Heidi Chakos
Co-FounderHeidi Chakos is co-founder of Learning Crypto and creator of the @cryptotips YouTube channel. A cryptocurrency educator and author with over a decade in the space, she specialises in Bitcoin fundamentals, self-custody, and on-chain analytics.
131 guides by Heidi.
$LAPTOP Memecoin: What Hunter Biden's Token Is, and What It Is Not
$LAPTOP is a memecoin co-founded by Hunter Biden, launched on Base in September 2026 and issued via a Cayman Islands foundation and a BVI company. It has no utility and no price floor, by its issuer's own account. Founders hold 30% of the 1 billion supply, 65% is locked or vesting, and hundreds of fake LAPTOP tokens appeared within hours. This is not an endorsement.
Heidi ChakosScams & RiskScams & RiskHow to Tell If a Crypto Exchange or Wallet Is Safe
Judging a crypto platform comes down to eight checks: who holds the keys, the security track record, proof of reserves, licensing, insurance, transparency, account controls and how easily you can withdraw. The most reliable warning sign is difficulty getting your own money out.
Heidi ChakosScams & RiskScams & RiskFake Crypto Support Scams: How the Con Works
Nobody in crypto has support that contacts you first. Fake support scams reach you after you ask for help publicly, then ask for one of four things: your recovery phrase, a two-factor code, remote access to your computer, or a transfer to a validation address. All four are the scam.
Heidi ChakosScams & RiskScams & RiskToken Approval Phishing: How Wallet Drainers Empty Wallets
Token approval phishing tricks you into granting a malicious contract permission to spend your tokens, then transfers them later. Your seed phrase is never exposed, and a hardware wallet will sign it if you confirm. The defences are bounded approvals, reading the device screen, and revoking old permissions periodically.
Heidi ChakosWallets & CustodyWallets & CustodyCrypto Inheritance: How to Pass On Your Crypto Safely
A crypto inheritance plan needs three things: an access method that gets keys to your heir, plain-language instructions they can follow, and a will that establishes who is entitled to what. Never write a seed phrase in the will itself, because probate usually makes it a public document.
Heidi ChakosWallets & CustodyWallets & CustodyMultisig Operational Playbook: A Guide to Secure Shared Crypto Custody
A multisig operational playbook is a written set of procedures for running a multi-signature wallet: who initiates, signs, audits and recovers; how signers are geographically spread and backed up on hardware wallets; a step-by-step signing ceremony with independent checks of address, amount and network; and scheduled audits and drills. The M-of-N threshold and separation of duties stop any one person controlling the funds.
Heidi ChakosAnalysis
AnalysisHow to Read a Crypto Whitepaper
Read a crypto whitepaper like a sceptic, not a fan: ask whether the problem is real, whether blockchain is actually needed, how tokens are distributed and vested, and whether the team is named and verifiable. Insider allocations above 30 to 40% with vesting under 12 months, plagiarised text, no working product and an anonymous team raising large sums are the main red flags.
13 min read/Heidi ChakosStablecoins
StablecoinsHow Yield-Bearing Stablecoins Work and Are They Safe?
Yield-bearing stablecoins are dollar-pegged tokens that pay returns simply for being held, unlike USDT or USDC where the issuer keeps the interest on reserves. Yield comes from Treasury bills (USDY, USDM), DeFi lending (sDAI, sUSDS) or delta-neutral derivatives (sUSDe), mostly 4% to 7% in 2026 with derivatives-based yields swinging wider. Not savings accounts: depegs, contract bugs, variable yield and US access limits are real.
11 min read/Heidi ChakosFundamentals
FundamentalsThe Best Crypto Podcasts Worth Listening To in 2026
The best crypto podcasts in 2026 are Bankless (Ethereum and DeFi), What Bitcoin Did (Bitcoin-first and beginner friendly), Unchained (regulation and journalism), Stephan Livera (deep Bitcoin economics), Empire (markets and industry), Coin Bureau (hype-free education) and The Defiant (DeFi follow-along). Pick two or three that match your level instead of listening to everything, and favor hosts who challenge guests and disclose sponsors.
11 min read/Heidi Chakos