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Assigned Reading

Every lesson references real sources: whitepapers, governance proposals, research papers, and protocol documentation. These are the materials our content is built from. Tap any link to verify or go deeper.

Chapter 1 | Lesson 1

The Token Decision

Crypto Exchange Hyperliquid to Airdrop $310M Tokens to Early Adopters

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/11/28/crypto-exchange-hyper-liquid-to-airdrop-310-m-tokens-to-early-adopters

What is Hyperliquid and What the Hyperliquid Airdrop Means for DeFi

CoinGecko Learn

https://www.coingecko.com/learn/what-is-hyperliquid-and-what-the-hyperliquid-airdrop-means-for-defi

Uniswap Fee Switch

https://blockworks.co/news/uniswap-fee-switch

Uniswap Governance Approves Fee Switch and 100M Token Burn

CoinMarketCap Academy

https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/uniswap-governance-approves-fee-switch-and-100m-token-burn

SushiSwap Vampire Attack Explained

https://finematics.com/vampire-attack-sushiswap-explained/

PANews: Hyperliquid Airdrop Value

https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/cdxgyb62

Chapter 1 | Lesson 2

Token Utility Models

Vitalik Buterin: Speculative Governance Token Valuation Is Pathological

https://decrypt.co/115973/vitalik-buterin-governance-token-speculation-valuation-pathological

GMX Tokenomics: How GMX Stakers Earn 30% of Protocol Fees

https://tokenomics.com/articles/gmx-tokenomics-how-gmx-stakers-earn-30-of-protocol-fees

The Distribution of Protocol Rewards (GMX yield switch, Oct 2024)

https://gmxio.substack.com/p/the-distribution-of-protocol-rewards

Aerodrome Launch Tokenomics

https://medium.com/@aerodromefi/aerodrome-launch-tokenomics-30b546654a91

Aerodrome Tokenomics: How AERO Captures 100% of Protocol Fees

https://tokenomics.com/articles/aerodrome-tokenomics-how-aero-captures-100-of-protocol-fees

Chapter 1 | Lesson 3

Supply, Emissions, and Inflation

SushiSwap Vampire Attack Explained

https://finematics.com/vampire-attack-sushiswap-explained/

Breaking Down the SUSHI Tokenomics

https://www.sushi.com/blog/breaking-down-the-sushi-tokenomics

Crypto Exchange Hyperliquid to Airdrop $310M Tokens to Early Adopters

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/11/28/crypto-exchange-hyper-liquid-to-airdrop-310-m-tokens-to-early-adopters

Aerodrome Launch Tokenomics

https://medium.com/@aerodromefi/aerodrome-launch-tokenomics-30b546654a91

Chapter 1 | Lesson 4

Vesting and the Cliff Stack

Arbitrum Will Unlock 1.2B ARB in March 2024

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/08/16/arbitrum-will-unlock-12b-arb-in-march-2024-token-unlocks

Arbitrum (ARB) Falls 14% After 1.1B Token Unlock

https://ambcrypto.com/arbitrum-arb-falls-14-after-1-1b-token-unlock-but-is-a-rise-coming/

Jupiter (JUP) 700MM Token Unlock 31 Jan 2025

TradingView News

https://www.tradingview.com/news/coinmarketcal:3e80f809f094b:0-jupiter-jup-700mm-token-unlock-31-jan-2025/

Jupiter JUP Token Buyback and Unlocks (Solana, 2026)

https://crypto.news/jupiter-jup-token-buyback-unlocks-solana-2026/

Aptos Falls 16% Lagging Ahead of $300M Token Unlocking Event

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/04/11/aptos-falls-16-over-past-week-lagging-ahead-of-300m-token-unlocking-event

$3 Billion Token Unlocks May 2024 (PYTH)

https://decrypt.co/228564/3-billion-token-unlocks-may-2024

Pyth Network: Bulls Take Charge Post Price Feed Release and Token Unlock

https://invezz.com/news/2024/05/20/pyth-network-pyth-bulls-take-charge-post-price-feed-release-and-token-unlock/

Optimism Tokenomist Schedule

https://tokenomist.ai/optimism

DefiLlama Unlocks (Aptos)

https://defillama.com/unlocks/aptos

Chapter 2 | Lesson 1

Distribution Mechanics

Hyperliquid airdrop coverage

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/11/28/crypto-exchange-hyper-liquid-to-airdrop-310-m-tokens-to-early-adopters

Jupiter $700M airdrop

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/01/31/jupiters-jup-token-soars-after-massive-700m-airdrop-to-solana-wallets

Wormhole debuts at $3B valuation

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/04/03/wormhole-debuts-at-3b-valuation-in-617m-token-airdrop

EigenLayer airdrop signals demise of points

https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/05/09/eigenlayers-eigen-airdrop-might-signal-demise-of-once-popular-points

Cointelegraph EigenLayer airdrop backlash

https://cointelegraph.com/news/eigenlayer-users-complain-restrictive-airdrop-others-say-generous

Blast token airdrop guide

https://www.boxmining.com/blast-token-airdrop-guide/

LayerZero Proof-of-Donation claim mechanism

https://www.theblock.co/post/301043/layerzero-proof-of-donation-zro-claiming-mechanism

Ethena ENA Season 1 case study

https://www.oneclick.fi/blog/ethena-season-1-airdrop-case-study

Arkham: top Hyperliquid recipient $4M

https://info.arkm.com/research/hyperliquid-user-receives-4-million-airdrop

Chapter 2 | Lesson 2

Liquidity Bootstrapping

Friend.tech native token tanks to $2.5

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/03/friendtechs-native-token-tanks-to-25-after-debut

Rapid Rise and Fall of Friend.Tech

https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/rapid-rise-and-fall-is-friend-tech-another-socialfi-bubble/866

Pump.fun bonding curve mechanics

https://flashift.app/blog/bonding-curves-pump-fun-meme-coin-launches/

Pump.fun to Raydium migrations

https://docs.chainstack.com/docs/solana-listening-to-pumpfun-migrations-to-raydium

Market maker deals are quietly killing crypto projects

https://cointelegraph.com/news/market-maker-deals-quietly-killing-crypto-projects

Top Crypto Market Makers 2026

https://www.dwf-labs.com/news/20-top-crypto-market-makers

The Math Behind Pump.fun

https://medium.com/@buildwithbhavya/the-math-behind-pump-fun-b58fdb30ed77

Chapter 2 | Lesson 3

Listings, Market Makers, and the TGE

Coinbase listing fees debate

https://www.theblock.co/post/324328/justin-sun-andre-cronje-coinbase-binance-listing-fees

Binance, Coinbase, Tron listing fee dispute

https://decrypt.co/290048/binance-coinbase-tron-founders-exchange-listing-fees

Secret Coinbase, Binance listing fees

https://protos.com/secret-coinbase-binance-listing-fees-spark-heated-debate/

Sonic Labs founder fact-checks Coinbase CEO

https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/coinbase-binance-listing-fee-controversy-explained/

Hyperliquid airdrop and HYPE TGE

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/11/28/crypto-exchange-hyper-liquid-to-airdrop-310-m-tokens-to-early-adopters

Top Crypto Market Makers 2026

https://www.dwf-labs.com/news/20-top-crypto-market-makers

Token Buybacks in Web3

DWF Labs Research

https://www.dwf-labs.com/research/547-token-buybacks-in-web3

Chapter 2 | Lesson 4

Sybil Resistance and Farmer Defense

LayerZero Proof of Donation + sybil self-report

https://www.theblock.co/post/301043/layerzero-proof-of-donation-zro-claiming-mechanism

LayerZero claim mechanism explained

https://cryptobriefing.com/layerzero-zro-token-claim-donations/

LayerZero Proof of Donation full breakdown

https://coingape.com/layerzero-debuts-proof-of-donation-claiming-mechanism-heres-all/

State of LayerZero Q2 2024

https://messari.io/report/state-of-layerzero-q2-2024

Jupiter Swap Score eligibility

CoinMarketCap Academy

https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/jupiters-jupuary-airdrop-dollar616-million-in-tokens-to-be-distributed-today

EigenLayer airdrop signals demise of points

https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/05/09/eigenlayers-eigen-airdrop-might-signal-demise-of-once-popular-points

Chapter 3 | Lesson 1

Value Accrual Designs

Has Aerodrome Finance Become the Leading DeFi Protocol on Base

https://www.dwf-labs.com/research/has-aerodrome-finance-become-the-leading-defi-protocol-on-base

Aerodrome Protocol Revenue and TVL

https://defillama.com/protocol/aerodrome

GMX Tokenomics: How GMX Stakers Earn 30% of Protocol Fees

https://tokenomics.com/articles/gmx-tokenomics-how-gmx-stakers-earn-30-of-protocol-fees

Hyperliquid Assistance Fund Dashboard

https://assistancefund.top/

Hyperliquid Crushes Competition With 46% of All Token Buybacks in 2025

https://cryptopotato.com/hyperliquid-crushes-competition-with-46-of-all-token-buybacks-in-2025/

https://www.bnbchain.org/en/blog/33rd-bnb-burn

Sky Smart Burn Engine Initialization Spell - April 3, 2025

https://vote.makerdao.com/executive/template-executive-vote-allocator-bloom-a-initialization-smart-burn-engine-parameter-update-spark-tokenization-grand-prix-dao-resolution-spark-proxy-spell-april-3-2025

veTokenomics, Bribe Markets, Gauge Voting and Curve Wars Mechanics

Mitosis University

https://university.mitosis.org/vetokenomics-bribe-markets-gauge-voting-incentives-and-curve-wars-mechanics/

Chapter 3 | Lesson 2

Reflexivity and Failure Modes

The Rise and Fall of SocialFi (Friend.tech 90%+ Revenue Collapse)

https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/socialfi-rose-in-popularity-last-year-before-falling/

Friend.tech Plummets 25% to All-Time Low

https://www.coinspeaker.com/friend-tech-all-time-low-base-l2/

Curve Wars / Liquidity War 3.0

https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2180822

Token Buybacks in Web3 (Olympus retrospective)

https://www.dwf-labs.com/research/547-token-buybacks-in-web3

Rekt News Leaderboard (Terra/UST and FTT post-mortems)

https://rekt.news/leaderboard

Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report

https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/crypto-crime-report-2025/

Chapter 3 | Lesson 3

Securities Risk and Personal Liability

The Tornado Cash Trial's Mixed Verdict: Implications for Developer Liability

https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2025/08/the-tornado-cash-trials-mixed-verdict-implications-for-developer-liability

Roman Storm Guilty of Unlicensed Money Transmitting Conspiracy in Partial Verdict

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/08/06/roman-storm-guilty-of-unlicensed-money-transmitting-conspiracy-in-partial-verdict

Democrats Slam SEC for Dropping Crypto Cases Amid Trump Ties

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/01/15/democrats-slam-sec-for-dropping-crypto-cases-amid-trump-ties

SEC Enforcement: 2025 Year in Review

https://www.paulweiss.com/insights/client-memos/sec-enforcement-2025-year-in-review

Re-emergence of FIT21

https://www.reedsmith.com/articles/digital-asset-trump-administration-developments-emergence-fit21/

New Market Structure Bill Builds on FIT21 Framework

https://www.jonesday.com/en/insights/2025/05/new-market-structure-bill-builds-on-fit21-framework

CFTC v. Ooki DAO — Default Judgment (N.D. Cal. June 2023)

https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8715-23

SEC Framework for 'Investment Contract' Analysis of Digital Assets (April 2019)

SEC Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology

https://www.sec.gov/files/dlt-framework.pdf

SEC v. Tomahawk Exploration LLC — Settled Order (August 2018)

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2018/33-10530.pdf

Chapter 3 | Lesson 4

Module Capstone: Designing Tokenomics for Alex's Protocol

Aave Umbrella Documentation

https://aave.com/docs/aave-v3/umbrella

Aave DAO Activates On-Chain Slashing Mechanism with Umbrella Launch

https://cryptoslate.com/aave-dao-activates-on-chain-slashing-mechanism-with-umbrella-launch/

dYdX Token Migration Overview

dYdX Foundation

https://docs.dydx.community/dydx-token-migration/migration-of-dydx-from-ethereum-to-dydx-chain/migration-and-bridge-overview

Update on Migration of DYDX (September 26, 2024)

dYdX Foundation

https://www.dydx.foundation/blog/update-on-exploring-the-future-of-dydx

MKR-to-SKY Upgrade Phase One Spell - May 15, 2025

https://vote.makerdao.com/executive/template-executive-vote-mkr-to-sky-upgrade-phase-one-adding-protego-to-the-chainlog-spark-proxy-spell-may-15-2025

Hyperliquid 2025 Metrics and Governance Proposals

https://www.dwf-labs.com/research/hyperliquid-earns-more-on-chain-revenue-than-ethereum-will-the-hype-price-go-further-up

Sky Smart Burn Engine Initialization Spell - April 3, 2025

https://vote.makerdao.com/executive/template-executive-vote-allocator-bloom-a-initialization-smart-burn-engine-parameter-update-spark-tokenization-grand-prix-dao-resolution-spark-proxy-spell-april-3-2025

Sources are updated as lessons are revised. If a link breaks, tap the feedback button in any lesson.