THE FUTURE MARKETACADEMY
Your classroomRoom 05 · Money House
School of Money (education only)

Crypto Technology: wallets, security and costs

What you'll be able to do
  • Explain what a wallet really is (keys, not coins) and how addresses, keys and recovery phrases relate.
  • Compare custodial platforms and self-custody, and hot, cold and hardware storage, including the risks of each.
  • Build a layered security plan: backups, multi-factor authentication, updates and phishing habits.
  • Explain network fees for Bitcoin and Ethereum and why they change, and work through a simple fee calculation.
  • Recognize common crypto scam patterns and respond using your country's official resources (Canada's are the worked example).
  • Describe how financial regulators treat crypto businesses (Canada's CSA and OSC and the Philippines' BSP are the worked examples), and check registration.
  • Keep fee and transaction records that match your tax authority's guidance (Canada's CRA is the worked example).

This course is education only. It explains the technology, the security habits and the risks. It does not recommend buying, selling or holding any crypto-asset, and it contains no price talk or predictions. Crypto can lose value quickly and you can lose everything you put in; payments cannot be reversed. For decisions about your own money or taxes, consult a licensed professional.

Words in this course 48Open the Vocabulary Hall
01

Keys, addresses and what a wallet really is

In simple words

Imagine a giant public notebook that shows who owns which digital coins. Your wallet is not a bag with coins in it. It is a keyring. The keys prove which entries in the notebook are yours and let you move them.

Before this course: Crypto and Bitcoin Explained (course 5.9). You should already know what a blockchain is, how mining and the halving work, the difference between a platform and self-custody, and that no one should ever see your recovery phrase. This course goes deeper on technology, security and costs.

Key facts
  • Bitcoin.org says it plainly: "The wallet does not store coins themselves." The coins exist as records on the blockchain, and the wallet holds the keys that control them.
  • A public address is like an account number you can share to receive funds. A private key controls the funds, so whoever has it can move them.
  • Most modern wallets are backed up with a recovery phrase (a list of words). Bitcoin.org says to store it offline, never as a photo or in a cloud service, and never share it with anyone.
  • Many modern wallets are deterministic: one backup of the recovery phrase can restore past and future addresses. Bitcoin.org says to check whether your wallet needs regular backups.
  • Wallet files that hold private keys can be accidentally deleted, lost or stolen.
  • Bitcoin offers very limited recovery options if you lose a wallet password or key. There is no help desk that can reverse it.
Example (the keyring idea)
ThingReal-life comparison
BlockchainA public notebook of who owns what
Public addressAn account number you can share to receive funds
Private keyThe key that lets you move the funds
Recovery phraseA master copy of the keyring, stored in a safe place
Step by step
  1. Draw a keyring, a notebook and a mailbox on one page.
  2. Label the notebook "blockchain", the mailbox "public address" and the keyring "private keys".
  3. Write one sentence: "The wallet holds keys, not coins."
  4. Write what could go wrong with the recovery phrase: lost, photographed, shared, stored in the cloud.
  5. Next to each risk, write how a person could avoid it.
  6. Explain the picture to a friend in under one minute.
  7. Check: your friend can say the difference between a public address and a private key.
Watch on YouTube
What is a seed phrase and how is it generatedCoinGecko · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01Keys, addresses and what a wallet really is
LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00
Read the video script
[Host] "A crypto wallet does not hold coins. Here is what it holds instead."
[Text on screen: the wallet holds keys, not coins] "The coins are records on the blockchain. Your wallet holds the keys that control them."
[Text on screen: public address = share / private key = never share] "A public address you can share to receive. A private key you never share, because whoever has it can move the funds."
[Text on screen: recovery phrase: offline, never a photo or cloud] "Back up your recovery phrase offline. Never as a photo, never in the cloud, never with anyone."
[Host] "And remember: there is no help desk that can reverse a lost key."
Try it now

Draw the keyring picture and write the four risks to a recovery phrase (lost, photographed, shared, cloud). For each, write one protective habit.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Crypto Technology: wallets, security and costs" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Keys, addresses and what a wallet really is".

What the lesson teaches:
- Bitcoin.org says it plainly: "The wallet does not store coins themselves." The coins exist as records on the blockchain, and the wallet holds the keys that control them.
- A public address is like an account number you can share to receive funds. A private key controls the funds, so whoever has it can move them.
- Most modern wallets are backed up with a recovery phrase (a list of words). Bitcoin.org says to store it offline, never as a photo or in a cloud service, and never share it with anyone.
- Many modern wallets are deterministic: one backup of the recovery phrase can restore past and future addresses. Bitcoin.org says to check whether your wallet needs regular backups.
- Wallet files that hold private keys can be accidentally deleted, lost or stolen.
- Bitcoin offers very limited recovery options if you lose a wallet password or key. There is no help desk that can reverse it.

The exercise I'm working on:
Draw the keyring picture and write the four risks to a recovery phrase (lost, photographed, shared, cloud). For each, write one protective habit.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
4. This is for learning only. Remind me to check with a licensed professional before I make a real decision about my own money, health or legal situation.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Keys, addresses and what a wallet really is" from the course "Crypto Technology: wallets, security and costs".

Here's what the lesson says:
Imagine a giant public notebook that shows who owns which digital coins. Your wallet is not a bag with coins in it. It is a keyring. The keys prove which entries in the notebook are yours and let you move them.

The activity:
Draw the keyring picture and write the four risks to a recovery phrase (lost, photographed, shared, cloud). For each, write one protective habit.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Keep it general and educational. This is not advice for a real situation.
Open Claude
Sources
My notes
02

Types of wallets and custody

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

03

A layered security plan

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

04

Network fees and other costs

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

05

Scams and attacks: how to spot the pattern

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

06

Platforms, registration and rules (Canadian and Philippine examples)

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

07

Putting it together: your records and your security plan

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

++

Final project

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

??

Quiz

  1. What does a crypto wallet actually store?

  2. What is a public address compared to?

  3. Who holds the keys in a custodial service?

  4. What does Bitcoin.org say about storing a recovery phrase?

  5. What is multisignature?

  6. Which MFA method does the Cyber Centre say to avoid?

  7. What does a Bitcoin fee depend on?

  8. What is the Ethereum fee formula in this course?

  9. What is 21,000 gas x (10 + 2) gwei?

  10. Can a government agency ask you to pay in cryptocurrency?

  11. Where do the rules for crypto platforms (virtual asset service providers) come from?

  12. How long should crypto records be kept?

EX

Final exam

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

CE

Certificate

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.