Editorial policy
The Cryptaurus editorial policy is the set of rules we follow to write, check and correct the material in this reference. The rules are the same for the Russian, English, Spanish and Portuguese versions of the site.
Who prepares and checks the material
The material is prepared by the Cryptaurus editorial team, without the names of individual authors. The "Cryptaurus Editorial Team" byline means that the page has been checked under the rules described here. First the text is written from sources. Before publication, the editors compare every verifiable fact with those sources, and pages about laws and taxes are also read by a lawyer before they go live.
How we write for beginners
We test every paragraph with one question: will it make sense to someone who came here precisely because they don't know yet? A new word is explained in plain words the first time it appears, and a harder concept also gets an example from everyday life. We warn you about a risk before the step where it arises, and we state the practical takeaway for you directly.
How we check facts
Every fact that can be checked has a source, from laws and taxes to dates, exchange licences and hacks. Everyday comparisons and explanations in our own words don't need one. We check each fact again whenever we work on a text, even if it seems common knowledge.
What we count as a primary source
A primary source is whoever is directly responsible for the fact.
Different facts have different primary sources:
- for a cryptocurrency, the documentation of its developers or of the company that issues it (the issuer);
- for a service, its help pages;
- for a law, the text of the law or the decision of a regulator or court;
- for a transfer, its entry on the blockchain, the shared record of every transfer on a network; it is shown by a block explorer, a website where you can see from the transfer number whether it arrived.
The press, encyclopedias and websites that collect data from many places help us find the primary source. When there is no primary source, we keep the link to such material and mark it "secondary". We don't accept a project's own advertising, unconfirmed social media posts or retellings from other websites as proof.
Pages with legal and historical information and with data on the security of services change or disappear over time. That is why, at the moment of checking, we save a copy of the page in a web archive (archive.org or archive.today), so it can still be opened even if the original is changed.
What we do when sources disagree
A newer primary source outweighs an older one, and a primary source outweighs a retelling. If two primary sources say different things, we cite both and don't pick a winner. A disputed legal question is settled by a lawyer, and until there is an answer the statement stays off the site.
How to check us yourself
Every source in the list under an article shows its check date and the mark "primary" or "secondary". Before an important step, such as a large transfer or filing a tax return, open the source and see what it says today. Service rules and laws change, and an extra day spent checking costs less than a mistake.
How we write about prices, fees and other changing numbers
We don't put a price, exchange rate, fee, service limit or promised rate of return into the text. In place of the number there is a "where to check" link to a page that shows it right now, for example an exchange's help page on fees. Think of a bus timetable: the sheet at the stop goes out of date after the first route change, while the one on the operator's website gets updated. There are no price charts on the site either.
When a number is approximate, we say so: "about", "from … to …". Numbers that will not change, such as the launch date of a network or the maximum number of coins, appear in the text with a source.
How we write about exchanges, wallets and other services
Services get no points, stars or ratings like "high reliability". In place of a rating we give facts you can use to compare services yourself: who holds the keys to the crypto, whether an identity check is needed, which networks are supported, whether there have been hacks. The right service depends on your task, so we don't name one that is best for everyone.
In lists, services appear in alphabetical order or by launch year, so that the order doesn't read as a ranking. When a list is sorted by a single criterion, that criterion has a source and a date.
We write about a company and about its product on separate pages. A company's detailed legal history is in its profile, for example Binance. The Binance review explains how the exchange itself works and briefly mentions what matters to its customers.
Advertising and affiliate links
There are no affiliate or referral links on the site: we get nothing when you click through to a service or sign up with it. A service is linked only where it is the subject of a review or the source of a fact. If banner advertising appears on the site, it will be kept apart from the text and labelled as advertising. It will have no influence on the content. Ads for dubious financial products will be blocked with filters.
People and companies
About real people we write only publicly confirmed facts within their public role, such as a job title, an official statement or a court ruling. There are no evaluative labels, only the fact and its source. We take no part in unmasking anonymous people, so we put forward no theories about who is behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.
Laws and taxes by country
Pages about how different countries regulate and tax crypto are checked more strictly than the rest. We compare every legal statement with a primary source in the country's own language: a law, a regulator's resolution, guidance from the tax authority. A copy of the primary source goes into a web archive, and a lawyer reads the page before publication. At the top of such a page there is an "as of" date, which tells you how recent the information is.
Decisions about money stay with you
The reference explains how things work and does not replace advice from a lawyer, tax adviser or financial adviser ⚖️. We don't tell you what to buy or sell. What to do with your money and how to report your income is up to you, and for your own situation it is best to ask a professional in your country.
How often we review the material
The interval depends on how quickly the information on the page goes out of date.
| What is on the page | How often we check |
|---|---|
| Service reviews (licences, availability by country) | once a month |
| Laws, taxes, instructions | every 3 months |
| Guides and comparisons | every 6 months |
| Crypto profiles | once a year |
| Concepts and history | every 2 years |
While a country's law is changing, we check its page every month. After a service is hacked, a new law is passed or some other event happens, we check the page right away, without waiting for the interval. The "Checked" date under the title shows when that last happened.
How we correct mistakes
If you find a mistake, write to [email protected]. Include the page address, what is wrong on it and, if you have one, a link to a source. We will compare the statement with the primary source, correct the text in every language version of the page and update the date of the check.
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about · glossary · how to choose a crypto exchange · how to handle crypto taxes · phishing and scams
