Learn Crypto with Claude

A free, self-guided 8-lesson course for beginners, using Claude, an AI assistant from Anthropic

Before You Start

This course is for education only. It is not investment, tax, or legal advice. WomenPartyUSA does not recommend buying any coin, token, or exchange, and nothing here tells you what to buy.
Claude won’t tell you what to buy either. It explains how things work. Decisions about your money are yours.
Never share a password, private key, or recovery phrase with anyone, including Claude. No real lesson, helper, or company will ever need it.
Check anything current. Prices, laws, and company details change. Ask Claude to search the web for the latest information, and confirm important facts with an official source.
Claude is a product of Anthropic. WomenPartyUSA is not affiliated with Anthropic and receives no payment, commission, or referral fee. The course works on Claude’s free plan or Claude Pro.

How the Course Works

Do one lesson at a time. Each takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
Start a new chat in Claude for each lesson and paste in the “Course Starter” paragraph below first.
Read the key ideas, then paste the lesson’s prompts into Claude and ask follow-up questions in your own words.
Finish with the “Check yourself” question. If you can answer it in your own words, move on.

Course Starter (paste this first in every lesson)

I’m taking a beginner’s course to understand cryptocurrency. Teach me in plain language with everyday examples, one idea at a time. Check that I understand before moving on. Don’t recommend any coin, token, or company to buy. If something has changed recently, search for current information and tell me the date of your source. Point out risks and scams honestly.

Lesson 1: What Money and Crypto Actually Are

What you’ll learn: What makes anything work as money, and what is different about crypto.

Key ideas

Money works because people agree it has value and trust that others will accept it.
Cryptocurrency is digital money recorded on a shared public record instead of in one bank’s private books.
No bank or government stands behind most crypto. Its price is whatever people will pay for it, which is why prices can swing sharply in a single day.

Ask Claude

Explain what makes something work as money, using examples from history like shells, gold, and paper dollars.
How is cryptocurrency different from the money in my bank account? Give me the pros and the cons honestly.
Why do crypto prices go up and down so much more than the dollar?

Check yourself

In one sentence, why can the price of a cryptocurrency fall by half?

Lesson 2: How a Blockchain Works

What you’ll learn: The record-keeping system behind crypto.

Key ideas

A blockchain is a shared record book copied across thousands of computers.
New transactions are grouped into “blocks” and added in order. Once added, they are very hard to change.
Most blockchains are public: anyone can see the transactions, though not always who is behind them.

Ask Claude

Explain a blockchain as if it were a notebook shared by everyone in my neighborhood.
What are “mining” and “staking”? Explain the difference simply.
What can a blockchain do well, and what can’t it do? Be honest about the limits.

Check yourself

Why is it hard for one person to secretly change a blockchain record?

Lesson 3: Bitcoin and Other Coins

What you’ll learn: The main kinds of crypto, and why most coins are risky.

Key ideas

Bitcoin, launched in 2009, was the first cryptocurrency, and its supply is capped at 21 million coins.
Ethereum runs programs called smart contracts. Stablecoins are designed to stay worth about one dollar, and they are only as safe as the reserves behind them.
There are thousands of other tokens, including “meme coins.” Many fail. Any coin can lose most or all of its value.

Ask Claude

Explain the difference between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins in plain language.
What is a stablecoin, how is it supposed to keep its value, and what can go wrong?
Why do so many new coins fail? What questions should a beginner ask about any coin before trusting it?

Check yourself

What does a stablecoin depend on to stay worth one dollar?

Lesson 4: Wallets and Keys

What you’ll learn: Where crypto is actually kept, and the one secret you must protect.

Key ideas

A crypto wallet doesn’t hold coins. It holds the keys that prove the coins are yours.
Your recovery phrase (a list of 12 or 24 words) is the master key. Anyone who has it can take everything. If you lose it, your crypto may be gone forever.
With a custodial wallet, a company holds the keys for you. With self-custody, you hold them yourself. Each has risks.

Ask Claude

Explain the difference between a custodial wallet and a self-custody wallet. What are the risks of each?
What is a recovery phrase, and what are the safest ways to store one? What should I never do with it?
What is the difference between a “hot” wallet and a “cold” wallet?

Check yourself

Who should you ever share your recovery phrase with? (The answer is no one.)

Lesson 5: How to Buy Safely

What you’ll learn: The safety steps that matter before you spend a dollar.

Key ideas

Use a well-known exchange that is licensed to operate in your state. Download its app only through its official website or app store listing, since fake apps are common.
Protect the account with a strong, unique password and two-factor login through an authenticator app rather than text messages.
Start small, understand the fees, and never invest money you need for rent, bills, or emergencies.

Ask Claude

What should I check before trusting a crypto exchange? Give me a checklist.
How do I tell a real crypto app from a fake one?
Explain the fees involved in buying, selling, and moving crypto, using a simple $100 example.

Check yourself

Name two ways to protect a crypto account from being taken over.

Lesson 6: Scams and Red Flags

What you’ll learn: The biggest real danger for beginners, and how to spot it.

Key ideas

Common scams include online “friends” or romantic partners who steer you into an investment app, fake investment websites, people pretending to be a bank or government agency, giveaways that promise to double your money, and “recovery” services that charge to get stolen money back.
Red flags: guaranteed returns, pressure to act fast, requests to keep it secret, anyone asking for your recovery phrase, and being told to pay through a crypto ATM.
If something goes wrong: stop sending money, contact your exchange, and report it at ic3.gov (FBI) and reportfraud.ftc.gov (FTC).

Ask Claude

Walk me through how a romance or “pig butchering” crypto scam usually works, step by step, so I can recognize one.
Here is a message I received: [paste it, with personal details removed]. What red flags do you see?
Someone says they can recover crypto I lost if I pay a fee first. Is that a common scam? What should I do instead?

Check yourself

Name three red flags of a crypto scam.

Lesson 7: Taxes and Regulations

What you’ll learn: The tax basics, and why the rules keep changing.

Key ideas

The IRS treats crypto as property, not currency. Selling it, trading one coin for another, or spending it can create a gain or loss you have to report.
Crypto exchanges now send customers and the IRS a tax form, Form 1099-DA. Keep your own records of what you bought, when, and for how much.
Crypto laws and regulations are still being written and change often. Check what applies to you now, and talk to a tax professional before filing.

Ask Claude

Explain in plain language how crypto is taxed in the U.S., with a simple example of buying and later selling.
What is Form 1099-DA, and what should I do if I receive one? Search for the current IRS guidance and tell me its date.
What records should I keep for crypto taxes? Help me design a simple record sheet.

Check yourself

Is trading one coin for another a taxable event in the U.S.?

Lesson 8: AI and Crypto Together

What you’ll learn: Where the two technologies meet, and where the hype and scams are.

Key ideas

AI is used to analyze markets, detect fraud, and power new tools, and some AI programs can now hold and send crypto on their own.
Be very careful with “AI trading bots” that promise guaranteed profits. That is one of the most common scam pitches today.
Scammers use AI to fake videos and voices, including fake celebrity endorsements of coins. If a famous face is selling a coin, assume it is fake until proven otherwise.

Ask Claude

How are AI and cryptocurrency being used together today? Separate what is real from what is hype.
How can I tell if a video of a celebrity promoting a coin is a deepfake?
Someone is selling an AI trading bot that guarantees 20% a month. Explain why that should worry me.

Check yourself

What should you assume when an “AI bot” guarantees profits?

Finish Line

When you’ve finished all eight lessons, paste this into a new chat:

I’ve finished a beginner’s course on crypto covering: what money and crypto are, blockchains, Bitcoin and other coins, wallets and keys, buying safely, scams, taxes and regulations, and AI and crypto. Give me a 10-question quiz, one question at a time, and explain any answer I get wrong.

Official sources to bookmark

IRS digital assets page: IRS.gov/digitalassets
SEC investor education: Investor.gov
Report crypto fraud: ic3.gov (FBI) and reportfraud.ftc.gov (FTC)

Educational material only, not investment, tax, or legal advice. WomenPartyUSA does not promote or sell any coin or token in this course. Claude is a product of Anthropic; WomenPartyUSA is independent of Anthropic. Course content current as of October 2026.