On-Chain Analysis
intermediateReading the Chain: On-Chain Analysis From Zero
Stop taking people's word for it. Open the public ledger, follow the money, value a protocol by its real usage, and spot the scams — using free tools and your own two eyes.
About
What this course covers
In crypto, almost everyone is trying to sell you a conclusion — this coin will moon, that project is solid, this whale is accumulating. On-chain analysis is the skill that lets you stop trusting the storytellers and check the claims yourself, because on a public blockchain, the evidence is right there for anyone willing to look.
This course teaches you to read that evidence. You'll learn to use a block explorer like a microscope, follow funds across addresses, tell real usage from vanity metrics, judge how a token is actually distributed, and recognise the on-chain fingerprints of rug pulls, wash trading, and manipulation. By the end you'll be able to research a project independently and form your own evidence-based view — the rarest and most valuable skill in a space built on hype.
No paid tools required, no promises about prices. Just the analyst's mindset — skepticism, evidence, and the patience to verify — and the practical ability to read what the chain is actually telling you.
Curriculum
8 modules, 40 lessons
0m of video
Why read the chain yourself
Before any tool: the analyst's mindset. Why a public ledger means you never have to trust anyone — you can look — and what looking can and can't tell you.
- Welcome — trust nothing, verify everythingFree preview
- The public ledger — everything is visibleFree preview
- What on-chain analysis can and can't tell you🔒
- The analyst's mindset🔒
- Check your understanding🔒
The block explorer, your microscope
The one free tool that does most of the work. Reading transactions, addresses, token transfers, and fees — the raw literacy all analysis is built on.
- Anatomy of a transaction🔒
- Addresses, wallets and pseudonymity🔒
- Reading a token transfer🔒
- Gas, fees and what they reveal🔒
- Your first investigation🔒
Following the money
The classic analyst skill: tracing funds across addresses, linking addresses to real entities, and knowing where the trail goes cold.
- Tracing funds across addresses🔒
- Clustering — linking addresses to entities🔒
- Exchanges, hot wallets and on/off ramps🔒
- Mixers, bridges and where trails go cold🔒
- Check your understanding🔒
Holders and distribution
Who actually owns a token tells you much of what you need to know. Reading distribution, spotting dangerous concentration, and identifying insiders.
- Who holds this token?🔒
- Whales, concentration and red flags🔒
- Insider and team wallets🔒
- Accumulation versus distribution🔒
- A distribution report🔒
Valuing a protocol on-chain
Beyond price and hype: judging a protocol by its real usage — revenue, users, and activity — and telling genuine traction from vanity metrics.
- Beyond price — fundamentals on-chain🔒
- Total value locked and what it means🔒
- Revenue, fees and real usage🔒
- Active users versus vanity metrics🔒
- Check your understanding🔒
Spotting scams and manipulation
The chain reveals the scams to those who look. Rug pulls, wash trading, honeypots, and coordinated pump-and-dumps — and their on-chain fingerprints.
- Rug pulls and how the chain reveals them🔒
- Wash trading and fake volume🔒
- Honeypots and malicious contracts🔒
- Pump-and-dumps and coordinated wallets🔒
- A scam autopsy🔒
On-chain signals and market behaviour
Reading the informed money: smart-money wallets, exchange and stablecoin flows, and the on-chain signals that sometimes diverge from price.
- Smart money and following the informed🔒
- Exchange flows and what they signal🔒
- Stablecoin flows and liquidity🔒
- On-chain sentiment versus price🔒
- Check your understanding🔒
Becoming an independent analyst
Putting it together into a repeatable practice: a research process, guarding against your own biases, staying current, acting ethically — and your own report.
- Building a research process🔒
- Avoiding your own biases🔒
- Tools, dashboards and staying current🔒
- Ethics and responsible analysis🔒
- Your on-chain research report🔒
Free course
Free