Reference
Crypto Glossary
50+ Terms Explained
From HODL to liquidation, from rug pull to whale — every word the crypto market uses to describe your losses, explained without the bullshit. No financial advice. Just definitions.
A
- Airdrop
- A free distribution of tokens to wallet holders, usually to promote a new project or reward early users. The only time in crypto where something is genuinely free — though most airdropped tokens go to zero.
- Alt Season
- A period when altcoins collectively outperform Bitcoin. BTC dominance drops, smaller caps go parabolic, and degens make life-changing gains — then give them all back.
- ATH
- All-Time High. The highest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached. Traders celebrate it. Newcomers who buy at ATH do not.
- ATL
- All-Time Low. The lowest price ever recorded. Some coins reach their ATL fairly quickly after launch.
B
- Bear Market
- A sustained period of declining prices, typically defined as a 20%+ drop from recent highs. In crypto, bear markets are called "crypto winters" and last longer than in traditional finance.
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- The first and largest cryptocurrency, created by pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Fixed supply of 21 million coins. The benchmark against which all other crypto is measured.
- Blockchain
- A distributed, immutable ledger of transactions shared across a network of computers. No single entity controls it. Each block of transactions is linked to the previous one — hence "chain."
- Bull Market
- A sustained period of rising prices. In crypto, bull markets feature vertical charts, mainstream media coverage, taxi drivers giving token tips, and maximum FOMO.
- Buy the Dip
- Strategy of purchasing an asset during a price drop, betting the decline is temporary. Historically profitable for Bitcoin. Historically fatal for altcoins that never recover. → Read full article
C
- Cold Wallet
- Hardware or paper wallet that stores crypto offline, completely disconnected from the internet. The most secure form of storage. Your money is safe from hackers — and from yourself if you lose the seed phrase.
- Crypto Winter
- An extended bear market lasting months to years. Named for the feeling that spring will never come. Usually ends just when everyone has given up.
- CBDC
- Central Bank Digital Currency. A government-issued digital currency — essentially a digital version of fiat. Technically crypto, philosophically the opposite of crypto.
D
- DCA
- Dollar-Cost Averaging. Buying a fixed dollar amount of an asset at regular intervals (weekly, monthly), regardless of price. Removes emotion from investing. Boring but statistically effective.
- Degen
- Short for "degenerate." In crypto, it's a compliment. Someone who takes massive risks, apes into new projects without much research, and treats the market like a casino — but proudly. → Read full article
- DeFi
- Decentralized Finance. Financial services (lending, borrowing, trading, yield) built on smart contracts, with no bank or intermediary. High yield, high risk, high chance of getting rekt.
- Diamond Hands
- Holding a position through extreme volatility without selling. The crypto community's highest honor. When the chart is -80% and you're still holding, you have diamond hands. Whether that's wisdom or denial is unclear.
- DYOR
- Do Your Own Research. A reminder (and legal disclaimer) to verify information independently before investing. Frequently used by people who want you to buy their bags.
F
- Fiat
- Government-issued currency (USD, EUR, GBP…) backed by trust in the issuing government rather than a hard asset. What you convert to crypto to enter the market, and desperately try to convert back to after a liquidation.
- Flash Crash
- A sudden, extreme price drop happening in minutes or seconds, usually triggered by a large sell order or cascade of liquidations. Often partially recovers quickly. Leaves lasting trauma.
- FOMO
- Fear Of Missing Out. The feeling that makes you buy the top. When your normie friends are talking about crypto and the news says "Bitcoin hits new ATH," FOMO has peaked.
- FUD
- Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Negative information (true or false) that causes panic selling. Can be legitimate warning signs or deliberate manipulation to make you sell cheap.
G
- Gas Fees
- Network transaction fees paid to validators for processing transactions on blockchains like Ethereum. During peak congestion, gas fees can exceed the value of what you're sending.
- Gwei
- One billionth of an Ether (0.000000001 ETH). The denomination in which Ethereum gas fees are measured. When Gwei is high, your small DeFi transaction costs more than a flight to Paris.
H
- Halving
- The event where Bitcoin's block reward is cut in half approximately every 4 years (every 210,000 blocks). Reduces new supply entering the market. Historically followed by significant bull runs — but correlation isn't causation.
- HODL
- Hold On for Dear Life. Born as a drunk typo on Bitcoin Talk in 2013, HODL became crypto's defining investment strategy: never sell, regardless of price action. Works great for Bitcoin. Less great for most altcoins. → Read full article
- Hot Wallet
- A crypto wallet connected to the internet (MetaMask, exchange accounts). Convenient for daily use. Vulnerable to hacks. Never store more here than you're willing to lose.
K
- KYC
- Know Your Customer. Identity verification required by regulated exchanges (Coinbase, Binance…). You upload your ID, take a selfie, and the exchange knows more about you than your government.
L
- Layer 2
- A scaling solution built on top of a base blockchain (Layer 1). Processes transactions off-chain and settles them on L1 in batches. Faster and cheaper than L1. Examples: Arbitrum, Optimism, Lightning Network.
- Leverage
- Borrowed capital that amplifies both gains and losses. 10x leverage means a 10% price move in your favor doubles your money — or a 10% move against you wipes it out. The liquidation engine runs on leverage. → Read full article
- Liquidation
- The forced closure of a leveraged position by an exchange when losses consume the initial margin. No warning, no mercy. Your position is closed at whatever price the market offers. See: REKT. → Read full article
- Long
- A bet that the price of an asset will rise. You buy (or borrow to buy more). Profit if price goes up, lose if it goes down. The default position of anyone who bought crypto in 2020 and told their parents.
M
- Margin
- Collateral deposited as security when taking a leveraged position. Your margin is what gets consumed when a trade goes wrong — and what triggers liquidation when it runs out.
- Margin Call
- In traditional finance, a call from your broker asking you to add funds. In crypto, it's automated: your position is simply liquidated without warning. There is no call. → Read full article
- Memecoin
- A cryptocurrency based on a meme or joke rather than technology or utility. Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, PEPE. Occasionally 100x. More often go to zero. The purest form of degen speculation.
- Moon / Mooning
- A rapid, dramatic price increase. "This coin is going to the moon" has been said about thousands of coins that subsequently went to zero instead.
N
- NFT
- Non-Fungible Token. A unique digital asset on a blockchain proving ownership of a specific item (art, collectibles, game items…). Had a spectacular bubble in 2021–22. Most NFTs are now worth approximately nothing.
- NGMI
- Not Gonna Make It. The opposite of WAGMI. Applied to people who sell too early, miss obvious opportunities, or make decisions that the crypto community deems fatal to their financial future. → Read full article
- No-Coiner
- Someone who owns no cryptocurrency and typically believes it's worthless. They were right in 2018. They may be right again. The debate continues.
P
- Paper Hands
- Selling an asset at the first sign of trouble or volatility. The opposite of diamond hands. Paper hands sell the dip, then watch the price recover immediately after.
- Pump and Dump
- A market manipulation scheme where a group buys a low-cap coin (pump), hypes it to attract buyers, then sells all at once (dump). The latecomers are left holding worthless bags.
- Private Key
- The cryptographic secret that grants access to your cryptocurrency. If someone has your private key, they have your funds. Never share it. Not your keys, not your coins.
R
- REKT
- Suffered severe financial losses, usually from a leveraged trade gone wrong. Derived from gaming slang "wrecked." Being REKT means your position was liquidated or your portfolio suffered catastrophic losses. → Read full article
- Rug Pull
- A DeFi scam where developers abandon a project and take the liquidity, leaving investors with worthless tokens. Named for pulling the rug out from under investors. Very common with new tokens.
- ROI
- Return on Investment. The percentage gain or loss relative to your initial investment. In crypto, ROI calculations are often done before the bear market erases them.
S
- Satoshi
- The smallest unit of Bitcoin: 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred-millionth of a Bitcoin). Named after Bitcoin's creator. Also: the mysterious pseudonym of Bitcoin's inventor.
- Seed Phrase
- A sequence of 12 or 24 random words that can restore access to your crypto wallet. If you lose it, your funds are permanently inaccessible. If someone else gets it, your funds are gone immediately.
- Short
- A bet that the price of an asset will fall. You borrow and sell an asset hoping to buy it back cheaper. Profit if price drops, catastrophic loss if it rises. The loneliest position in a bull market.
- Smart Contract
- Self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically enforces the terms of an agreement. The backbone of DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs. When the code has bugs, millions can be lost with no recourse.
- Stablecoin
- A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged to a fiat currency (USDT, USDC). Used as a safe haven in bear markets. Not always as stable as the name implies (see: UST/Luna collapse 2022).
T
- Token
- A digital asset issued on an existing blockchain (as opposed to a coin, which has its own blockchain). Ethereum tokens (ERC-20) are the most common. Some have utility; most are just vibes.
W
- WAGMI
- We're All Gonna Make It. The collective optimism of crypto Twitter during a bull run. Usually posted at the exact peak before a 90% correction. Pairs with its twin, NGMI. → Read full article
- Wen Lambo
- When will crypto make me rich enough to buy a Lamborghini? The Lambo became crypto's symbol of success because early Bitcoin holders actually bought them. Now mostly ironic. → Read full article
- Whale
- An entity holding a large enough amount of cryptocurrency to move the market. When a whale sells, the chart reacts. Whale wallet movements are tracked obsessively by smaller holders.
- Web3
- The vision of a decentralized internet built on blockchain. Users own their data, identity, and digital assets. Currently somewhere between ambitious vision and marketing buzzword.
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