duties, exchange licences and the dates that matter.
- Regulation · Intermediate
The GENIUS Act explained
Reserves, licences, the yield ban and the timeline of the US payment stablecoin law.
- Regulation · Beginner
KYC and AML explained
Why banks and crypto exchanges verify your identity, what they check and which reports they file.
- Regulation · Beginner
How is crypto taxed?
Taxable events, cost basis and the new exchange reporting rules, explained with US and UK examples.
Calculators that show their working
All tools →- APR to APY converter
Turn a nominal APR into the yearly yield with compounding, or reverse it.
- Compound interest calculator
Starting sum plus monthly deposits at a fixed rate, with the formula and a worked example.
- Crypto profit calculator (with fees)
Profit or loss after buy and sell fees, plus the break-even sell price.
- Dollar-cost averaging calculator
Average cost, units and gain or loss when you buy a fixed amount at a list of prices.
- Currency conversion fee calculator
Total cost of a conversion: fixed fee plus the rate markup against the mid-market rate.
- Inflation and purchasing power calculator
How much a sum loses in buying power at a steady yearly inflation rate, with the formula.
The glossary
A–Z →- Address
The public string that receives coins and tokens, how it is derived and how to check it.
- Airdrop
Tokens sent to many wallets at once — the tax angle and the scam angle.
- APR vs APY
Simple rate versus compounded yield, with the official formula and a worked example.
- Bid-ask spread
The gap between buy and sell prices, and how to turn it into a cost you can compare.
More from the desk
Every page →- Networks & Ecosystems · Beginner
Layer 1 vs layer 2
Base chains settle; layer 2s batch transactions on top. What each layer does and who you end up trusting.
- DeFi · Intermediate
Liquidity pools and impermanent loss
Why a liquidity provider can trail a simple hold — with the numbers for every price move.
- Markets & Macro · Beginner
What is inflation?
How the CPI and HICP turn price tags into one number, what drives inflation, and who it hurts.
- Stablecoins & Payments · Beginner
USDT vs USDC
Issuer, licence, reserves, reports, redemption and freeze rules, compared side by side from primary documents.
- Networks & Ecosystems · Intermediate
Ethereum rollups explained
Optimistic vs zero-knowledge rollups: fraud proofs, validity proofs, blobs and the seven-day exit.
- Security & Privacy · Intermediate
Token approvals and wallet drainers
What you allow when you click Approve, how drainers exploit it, and how to revoke old permissions.
- Mining, Staking & Infrastructure · Intermediate
Liquid staking explained
Receipt tokens for staked ETH: rebasing vs wrapped designs, withdrawal queues, discounts and smart contract risk.
- Markets & Macro · Intermediate
What is market liquidity?
Tightness, depth and resiliency: how much it really costs to trade, and why liquidity dries up in a crisis.
- Regulation · Intermediate
The crypto travel rule
Why exchanges ask who owns the receiving wallet, what data travels with your transfer, and the thresholds.
One careful explainer, once a month
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