Hi Reader,
👋 Welcome (and a quick update)
Earlier this year HMRC and Kantar published the Cryptoassets Awareness and Ownership 2024 report. It made headlines in The Times and The Evening Standard with one memorable line:
“One in four people in the UK have now owned cryptocurrency.”
Impressive, right?
Yet every time I share that statistic in a room, the atmosphere changes. People fidget, smile politely, look down.
Then—when the talk ends—they approach quietly, one by one:
“
“I bought some Bitcoin years ago…”
“I’ve got a bit on Revolut but no idea what I’m doing.”
“I lost the login — please don’t tell anyone.”
The data says adoption; the body language says uncertainty. It’s not that people don’t believe in crypto — they just don’t yet believe they understand it.
That’s why this newsletter exists: to turn quiet curiosity into calm confidence — so the next time someone quotes “one in four,” you’re one of the few who actually feel at ease about it.
🧠 Market Clarity: What Moves Crypto More: Headlines or Humans? (Extended Edition)
When the Market Teaches a Masterclass in Human Emotions
On 10 October, crypto gave us a masterclass in market psychology. In less than 24 hours, over $19 billion of leveraged positions were wiped out. Bitcoin tumbled. Altcoins spiralled. For a few hours, even seasoned investors held their breath.
But this wasn’t a random accident — it was human behaviour, in real time.
1️⃣ The Trigger Was Macro, Not Crypto
A global tariff announcement shook risk markets everywhere. Crypto, being emotionally traded and highly leveraged, simply reacted fastest.
🪞 Lesson: If your plan doesn’t account for external shocks, it isn’t a plan — it’s a hope.
2️⃣ Liquidity Evaporates When Emotion Takes Over
Thousands of leveraged longs were auto-liquidated. Liquidity vanished as panic spread.
🪞 Lesson: Liquidity isn’t “Can I sell?” — it’s “Will I be forced to sell?” Control exposure before the market does it for you.
3️⃣ Fear Is Contagious — and Predictable
Every cycle follows the same emotional arc: Curiosity → Confidence → Overconfidence → Leverage → Fear → Capitulation → Reflection.
🪞 Lesson: Anticipate fear. Pre-write rules for how you’ll act when it arrives.
4️⃣ Resets Are Painful but Healthy
After the flush, markets stabilised. Foundations didn’t vanish — they were revealed.
🪞 Lesson: Crashes don’t destroy conviction; they reveal who had it.
💬 Reflection Prompt
“Did I respond to the crash, or did I react to it?”
Calm isn’t something you find in the moment — it’s something you build in advance.
🧰 Practical Tip — The Two Tabs Rule
Keep research simple:
1️⃣ Project website — what it claims to do.
2️⃣ Independent explainer — what a neutral source says.
If you’ve opened ten tabs, you’re not researching — you’re spiralling.
🧩 Write one sentence: “This project solves ___ by ___.”If you can fill that in, you understand enough to decide.
💭 Mindset Shift: Confusion Feels Like Risk; Understanding Feels Like Safety
Our brains label “unknown” as “danger.” That’s why complexity feels risky. But confusion isn’t danger — it’s data waiting to be organised.
Replace “Should I buy?” with “What must be true before I buy?” It turns emotion into criteria — the core of calm investing.
🌱 Community Spotlight — Practice Beats Panic
Collective Tuesday 7pm - This week in The Collective, we’re focusing on turning emotion into structure through “if–then” rules — practical guardrails that keep us steady when markets wobble. We’ll look at real scenarios from the recent volatility and practise rewriting reactive habits into calm, automated responses. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s composure — building that space between impulse and decision where confidence lives.
Academy Thursday 7pm: In The Academy this week, we’ll go hands-on with wallets and tiny test buys, putting theory into practice in a completely safe, step-by-step way. You’ll learn how to set up, secure, and use your first wallet — with enough repetition to make it feel second nature. By the end, you’ll understand exactly how your assets move and why self-custody is the cornerstone of true confidence in crypto.
📺 CryptoGran Is Now on YouTube and Instagram!
I’ve officially launched the CryptoGran YouTube and Instagram channels — new spaces to explore the same calm, plain-English approach you know from this newsletter.
You’ll find short, practical videos on market clarity, mindset, and safe investing fundamentals — perfect if you prefer to watch and learn.
If you’re already subscribed here, you’re part of the foundation community — I’d love you to follow along and help shape what comes next.
🍵 From My Week — Courage in Small Steps
This week I spoke at a local business network about “Crypto in Plain English.” Half the room admitted they thought they were too old to start — but by the end, they were asking questions about how to get started.
Later, an Academy student messaged me after moving her first assets into self-custody. She wrote: “Terrifying for ten minutes. Empowering forever.”
That, to me, is the whole journey in one sentence.
And in quieter moments, I’ve been re-reading The Psychology of Money. Morgan Housel writes:
“Patience is a form of courage.”
Maybe that’s the lesson for all of us right now — learn patiently, act bravely.
💬 Your Turn — Help Shape Next Week’s Issue
Which topic should I simplify next Saturday?
- Wallets
- Exchanges
- Charts
- “All of the above”
Hit reply — your responses decide what I write and record next week.
✨ If You Want to Go Deeper (No Rush)
The CryptoGran Academy turns curiosity into competence through guided, small-group learning.Learn more → cryptogran.co.uk
📚 PS: My New Weekly Book Review
Next month (November - when I will defo but snuggling up with a book and a hot water bottle) I’m starting a new habit with my followers: reading one book a month that expands our understanding of crypto, money, or mindset. You don't have to be a student to join us... it's open to all.
The first book that we will be unpacking Inventing Bitcoin by Yan Pritzker — a clear, short guide to how digital scarcity really works. If “how Bitcoin actually functions” has ever felt mysterious, this is your friendly doorway in.
Details to follow!
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✨ Summary
Crashes remind us that risk isn’t about crypto — it’s about clarity.
Understanding turns fear into discipline; structure turns chaos into strategy.
Learn safely. Invest simply. Grow steadily.💚
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Warmly,
Yvonne & The CryptoGran Team
https://cryptogran.co.uk
Helping you crack the code on crypto, one step at a time 💻🧩
Because time is precious, pensions are shrinking, and freedom belongs to all of us.
This course is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Please always do your own research.
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