Crypto Dictionary
FULL CRYPTO
GLOSSARY
Every term you'll encounter in the crypto world, explained in plain language. Bookmark this page for reference.
ALTCOIN
Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Thousands exist with varying use cases and levels of risk.
ATH
All-Time High — the highest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached in its trading history.
ATL
All-Time Low — the lowest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached.
BEAR MARKET
A prolonged period of declining prices, typically a drop of 20% or more from recent highs.
BLOCK REWARD
New crypto issued to miners or validators for successfully adding a block to the blockchain.
BULL MARKET
A prolonged period of rising prices, characterised by optimism and increasing demand.
DAPP
Decentralised Application — software running on a blockchain network rather than centralised servers.
DAO
Decentralised Autonomous Organisation — community governed by token holders and smart contracts, with no central management.
DEFI
Decentralised Finance — financial services (lending, trading, earning yield) run on blockchain without intermediaries like banks.
DEX
Decentralised Exchange — allows peer-to-peer crypto trading without a centralised authority holding your funds.
DIAMOND HANDS
Holding crypto through extreme volatility without selling, regardless of market pressure or fear.
DYOR
"Do Your Own Research" — the crypto community's reminder to verify claims independently before investing.
FUD
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt — negative sentiment (often spread intentionally) that causes panic selling.
GAS FEE
The fee paid to validators for processing a transaction on Ethereum or other smart contract blockchains.
HALVING
Bitcoin event every ~4 years where the block reward for miners is cut in half, reducing new supply entering circulation.
HODL
Hold On for Dear Life — long-term holding strategy regardless of market conditions. Originally a forum typo that went viral.
ICO
Initial Coin Offering — a fundraising method where new crypto projects sell tokens to early investors before launch.
IMPERMANENT LOSS
Loss experienced by liquidity pool providers when token prices change relative to when they deposited.
KYC
Know Your Customer — identity verification required by regulated exchanges to prevent fraud and money laundering.
LAYER 2
Scaling solutions built on top of base blockchains to increase transaction speed and reduce fees. Examples: Arbitrum, Polygon.
LIQUIDITY POOL
Locked funds in a smart contract enabling trading on a DEX. Providers earn fees from trades made against the pool.
MARKET CAP
Total value of a cryptocurrency: price multiplied by circulating supply. Used to rank coins by size.
MEMPOOL
The waiting room for unconfirmed transactions before they are included in the next block.
SEED PHRASE
12-24 words that can restore an entire crypto wallet. Must be kept completely private and offline.
NFT
Non-Fungible Token — a unique blockchain token proving ownership of a specific digital or physical asset.
NODE
A computer participating in a blockchain network by storing and validating transaction data.
PRIVATE KEY
A secret code that proves ownership of a crypto address. Never share with anyone under any circumstances.
PROOF OF STAKE
Consensus where validators lock up ("stake") crypto to earn the right to validate transactions and earn rewards.
PROOF OF WORK
Consensus where miners compete to solve mathematical puzzles to add blocks and earn rewards. Used by Bitcoin.
PUBLIC KEY
Your wallet address — safe to share so others can send you crypto. Mathematically derived from your private key.
RUG PULL
Scam where developers drain a project's liquidity and disappear with investor funds overnight.
SATOSHI
The smallest unit of Bitcoin: 0.00000001 BTC. Named after Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
SMART CONTRACT
Self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically enforces agreement terms when conditions are met.
STABLECOIN
Crypto designed to maintain a stable value, usually pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Examples: USDT, USDC.
STAKING
Locking crypto in a Proof of Stake network to validate transactions and earn yield rewards over time.
TOKEN
A crypto asset built on an existing blockchain, vs a "coin" which has its own native blockchain.
TVL
Total Value Locked — total crypto deposited in a DeFi protocol. Used to measure ecosystem health and size.
WALLET
Software or hardware that stores your private keys and lets you send, receive, and interact with blockchains.
WHALE
An individual or entity holding such a large amount of crypto that their trades can move the broader market.
WHITEPAPER
Technical document explaining a crypto project's purpose, technology, tokenomics, and roadmap.
YIELD FARMING
Moving assets between DeFi protocols to maximise returns. Can generate high rewards but carries high risk.
ZERO-KNOWLEDGE PROOF
Cryptographic method proving knowledge of data without revealing the data itself. Used in privacy and scaling solutions.