Crypto glossary

2

2FA

Two-factor authentication: besides your password, you need a code from an authenticator app or a security key. Learn more →

A

Airdrop

Free tokens a project gives to users to promote itself. Beware of fake airdrops that ask you to connect your wallet or send money first. Learn more →

Altcoin

Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Learn more →

Altcoin season

A period when most altcoins outperform Bitcoin. Learn more →

ATH / ATL

The highest / lowest price ever reached (all-time high / all-time low). Learn more →

B

Beta

How many times more a coin moves than Bitcoin: a beta of 1.5 means when BTC moves 1%, the coin typically moves 1.5%. Learn more →

Bitcoin dominance

Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market cap, in percent. Learn more →

Blockchain

A public ledger recording every transaction, kept by many computers at once and practically impossible to alter. Learn more →

Bull / Bear market

A market where prices are rising (bull) / falling (bear) over a long period.

C

CEX / DEX

A centralized exchange (like Binance or OKX) / a decentralized exchange running on smart contracts (like Uniswap). Learn more →

Coinbase Premium

The Bitcoin price gap between Coinbase (US dollar buyers, ETF funds) and Binance; a positive premium means US buyers are buying more aggressively. Learn more →

Correlation

How closely two coins move up and down together, from −1 to 1. Learn more →

CPI

The Consumer Price Index, the main US inflation gauge. A higher-than-expected reading is usually bad for crypto. Learn more →

D

DCA

Dollar-cost averaging: buying a fixed amount on a regular schedule (weekly, monthly) instead of all at once, reducing the risk of buying the top. Learn more →

DeFi

Decentralized finance: borrowing, lending and trading through smart contracts, without banks. Learn more →

E

ETF

A fund listed on a stock exchange; spot Bitcoin ETFs hold real Bitcoin. Learn more →

F

FDV

Fully diluted valuation = price × maximum supply. Learn more →

FOMC / Fed

The US Federal Reserve committee that meets about every 6 weeks to set interest rates. Learn more →

FOMO / FUD

Fear of missing out, which leads to chasing prices / fear, uncertainty and doubt spread by news, which leads to panic selling. Learn more →

Funding arbitrage

Going long on an exchange with low funding and short on one with high funding to collect the funding difference each period. Learn more →

Funding rate

A periodic fee exchanged between longs and shorts in perpetual contracts that keeps the contract price close to the spot price. Learn more →

G

Gas

The fee paid to a blockchain network (especially Ethereum) to process a transaction, measured in gwei. Learn more →

H

Halving

The event where Bitcoin's mining reward is cut in half, roughly every 4 years. Learn more →

HODL

Holding coins for the long term and not selling despite price swings.

Honeypot

A token whose contract lets you buy but blocks selling, a common scam on decentralized exchanges. Learn more →

Hot / cold wallet

A wallet connected to the internet / a wallet that keeps keys offline (a hardware device). Learn more →

K

KYC

Know Your Customer: identity verification (ID document, selfie) when opening an exchange account. Learn more →

L

Layer 1 / Layer 2

A base blockchain (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana) / a network built on top of a base chain for faster, cheaper transactions (Arbitrum, Base…). Learn more →

Layer 2

A network built on top of a main blockchain (usually Ethereum) for faster and cheaper transactions, such as Base, Arbitrum and Optimism. Learn more →

Leverage

Borrowing to open a position larger than your margin. Both gains and losses are multiplied. Learn more →

Liquidation

The exchange automatically closes a leveraged position when losses have nearly wiped out the margin ("getting rekt"). Learn more →

Liquidation

The exchange automatically closes a leveraged position when losses have nearly used up the margin. Learn more →

Long / Short

Betting that the price will rise / betting that it will fall. Learn more →

Long / short ratio

The percentage of accounts that are long versus short on a futures exchange; when the crowd leans heavily one way, it is often a contrarian signal. Learn more →

M

Maker / Taker

An order that rests on the order book (maker, lower fee) / an order that fills immediately (taker, higher fee). Learn more →

Market cap

Price × circulating supply. Learn more →

Max pain

The expiry price at which options buyers receive the least money (the most profitable outcome for options sellers). Learn more →

Meme coin

A coin inspired by internet jokes and images (DOGE, SHIB, PEPE…). Extremely volatile. Learn more →

Memecoin

A coin inspired by internet memes (DOGE, SHIB, PEPE…), whose price depends on community attention and swings wildly. Learn more →

Memo / Tag

An extra code required when depositing certain coins (XRP, XLM, TON…) to an exchange; leave it out and the funds won't reach the right account. Learn more →

Mining

Using computers to solve puzzles that create new blocks and earn rewards (Proof of Work). Learn more →

N

NFT

Non-fungible token: a token representing a unique digital item (artwork, game item…).

O

Open interest (OI)

The total value of derivatives contracts currently open. Learn more →

Options

Contracts that give the right (not the obligation) to buy (a call) or sell (a put) at a set price on the expiry date. Learn more →

Order book

The list of buy and sell orders waiting to be filled on an exchange.

Order wall

A price level with an unusually large amount of resting buy / sell orders in the order book; often acts as support / resistance, but can be a bait order. Learn more →

Overbought / oversold

RSI above 70 / below 30, suggesting the price has risen too fast / fallen too far. Learn more →

P

P2P

Peer-to-peer trading directly between two people on an exchange, with the exchange holding the funds in escrow. A common way to swap local currency for USDT. Learn more →

Proof of reserves

An exchange publishes its wallets and balances to prove it holds enough assets to cover customer deposits. Learn more →

Proof of Stake

A way of validating transactions by locking up (staking) coins instead of mining with machines. Learn more →

Pump & dump

Inflating a coin's price and then selling it off, leaving later buyers with losses. Learn more →

Put/call ratio

The number of put contracts divided by call contracts; a high ratio means many traders are hedging against a drop. Learn more →

R

RSI

A 0–100 momentum indicator: above 70 is overbought, below 30 is oversold. Learn more →

RSI

Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator ranging from 0 to 100. Learn more →

Rug pull

The project team pulls all the liquidity or disappears, leaving the token almost worthless. Learn more →

S

Satoshi

The smallest unit of Bitcoin: 1 BTC = 100,000,000 satoshis. Learn more →

Seed phrase

The 12 or 24 words used to restore a self-custody wallet. Whoever has these words controls everything in the wallet. Learn more →

Slippage

The difference between the price you intended to trade at and the price you actually got, common with low liquidity or large orders.

Smart contract

A program that runs automatically on a blockchain when its conditions are met. Learn more →

Spot

Buying and selling real coins, paying and receiving them immediately, as opposed to derivatives. Learn more →

Spread

The gap between the highest bid and the lowest ask in the order book. Learn more →

Stablecoin

A cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady price, usually 1 US dollar (USDT, USDC). Learn more →

Staking

Locking up coins to help secure a network and earn rewards. Learn more →

Stop loss / Take profit

Orders that automatically sell when the price hits your set loss limit / profit target.

T

Token unlock

Locked tokens belonging to the team or investors are released into circulation on a schedule; large unlocks often create selling pressure. Learn more →

Token vs. coin

A coin runs on its own blockchain (BTC, ETH); a token is issued on an existing blockchain (most tokens are ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum).

Tokenomics

How a coin's tokens are allocated, issued and unlocked: circulating supply, FDV, team share, inflation. Learn more →

TOTAL2 / TOTAL3

Total market cap excluding Bitcoin / excluding both Bitcoin and Ethereum, used to gauge altcoin strength. Learn more →

TRC20 / BEP20 / ERC20

Token standards on Tron / BNB Chain / Ethereum. The same USDT can travel on different networks with different fees. Learn more →

U

Unlock

The point when locked tokens held by the team or investors may be sold, often putting downward pressure on the price. Learn more →

USDT.D

The share of total market cap held in USDT; a rise means money is moving to the sidelines. Learn more →

V

Volume

The total value traded over a period of time, usually 24 hours. Learn more →

W

Whale

A person or institution holding a very large amount of a coin, enough to move its price.

Whitepaper

A document describing a project's goals, technology and token economics.

Wrapped token

A token that represents an asset from another blockchain, e.g. WBTC is Bitcoin on Ethereum.