ABOUT THIS GUIDE
Clarity before conviction.
How Crypto Works is an independent educational atlas of cryptocurrencies and their surrounding systems.
The questions we follow
What does the mechanism do? Where do the assets go? Who can authorize a change? Who owes something to whom? Where do rewards originate, and how can losses occur? These questions organize the guide, from a simple transfer to a stack of connected financial contracts.
A complete first edition
This edition contains 64 substantive topic pages, 12 guided journeys, 12 comparisons, and 11 interactive explanations. The guide covers cryptography, networks, assets, markets, staking, lending, liquidity, scaling, and coordination. The blockchain directory also explains 59 networks represented in a dated CoinMarketCap top 100 snapshot, and the stablecoin guide compares the mechanisms behind a target price. Market-cap position selects coverage; it is not a ranking of technical quality or opportunities.
How to read the evidence
Sources appear beside the sections they support. Protocol documentation establishes how a particular design is described; it does not independently validate every safety or promotional claim. Historic papers explain the design at their publication date. Current behavior can differ by version, deployment, governance decision, or administrative control.
We use original prose, original diagrams, and explicitly illustrative numerical examples. A conceptual flow omits implementation details to make the dependency visible. A simulation states its assumptions and exclusions. None of its initial values should be read as a current market price, advertised rate, or live protocol parameter.
Dates and changes
The original mechanism pages were checked on 13 November 2026. Blockchain profiles, expanded stablecoin material and the six decision scenarios were checked on 14 November 2026; individual source and page labels retain their own review dates. This date records an editorial check, not continuous monitoring or a guarantee that a linked page remains unchanged. Each page links to the relevant documentation so readers can inspect its scope. Protocol-specific details need a fresh review after upgrades and material governance changes.
Editorial independence and funding
Every explanation and feature is free without an account. The intended funding model is restrained display advertising. Advertising is currently disabled; the guide has no referral links, paid rankings, subscriptions, wallet connections, or sponsored protocol endorsements. Sources are linked as references, not as endorsements of this site.
Boundaries
This guide explains mechanisms and trade-offs. It does not evaluate a reader’s financial circumstances, recommend tokens, manage positions, or cover jurisdiction-specific legal and tax decisions. Demonstrations use non-spendable values and run locally in the browser.
Corrections and reuse
For corrections, use info@howcryptoworks.org. The maintained source files include an editorial workflow and source register so a publisher can review and correct the guide before and after launch. External materials are linked, not reproduced; original visual and code assets are listed in the rights register.