Education, not investment advice. Trading can lose you money. How we check every fact
Topic
Prices are not the only way to lose crypto. Scams, lost keys, hacked accounts and failed platforms can take all of it, and there is usually no one to reverse the payment.
This topic is about keeping what you put in. Price swings are covered in crypto basics for beginners. Here we deal with the losses that never show on a chart: money sent to a scammer, a seed phrase typed into a fake site, an account taken over, or a platform that cannot pay customers back.
The scale is large. In 2024 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 149,686 complaints involving cryptocurrency, with $9.3 billion in reported losses in the US alone [1]. The FTC notes that crypto payments typically are not reversible, unlike card payments, which have legal protections [2]. Prevention is most of the protection you have.
If you are new, read in this order. Custodial vs self-custody wallets explains who holds the keys to your crypto and what can fail either way, with the FTX and Celsius cases as examples. Seed phrases and private keys shows what those secrets unlock, how a few words become your keys and how to keep them away from scammers. Common crypto scams walks through fake platforms, relationship scams, Bitcoin ATM and recovery scams, and the warning signs regulators list. How to check a crypto exchange covers the registers to search before you deposit. What exchange collapses teach looks at what happened to customers when platforms failed, and two-factor authentication compares the ways to lock down your logins.
Every page links each number and rule to its primary source, includes a worked example calculated in code, and lists the mistakes beginners make most often. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or hold any crypto.
Start with this
Crypto Safety8 min read
Custodial and self-custody wallets swap one risk for another. What each set-up protects you from, what it exposes you to, and what FTX and Celsius showed.
Read the explainerCrypto Safety8 min read
What a private key does, what a seed phrase does, how a few words turn into keys, and the habits that keep both out of a scammer's hands.
Crypto Safety8 min read
Fake platforms, relationship scams, Bitcoin ATM and recovery scams: how each one works, the warning signs regulators list, and what to do next.
Crypto Safety9 min read
Registration, clone sites, custody terms and proof of reserves: what each check tells you about a crypto exchange, and what it cannot tell you.
Crypto Safety7 min read
How FTX and Celsius failed, what their customers were told, what regulators and prosecutors say actually happened, and what that means for coins you leave on any platform.
Crypto Safety7 min read
What two-factor authentication is, why a six-digit code can be phished, how SIM swaps and push bombing work, and how to set up the strongest option your exchange offers.
A private key is the secret code that authorises transfers of your crypto. How it differs from a public key and a seed phrase, and what happens if it leaks.
A seed phrase is a list of 12 to 24 words that can restore a crypto wallet and all its keys. What it is, why length matters, and why you never share it.
A blockchain is a shared digital record where each block is linked to the one before. The definition, how the links work, and a hash example.
A stablecoin is a crypto token that promises to stay worth a fixed amount, usually $1. What backs it, how it can break, and a calculated example.
In the US data we cite, fraud. Crypto investment fraud alone accounted for $5.8 billion of the $9.3 billion in reported crypto-related losses in 2024 [1], about 62% (calculated). Start with crypto scams.
Each choice swaps one risk for another. A custodian can be hacked, shut down or go bankrupt; with self-custody, a lost, stolen or hacked wallet can mean permanent loss [5]. Compare them in custodial vs non custodial wallet.
Your private keys and seed phrase [5], and any password or one-time code requested by someone who contacted you first [6]. See seed phrase vs private key.
