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CryptoDecentral

Guide

Sovereign Starter

An ordered, finishable path across live CryptoDecentral notes — keys, privacy money, Nostr, Autonomi, and local AI. Educational only. No tip addresses here.

18 min read

  1. Module 1 of 5

    Keys

    Software and address hygiene, then a PSBT and air-gap mental model. Two beginner notes.

    1. Threat model · A Threat Model Is Not a Fear List: Writing Yours on One Page
    2. Step 1 · Self-Custody Without Verify-Before-Trust Is a Slogan
    3. Seed backup and recovery · A Backup Is Not a Recovery: Seed Phrases, Passphrases, and the Restore You Haven't Tested
    4. Step 2 · PSBT and Air-Gapped Signing: Keep Keys Offline While the Network Watches

    Go deeper: A Seed Phrase Is Not a Wallet Definition: BIP 380 Output Descriptors

    Open module 1: steps, checks and checkpoint

  2. Module 2 of 5

    Money

    Receive-only Lightning tips, then what a transparent ledger leaks and what Monero-class design changes by default.

    1. Step 3 · Receive-Only Lightning Is Not a Merchant Stack
    2. Step 4 · What Transparent Ledgers Leak — and Why On-Chain Privacy Matters
    3. Network privacy · On-Chain Privacy Is Not Network Privacy: Node Choice, Tor, and I2P

    Go deeper: From Rings of 16 to the Whole Chain: What FCMP++ Changes · A BOLT-12 Offer Is Not a Reusable Invoice · A Preimage Is Not a Receipt: What a Settled Lightning Payment Actually Proves · A View Key Is Not a Transparent Chain

    Open module 2: steps, checks and checkpoint

  3. Module 3 of 5

    Nostr

    How clients find where you write and read, then how a stale list or a dark outbox misleads them.

    1. Nostr key handling · Your nsec Is Not a Password: Nostr Key Handling and Signers
    2. Step 5 · NIP-65: Relay Lists, Outbox, and Inbox — Routing Beyond One Home Relay
    3. Step 6 · Stale Lists and Dark Outboxes: When NIP-65 Metadata Lies by Age or Uptime

    Go deeper: NIP-11: How Nostr Relays Advertise What They Can Do · A Docs MCP Can Read the Whole Protocol. The Line to Watch Is Signing

    Open module 3: steps, checks and checkpoint

  4. Module 4 of 5

    Storage

    Client-side encryption and the Data Map, then a public address versus a private DataMap over immutable chunks.

    1. Step 7 · Autonomi Without the Data Map Is Just Scattered Ciphertext
    2. Step 8 · Autonomi Stores Immutable Chunks — Public Address vs Private DataMap

    Go deeper: Pay-Once Is Not a Subscription: Autonomi Upload Payment vs Retrieval

    Open module 4: steps, checks and checkpoint

  5. Module 5 of 5

    Local AI

    Where tokens run, and why a local chat window is not the same claim as residency for embeddings and indexes.

    1. Step 9 · Local and Peer-to-Peer AI: Data Residency Without the Hype
    2. Step 10 · Local Chat Is Not Data Residency: RAG, Embeddings, and Vector Stores

    Go deeper: Open Weights Were Not Enough: DeepSeek Harness, Cordis, and the Local Agent Stack · Successful Load Is Not Proof: Embedded GGUF Alignment and Wrong Tensors · Inference Residency Is Not Action Residency: Tools, MCP, and Local LLMs · Docker Is the Starting Line, Not the Boundary: Mapping Every Bridge Out of Agent Zero

    Open module 5: steps, checks and checkpoint

How to use this path

Read the modules in order. Each step and reading links into a live field note — finish that note, then come back (or follow the “next” link on a step note) for the following step. One sitting of careful reading is enough to leave with a coherent mental model; you do not need the chronological notes feed.

Fence (every module): Educational only. Receive-only tips are optional and live on /support — never here. No buy/sell venues, no custody, no swaps, no personalized financial advice. Not an FSP/CASP. DYOR. Contact: bruce@cryptodecentral.co.za.

Side doors (not required to finish): hardware wallet guide, verify frontends, Monero-class starter, local AI guide.

The module list above is the path: each module has two beginner steps, plus the readings that fill the gaps (threat model and seed backup in Keys, network privacy in Money, nsec handling in Nostr). Each module page adds a self-check quiz per step, a "Go deeper" shelf and a checkpoint.

You finished the core path

You can lose a laptop and still reason about recovery. You can ignore a fake support agent. You can explain — in your own words — why CryptoDecentral will never ask to hold your coins, run your swaps, or tell you what to buy.

Checklist

  • Threat model written (who / what / blast radius)
  • Verify-before-trust habits named for software and addresses
  • PSBT / air-gap roles clear in your own words
  • Receive-only tips ≠ merchant stack
  • Transparent-ledger leakage vs Monero-class defaults
  • NIP-65 lists + stale/dark failure modes
  • Data Map + immutable chunks
  • Local inference + residency (and optional weight verify)
  • Read the disclaimer

Optional support

If this path was useful, optional receive-only tips are on /support. No addresses or QRs on this hub.

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