Risk warning

Everything on this site is education about high-risk instruments. This page is not boilerplate. It is the summary of everything our research keeps finding.

Crypto assets

• Crypto assets are volatile. Drawdowns of 50% or more are historically routine, including for Bitcoin.
• Crypto assets can go to zero. Many have.
• Holdings on an exchange are exposed to that exchange’s solvency and custody. Exchange failures have repeatedly cost customers their entire balance.
• In South Africa, crypto assets are declared financial products under the FAIS Act. Nothing on this site constitutes financial advice as defined there; for personal advice, consult an adviser licensed by the FSCA.

Leverage and derivatives

• Leveraged positions can be liquidated: closed by the exchange at a loss, automatically, without notice.
• Losses can exceed your initial margin in some account configurations and fast markets.
• The majority of retail derivatives traders lose money. This is the consistent finding of every regulator that has measured it.
• Funding costs, fees, and slippage mean a leveraged position can lose money even when the direction call was right.

DeFi and yield products

• Smart contracts can be exploited; deposits can be drained with no recourse.
• Stablecoins can lose their peg. Yield products can freeze withdrawals precisely when you most need to exit.
• Yield is always payment for a risk. If you cannot identify the risk, do not deposit.

Our tools and data

• Calculators on this site are educational approximations. The exchange’s own numbers govern real positions.
• Live data comes from third-party public APIs and can be delayed, wrong, or unavailable.

If any of the above is surprising, please read the research before touching any of the instruments it describes. That is what it is for.