Don’t know the difference between Dapp, DAO, and DCA? Or maybe you’re scratching your head at terms like Sat, Shard, Shill, and STO. Crypto is full of specialized terminology and degen slang that can sound like a different language. But understanding these terms is key to navigating not only the exciting world of blockchain and Web3, but also the tribal world of degen culture. From AMM to ZKP, we’ve got you covered with definitions for essential terminologies you need to keep up with crypto conversations. Here’s our ultimate crypto glossary that you will find nowhere else.
A
Airdrop: promotional distribution of free tokens to wallet addresses
AMM: “Automated Market Maker”, a decentralized exchange protocol that uses algorithms to set prices and facilitate trading
ATH: All-Time High, the highest historical price of an asset
ATL: All-Time Low, the lowest historical price of an asset
Atomic Swap: A peer-to-peer exchange of cryptocurrencies from different blockchains without intermediaries.
B
Bag: An investor’s cryptocurrency holdings
Bagholder: Someone who holds onto losing assets
Bear: A trader who believes market prices will go down
Bear Trap: A false signal indicating a bearish market trend
Block: A data structure in a blockchain that contains a batch of verified transactions, along with a timestamp and a reference to the previous block, ensuring the integrity and chronological order of the blockchain
Block Explorer: A tool to view all transactions on a blockchain
Block Height: The number of blocks preceding a specific block in a blockchain
Block Reward: New cryptocurrency awarded to miners or validators for adding a block to the blockchain
Blockchain: A distributed database that maintains a growing list of records, called blocks
Bridge: A mechanism that allows interoperability between two separate blockchains by transferring assets or data
Burn: The process of permanently removing cryptocurrency tokens from circulation
BUIDL: “Build”, encouraging active development and participation in blockchain projects
Bull: A trader who believes market prices will go up
Bull Trap: A false signal indicating a bullish market trend
C
CBDC: Central Bank Digital Currency, a digital currency issued and regulated by a central bank.
CeFi: “Centralized Finance”, financial services provided by centralized entities in the crypto space, like traditional exchanges
Cold Wallet: A cryptocurrency wallet not connected to the internet, used for secure storage
Consensus Mechanism: The process used by blockchain networks to agree on transactions and the state of the ledger
Cross-Chain: The ability to transfer assets or data between different blockchain networks
Custodial Wallet: A wallet where a third party holds and secures your cryptocurrency private keys
D
DApp: Decentralized Application
DAO: Decentralized Autonomous Organization
DCA: Dollar-Cost Averaging, an investment strategy of regularly buying fixed amounts of an asset
Degen: “Degenerate” – describes risk-taking crypto investors
DeFi: Decentralized Finance
DEX: Decentralized Exchange
Diamond Hands: Investors who hold onto their crypto regardless of market conditions
DLT: Distributed Ledger Technology, A digital system for recording transactions across multiple locations in a way that ensures data integrity without a central authority. A blockchain is a type of DLT, but not all DLTs are blockchains
Dust: A very small amount of cryptocurrency, often below the transaction fee, left in a wallet
Dry Powder: Capital or cash reserves set aside by investors to deploy when a favorable market opportunity arises such as dips or strategic moments
E
ERC-20: A standard for tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain
ERC-721: A standard for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain
Flash Loan: An uncollateralized loan provided and repaid in the same transaction, commonly used in DeFi
F
FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out
Fork: A code change resulting in a split or a new branch of the blockchain
FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
G
Gas: The fee required to perform operations on a blockchain
Gas Limit: The maximum amount of computational effort a user is willing to spend on a blockchain transaction
Genesis Block: The first block of a blockchain
Gwei: A denomination used for gas pricing on Ethereum-like networks
H
Halving: An event where the block reward for mining a cryptocurrency is reduced by half
Hard Fork: A significant change in blockchain protocol that results in a permanent divergence
Hash Rate: The computational power used by miners to validate transactions and secure the blockchain
HODL: Hold On for Dear Life
Hot Wallet: A cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet
I
IBC: Inter-Blockchain Communication. A protocol that enables different blockchains to talk to each other, securely and trustlessly
ICO: Initial Coin Offering, a fundraising method where a new cryptocurrency or token is sold to investors in exchange for capital
IDO: Initial DEX Offering, a fundraising method where tokens are offered directly on a decentralized exchange
Immutable: Data that cannot be altered once recorded on the blockchain
Impermanent Loss: The temporary loss of funds experienced by liquidity providers in AMMs due to price volatility
Interoperability: The ability of different blockchains to communicate and interact with each other
L
Layer 1: The base layer or main blockchain network
Layer 2: Secondary frameworks or protocols built on top of a Layer 1 blockchain to improve scalability
Lambo: Short for Lamborghini, often used to represent wealth from crypto gains
Liquidity: The ease with which an asset can be bought or sold without affecting its price
Liquid Staking: A process where users stake their cryptocurrency in a network while still retaining liquidity through tokenized representations of their staked assets. These tokens can be traded, used in DeFi, or redeemed later for the original stake and rewards.
Liquidity Pool: A collection of funds locked in a smart contract to facilitate trading on a DEX
M
Mainnet: The primary network of a blockchain where actual transactions occur
Maxi: Slang for “maximalist”, which refers to someone who strongly believes in the superiority and dominance of a single cryptocurrency over all others. Mostly used for bitcoin maxis
Meme Coin: A cryptocurrency based on an internet meme or joke
Merkle Tree: A data structure used in blockchain to organize and verify transactions efficiently
MEV: Maximal Extractable Value, the maximum value that can be extracted from transaction manipulation within a block by miners or validators
Moon: When a coin’s price rises significantly
Multisig: A multi-signature wallet requiring multiple keys for transactions
N
NFT: Non-Fungible Token, a unique and irreplaceable digital asset stored on blockchain
Node: A computer participating in a blockchain network
O
Oracle: A service that provides real-world data to smart contracts on the blockchain
P
Pamp It – Degen slang for “pump it,” it means to hype up a coin and encourage aggressive buying to drive the price up
Paper Hands: Investors who sell at the first sign of trouble
Pay the Dex: A degen phrase referring to paying dexscreener.com $299 to create a profile for a memecoin. To “pay the dex” can improve a memecoin’s price by providing assurance for traders through its exposure on dexscreener, a popular memecoin aggregator
PoS: Proof of Stake, a consensus mechanism where validators are chosen to create new blocks and verify transactions based on the amount of cryptocurrency they “stake” as collateral
PoW: Proof of Work, a consensus mechanism where participants (miners) solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and secure the blockchain
Private Key: A secret alphanumeric string that allows a user to spend their cryptocurrency
Public Key: A publicly visible address used to receive cryptocurrency
Pump and Dump: A scheme where the price is artificially inflated then sold off
R
Rekt: Slang for “wrecked”, refers to suffering significant financial loss in trading
Rollups: A Layer 2 scaling solution that processes transactions off-chain and submits proofs to the main chain
Rug Pull: A scam where developers abandon a project after raising funds
RWA: Real-World Asset, physical or financial assets represented on the blockchain
S
Sats: Satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, used in context of other crypto as well
Seed Phrase: A set of words used to recover a cryptocurrency wallet
Send: Degen slang referring to launching a memecoin that surges in price
Sendor: Someone who launches a successful memecoin that surges in price. Can also refer to the memecoin itself
Sharding: A method of partitioning a blockchain to improve scalability
Shilling: Promoting a cryptocurrency, often with personal interest
Smart Contract: Self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code
Soft Fork: A change in blockchain protocol that is backward compatible
Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset like fiat currency.
Staking: The process of holding funds in a cryptocurrency wallet to support the operations of a blockchain network
STO: Security Token Offering
T
Testnet: A test version of a blockchain used for testing before mainnet launch
Token: A digital asset on a blockchain
To the Moon: A phrase indicating a strong belief in a cryptocurrency’s future price increase
TradFi: “Traditional Finance”, conventional financial system that includes banks, stock markets, insurance companies, and other established financial institutions
Trenches: The high-risk, unpredictable and often volatile battlefield of memecoin trading
Trenching: Navigating scams, rug pulls, and extreme price swings in search of big gains in memecoin trading
TVL: Total Value Locked, the amount of digital assets locked in DeFi protocols. It represents overall liquidity and user engagement within the ecosystem
V
Validator: An entity responsible for verifying transactions on a blockchain in a PoS system
Vamping: Copying a memecoin by launching a duplicate to siphon the original’s momentum, a common issue in the Solana memecoin space
Volatility: The rapid and significant price fluctuations of a cryptocurrency
Volume: Total amount of a cryptocurrency traded within a specific time period. It reflects market activity and liquidity, with higher volume indicating stronger interest or movement in the asset
W
Wallet: An app or hardware device for storing cryptocurrency private keys
Wave 1 / Wave 2: Refers to price chart patterns of a memecoin launch, where wave 1 is the initial price surge followed by a correction, and wave 2 is the 2nd price surge followed by another correction forming what looks like waves on a chart
Web3: The next evolution of the web, emphasizing decentralized applications and blockchain technology
Wen: “When”, used in crypto slang to ask about timing, e.g., “Wen launch?”
Wen Lambo?: A humorous question about when one will be rich enough to buy a Lamborghini
Whale: An investor holding a large amount of cryptocurrency
Y
Yield Farming: Earning passive income by putting your crypto to work in DeFi liquidity pools, earning fees and token rewards in return
Z
ZKP: “Zero-Knowledge Proof”, a cryptographic method that allows one party to prove knowledge of certain information without revealing the information itself
Also Read: 9 Surprising Facts About Crypto That Will Change How You View Digital Assets
