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A glossary of 558 terms and abbreviations used in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency.
2 Factor Authentication is a double layer security measure. Most crypto exchanges use it. To log in, you not only need to enter a password, but also a code that you receive from the Google authenticator for example.
A '51% attack' refers to a possible attack on a blockchain by a group of 'miners', who hold more than 50% of the hash rate. In such a situation the 'miners' can deliberately not confirm transactions or to issue transactions twice (double-spend).
An 'abstract' is a summary of a (technical) document. A logical place is the beginning of a 'white paper' to describe it briefly.
To log in to a website or computer you need an account. This consists of a username and a password. In the cryptocurrency world, a private key is usually sufficient to log in to the wallet.
Account abstraction is a concept in blockchain design that simplifies how users interact with the network by allowing smart contract wallets to replace traditional externally owned accounts (EOAs). Instead of requiring users to manage private keys and pay gas fees directly, account abstraction enables features like social recovery, gas sponsorship (someone else pays your fees), batched transactions, and custom authentication methods. On Ethereum, this is being implemented through ERC-4337.
An accredited investor is an individual or entity that meets specific financial criteria set by securities regulators, qualifying them to participate in investment opportunities not available to the general public. In the US, this typically means having a net worth exceeding $1 million (excluding primary residence) or an annual income above $200,000 ($300,000 for couples). In crypto, accredited investor status is often required for participating in private token sales, STOs, and certain fund investments.
An address is comparable to a bank account number. It is a unique collection of numbers and letters. This identification code is required to carry out a blockchain transaction and is unique for each owner.
ADDY means Address.
AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard and 256 stands for the key-size (length) of 256-bit. AES is an encryption technique, which is used to encrypt data and is used in most modern encryption protocols and technologies. SSL is an example of such technology. It is also used in algorithms applicable to a blockchain, like Bitcoin for example (SHA-256).
An affiliate link is a specific URL that contains a special and mostly unique identification. This URL can be obtained when a website offers an 'affiliate program'. Sharing an affiliate link makes it possible for the website to record the traffic you generated. This is usually compensated with money, credits or coins.
AI agents in the crypto space are autonomous software programs powered by artificial intelligence that can execute on-chain actions, manage portfolios, interact with DeFi protocols, and make decisions based on real-time data without constant human input. They represent the convergence of AI and blockchain technology, enabling use cases like automated trading strategies, smart contract interaction, and decentralized task execution. The AI agent narrative gained significant momentum in 2025 with projects building frameworks for on-chain AI autonomy.
An airdrop is a way to distribute coins. End users can generally get coins for free or in exchange for a small task, such as subscribing to a newsletter, sending a tweet or inviting other people via a personal affiliate link. The opportunities and dangers of an airdrop are described in detail in this article: What is an airdrop?
The 'algorithm' is a way to solve a task using data processing and calculations. There are different types of algorithms in use by blockchains.
ATH is the abbreviation of 'All-Time High' and means the highest price ever paid for a particular coin. ATH is also often used to indicate that someone's total portfolio has reached the highest value ever.
ATL stands for 'all-time-low' and is the opposite of ATH, or 'all-time-high'. ATL is used to indicate that the price of a coin or the entire wallet of a person is at the lowest level ever in terms of value.
Allocation refers to the distribution of tokens or funds to specific categories, participants, or purposes within a cryptocurrency project. A typical token allocation plan defines what percentage goes to the team, investors, public sale, ecosystem development, community rewards, and reserves. Understanding a project's allocation is important for evaluating potential risks like insider selling pressure or excessive centralization of token ownership.
In cryptocurrency trading, alpha refers to the excess return an investment generates above a benchmark, such as the overall market performance. Traders and investors seek alpha by identifying undervalued assets, timing the market, or using strategies that outperform the average. The term originates from traditional finance and is also used informally in crypto to describe early or insider knowledge about potentially profitable opportunities.
Alphanumeric is something, like a code or password, that consists of both letters and numbers.
An altcoin is any cryptocurrency or token created after the Bitcoin was developed.
The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) represents the yearly interest earned or paid on an investment or loan, expressed as a percentage. In DeFi, APR is commonly used to display the returns from staking, lending, or providing liquidity. Unlike APY (Annual Percentage Yield), APR does not account for the effect of compounding interest.
APY is short for 'annual percentage yield', which is the total return rate that is earned on an interest-bearing asset or savings account. The compounding interest should be taken into account when the APY percentage is projected. An APY of 5% will turn $100 into $105 after exactly one year.
Anonymous refers to anonymity. Within the blockchain world this is an important topic. Bitcoin transactions are anonymous to a certain extent, but the transactions are permanently visible in the blockchain. Eventually, it will be possible to link it to a person. This has led to the creation of privacy focussed coins, such as Monero and PivX. Anonymous can also refer to an international group of activist
AML is the abbreviation for 'anti-money laundering'. AML stands for policy and legislation on money laundering. This prevents illegally acquired funds from being converted into a legal variant. Within the crypto world, it is no longer unusual for AML techniques to be used by exchanges and wallets. This term is often used as AML/KYC, where KYC stands for 'Know your customer'.
In the cryptocurrency scene aping or to ape refers to entering a position in a coin. It’s a slang term used a lot in chats and on Twitter. For example ‘ What coin are you aping into?’ would mean ‘ What coin are you buying?’
API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface. This refers to an interface of applications or websites to easily get data or push data or commands back. This is a widely used system inside and outside the crypto market. For example, Youtube and Telegram have handy API’s, but in the crypto space pretty much each crypto exchange has one for getting price data and even make trades with external programs like
Arbitration can take place at the moment there is a price difference of a coin between exchange A and exchange B. A trader who responds to this is also called an arbitration trader.
Ashdraked means that someone has lost all his money in a certain position.
ASIC is the abbreviation for 'application-specific integrated circuit'. These are microchips or processors, designed to perform a very specific task very well. The Bitcoin ASIC is a very popular one, which makes it possible to mine Bitcoins very efficiently, making it impossible to mine them on a normal computer. ASICs are also developed for other coins, but they can become useless after a protocol upgrade, that makes the blockchain 'ASIC-resistant'.
ASIC resistant describes a cryptocurrency or mining algorithm that is designed to prevent Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) from having a significant advantage over consumer-grade hardware like GPUs. By using memory-intensive or frequently updated algorithms, ASIC-resistant protocols aim to keep mining accessible to a wider range of participants, promoting greater decentralization of the network.
AMA is the abbreviation for 'Ask Me Anything'. This refers to a set of questions that can be asked to a person or team. Within the crypto world, this is a commonly used method to answer questions from the community. The answers can be given via a Youtube live stream, but also in writing in a blog post or on Reddit.
The ask price is the lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell an asset on an exchange. Together with the bid price (the highest price a buyer will pay), it forms the bid-ask spread. When a buyer places a market order, it executes at the current ask price.
Assets Under Management (AUM) is the total market value of all financial assets that an institution, fund, or investment manager handles on behalf of clients. In the crypto industry, AUM is used to measure the size of cryptocurrency funds, ETFs, and custodial services. A higher AUM generally indicates greater investor confidence and institutional adoption.
AKA stands for Asymmetric Key Algorithm. This is a cryptographic system that uses a 'pair of keys', the so-called 'public key' and the 'private key'. The public key is needed by both parties to execute a transaction. The private key is only known to the owner and acts as an authentication method for accessing the coins stored on the public address.
A technology that allows a user to exchange two different coins directly for each other without a third party or intermediary.
An audit is an official examination of an organisation's accounts. The organisation's records are examined and checked to ensure that they fairly and accurately reflect the transactions that have been made. This is normally carried out by an independent body. If it is done by employees themselves, it is called an internal audit.
An Automated Market Maker (AMM) is a type of decentralized exchange protocol that uses mathematical formulas and liquidity pools to determine asset prices, instead of relying on a traditional order book. Users provide liquidity by depositing token pairs into pools, and traders swap against these pools. AMMs like Uniswap and PancakeSwap have become fundamental building blocks of DeFi.
Backtesting is the process of testing a trading strategy against historical market data to evaluate how it would have performed in the past. Traders use backtesting to validate their ideas before risking real capital. While backtesting can reveal whether a strategy has potential, it has limitations: past performance does not guarantee future results, and strategies may be over-fitted to historical data. Most trading platforms and tools offer backtesting functionality for crypto markets.
In crypto slang, a "bag" refers to a collection of tokens or coins that an investor holds, particularly when the holdings have decreased in value. Someone holding a large amount of a depreciating asset is often called a "bagholder." The term can also be used neutrally to describe any portfolio of a specific cryptocurrency, as in "my bag of ETH."
A bag holder is someone who has a position in a certain coin, which is not worth much more. Often this is accompanied by the hope that this position will be worth something again.
The Beacon Chain is the coordination layer of Ethereum's Proof of Stake system, launched in December 2020. It manages the registry of validators, coordinates their assignments, and applies slashing penalties. The Beacon Chain was merged with the original Ethereum mainnet in September 2022 (known as "The Merge"), transitioning Ethereum from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake.
A 'bearish' market means that the complete (crypto) market trend is in a downward spiral. The opposite of 'bearish' is called 'bullish'.
A bear flag is an indication of the price chart that the market is probably going to start a downwards trend. This is the opposite of a 'bull flag'.
A bear market is the state of the financial market in which the prices of securities fall or are expected to fall. As in traditional financial markets, this concept can also be applied to the crypto market. Prices rise and fall every day, but the term bear market is used only for extended periods of falling prices. This can last for months or even years. The opposite is called a bull market.
A bear trap is the opposite of a bull trap. This is when there are false signals on the price chart that a downtrend is coming. This can be a trigger for traders to take a short position. However, the price will rise again and the traders are lured into the trap and lose money with their short positions.
A 'bear whale' is someone with a very large position in a coin, but with a 'bearish' vision. The bear whale will take every opportunity to sell parts of his position, which prevents the price from rising significantly.
Bech32 is a Bitcoin 'Segwit' address format. These addresses always start with 'bc1' and therefore 'bech32 addresses' are also known as 'bc1 addresses'. The format has not yet been implemented very widely in wallets, so it is not recommended to use it until that situation changes.
BEP-20 is the token standard used on the BNB Smart Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain). It is functionally similar to ERC-20 on Ethereum, defining how tokens can be created, transferred, and approved within the BNB ecosystem. BEP-20 tokens benefit from lower transaction fees and faster block times compared to their Ethereum equivalents, making the standard popular for DeFi applications and token launches.
The bid price is the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay for an asset on an exchange. Together with the ask price (the lowest price a seller will accept), it forms the bid-ask spread. When a seller places a market order, it executes at the current bid price.
The bid-ask spread is the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept (ask) for an asset on an exchange. A narrow spread typically indicates high liquidity and an active market, while a wide spread suggests lower liquidity and can result in higher trading costs. The spread is a key indicator traders watch when evaluating market conditions.
A billion is in numbers 1,000,000,000. Since this is such a large number, you can also say that it is one thousand million. For most people that is a more understandable number. All the coins in the top 10 have a market cap higher than one billion.
BIP is the abbreviation of 'Bitcoin Improvement Proposal'. This is a standardized way to introduce functions and other issues, such as design issues. Because of the decentralized nature of Bitcoin and therefore the lack of a formal structure, this system is used to improve Bitcoin in a well-founded and consensus-driven way.
Bitcoin is the very first, best known and currently the most valuable digital coin. Read more in this article with an explanation about Bitcoin.
The bitcoin is the very first cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an anonymous developer named Satoshi Nakamoto. It can be divided up to 8 digits after the comma. The smallest one is called a satoshi (0.00000001 BTCBillions).
A 'Bitcoin ATM' is a physical ATM where you can exchange fiat money for cryptocurrencies and vice versa. Of course, you can get bitcoin in these machines, but often you can also get Ethereum or other coins.
The result of a so-called 'Hard Fork' of Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) makes it possible to generate more transactions per second than Bitcoin. In November 2018, Bitcoin Cash itself also had a 'Hard Fork', from which 'Bitcoin Cash SV and Bitcoin Cash ABC emerged.
Bitcoin Core is the reference implementation of the Bitcoin protocol and the most widely used software for running a Bitcoin full node. It is an open-source project maintained by a global community of developers. Bitcoin Core validates transactions and blocks, enforces the consensus rules, and provides a wallet for sending and receiving Bitcoin.
Bitcoin dominance is a metric that measures Bitcoin's market capitalization as a percentage of the total cryptocurrency market cap. When Bitcoin dominance is high, it means Bitcoin holds a larger share of the overall market compared to altcoins. Traders monitor this metric to gauge market sentiment: rising dominance often signals a flight to safety during uncertain times, while declining dominance may indicate that capital is flowing into alternative cryptocurrencies.
A Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) is a formal document used to propose changes, new features, or updates to the Bitcoin protocol. BIPs follow a structured process where anyone in the community can submit a proposal, which is then reviewed and discussed before potentially being implemented. Notable BIPs include BIP 32 (hierarchical deterministic wallets), BIP 39 (seed phrases), and BIP 141 (SegWit).
The first known Bitcoin purchase ever. At the time this pizza was bought for 10.000 bitcoins, which would be worth a fortune today.
Bitconnect (BCC) is a cryptocurrency with the ticker BCC. It was a very popular altcoin in 2017 because it promised a daily yield of 1%. They said they could live up to this due to a very successful trading bot. It used a 'multilevel marketing' method to attract new buyers. The company behind this coin was suspected of Ponzi fraud and was investigated by the American regulators. Eventually, the company could not provide any evidence and closed
Bitgrail' is an Italian cryptocurrency exchange. In February 2018 hackers have stolen Nano coins (formerly known as RaiBlocks) worth more than 170 million dollars.
BitLicense is a business license for cryptocurrency activities issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). Introduced in 2015, it requires companies operating with virtual currencies in New York to meet strict regulatory requirements including anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, cybersecurity standards, and consumer protection measures. BitLicense has been both praised for protecting consumers and criticized for creating barriers to entry.
Bitpay (Bitpay.com) is a US-based bitcoin payment provider. It enables (online) stores to accept Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as a means of payment without the risk of price fluctuations. This is achieved by converting the payments directly and automatically to fiat money.
BitTube is a video platform without ads in which publishers can make money with their content. It can be seen as an alternative to Youtube. Sometimes videos on Youtube are demonetized by the platform, cause some to switch to or republish it on BiTube.
A black swan event is an unpredictable occurrence with severe and widespread consequences that is often rationalized in hindsight as having been inevitable. The term was popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. In crypto markets, black swan events include major exchange hacks, sudden regulatory bans, algorithmic stablecoin collapses (like Terra/LUNA in 2022), or unexpected protocol failures that cause extreme market-wide price drops.
A block is a file in which blockchain data, like transactions, is stored. Each block relates to its previous block, making it a chain. This is why it's called 'Blockchain'. Most blockchains have a predetermined maximum file size per block. The first block in a blockchain is called the 'genesis block'.
A block explorer is an online service to track blockchain transactions. It usually is a website where you can see all the new blocks that are being created. You can also search for transactions and wallet addresses. The best-known block explorers are blockchain.info for Bitcoin and etherscan.io for Ethereum.
A block header is a section of a block in a blockchain that contains metadata about the block itself. It typically includes the block's hash, the hash of the previous block (linking them together), a timestamp, the difficulty target, a nonce (used in mining), and the Merkle root of all transactions in the block. The block header is what miners hash repeatedly during the Proof of Work process.
This is the number of blocks that make up the distance between the current block and the first block ever created in a blockchain, which is called the genesis block.
The block reward is the payment that is offered to the node that is securing the blockchain. In the case of Bitcoin, which is has a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm, these would be the miners. The payment is in the form of the native cryptocurrency of that blockchain. The amount is a predetermined reward per block, but often that is supplemented with the fees that are paid for the transactions that block contains. For Bitcoin, the current block rewards are cut in half every four years. This is
The block size represents the size of each block in a blockchain. Transactions are stored in a blockchain block. For Bitcoin, this is limited to 1MB per block. More transactions can be stored when the blocks are larger. This is the case with many altcoins. There are also disadvantages to large blocks, such as the required storage space. Also, it can become less attractive for miners if the transaction fees become too low as a result of large blocks.
Block time is the average amount of time it takes for a new block to be added to a blockchain. Each blockchain has its own target block time: Bitcoin targets approximately 10 minutes, Ethereum approximately 12 seconds, and Solana around 400 milliseconds. Block time directly affects transaction speed and throughput. The difficulty adjustment mechanism keeps block time consistent regardless of how much mining or validation power is on the network.
A block trade is a large privately negotiated transaction of securities or cryptocurrency that is executed outside the public order book of an exchange. Block trades are used by institutional investors and whales to buy or sell large quantities without significantly impacting the market price. Many exchanges offer dedicated block trade facilities or OTC desks specifically for this purpose.
The blockchain is a technique that makes it possible to safely store data in a decentralized way. This data can be money, but it could be other data as well. Also, read this extensive explanation about blockchain.
A blockchain bridge is a protocol that connects two separate blockchain networks, allowing users to transfer assets, data, or tokens between them. Since blockchains are isolated by design, bridges solve the interoperability problem by locking assets on one chain and minting equivalent representations on another. Bridges can be centralized (operated by a trusted entity) or decentralized (secured by smart contracts and validators). Bridge security is a major concern, as several high-profile hacks have targeted bridge contracts.
A blockchain explorer is a web-based tool that allows anyone to search and browse the data stored on a blockchain. Users can look up individual transactions, wallet addresses, block details, smart contract interactions, and network statistics. Popular explorers include Etherscan for Ethereum and Blockchain.com for Bitcoin. Blockchain explorers are essential for verifying transactions, tracking funds, and auditing on-chain activity.
Blockchain interoperability is the ability of different blockchain networks to communicate, share data, and transfer assets between each other. Since most blockchains are isolated systems, interoperability solutions like bridges, relay chains, and cross-chain messaging protocols are needed to connect them. Achieving seamless interoperability is considered one of the biggest challenges in the blockchain industry, as it requires balancing security, speed, and decentralization across fundamentally different network architectures.
Bollinger bands is a tool for crypto or stock traders. The bollinger band consists of three lines, usually based on a 'simple moving average'. The middle line is a 'simple moving average' and the outer lines are a multiplication of the middle 'simple moving average'. A detailed explanation can be read in this article about 'Technical Analysis'.
A 'bot' is an autonomous program on a network, such as the Internet, that can interact with systems or users. It is often designed to automate certain manual tasks. Bots are often used in Telegram chat groups to prevent spam.
A bounty is a reward offered by a blockchain project or organization to individuals who complete specific tasks. These tasks can range from finding bugs and security vulnerabilities in code to promoting the project on social media, writing content, or translating documentation. Bounty programs are commonly used during and after token launches to build community engagement and improve the quality of the project.
Bounties are simple tasks of jobs by the team behind a coin. These can be as simple as joining a Telegram channel or by (re)tweeting. It could also be a bit more difficult like a translation job for example. The participants receive rewards in the form of coins in exchange for completing these bounties.
BRC-20 is an experimental token standard on the Bitcoin blockchain that enables the creation of fungible tokens using the Ordinals protocol. Inspired by Ethereum's ERC-20 standard, BRC-20 tokens are inscribed directly onto satoshis as JSON data. The standard gained significant attention in 2023, though it has limitations in functionality compared to smart contract-based token standards and has been criticized for increasing Bitcoin network congestion.
A breakout is a term from technical analysis that describes when an asset's price moves beyond a defined support or resistance level with increased volume. A breakout above resistance is considered bullish, suggesting the price may continue to rise, while a breakout below support is bearish. Traders watch for breakouts as potential entry or exit signals, though false breakouts (where the price quickly reverses) are common.
A brute force attack is an attack performed by a hacker on a password or PIN. An automated script tries to execute as many different combinations as possible as quickly as possible until the password or PIN is guessed.
BTF or BTFD stands for 'Buy the f****** dip'. This is a way of expressing to buy a coin when the price is dipping. This is mostly used in chat groups like Telegram. You can read more about dips in this blog post: 'What is a dip'.
A bubble is an economic phenomenon where the price of an asset rises far beyond its fundamental value, driven by speculation, hype, and fear of missing out (FOMO). Bubbles follow a pattern of rapid price appreciation, euphoria, and eventual collapse when reality sets in and selling overwhelms buying. The cryptocurrency market has experienced several bubbles, notably in 2017 (ICO boom) and parts of 2021 (NFT mania). Recognizing bubble dynamics is important for managing investment risk.
BUIDL is a deliberate misspelling of "build," similar to how HODL is a misspelling of "hold." It represents the philosophy that the best way to grow the crypto ecosystem is by actively building useful products, tools, and applications rather than simply holding tokens and waiting for prices to rise. The term encourages developers and community members to focus on creating real value through innovation.
A bull flag is an indication of the price chart that the market is probably going to start an upward trend. This is the opposite of a 'bear flag'.
A bull market is the condition of financial markets where the prices of securities are rising or expected to rise. This concept can now also be applied to the crypto market. Prices rise and fall every day, but the term bull market is only reserved for longer periods of rising prices. This can go on for months or even years. The opposite of this is called a 'bear market'.
A bull run is a sustained period of rising prices in the cryptocurrency market, characterized by strong investor optimism, increasing trading volume, and growing mainstream interest. Bull runs are often fueled by a combination of factors such as Bitcoin halvings, institutional adoption, favorable regulation, and technological breakthroughs. Notable crypto bull runs occurred in 2013, 2017, and 2020-2021. The opposite of a bull run is a crypto winter.
A bull trap is a false signal (during a bear market) that the price will go up again. However, after a short rise, the price drops again sharply.
A bullish market means that the complete (crypto) market is in an upward trend. The opposite of bullish is bearish.
A burner wallet is a temporary cryptocurrency wallet created for a single use or short-term purpose, then discarded. Users create burner wallets to interact with untrusted smart contracts, NFT mints, or new DeFi protocols without exposing their main wallet (which may hold significant funds) to potential risks. Only a small amount of cryptocurrency is transferred to the burner wallet, limiting potential losses if the interaction turns out to be malicious.
A buy wall is an unusually large buy order, or a cluster of buy orders, placed at a single price level on an exchange's order book. It creates a visible "wall" of demand that can prevent the asset's price from dropping below that level. Buy walls are sometimes placed intentionally by large holders (whales) to signal strong demand or to protect a certain price floor.
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) is the ability of a distributed system to continue functioning correctly even when some of its participants (nodes) fail or act maliciously. The concept derives from the Byzantine Generals Problem. A BFT system can typically tolerate up to one-third of its nodes being faulty. Many blockchain consensus mechanisms, including Practical BFT (pBFT) and Tendermint, are built on BFT principles to ensure the network reaches agreement despite unreliable participants.
The Byzantine Generals Problem is a concept from game theory that illustrates the difficulty of reaching consensus in a distributed system where some participants may be unreliable or malicious. The analogy describes a group of generals who must coordinate an attack, but some messengers may deliver false information. In blockchain, this problem is solved through consensus mechanisms like Proof of Work and Proof of Stake that allow trustless agreement without a central authority.
A call option is a financial contract that gives the buyer the right (but not the obligation) to purchase an underlying asset at a specified price (the strike price) before or on a specific expiration date. In crypto markets, call options allow traders to bet on price increases with limited downside risk, as the maximum loss is the premium paid for the option. Call options are the counterpart to put options, which bet on price decreases.
A 'candlestick chart' is a way of representing the price of a tradable effect. One candlestick stands for a certain period (a day, an hour, a quarter of an hour, etc.). The 'body' of the candlestick represents the opening and closing price. The peaks indicate the highest and lowest price in the period.
Capitulation describes the moment when investors give up on trying to recover lost gains and sell their holdings at a loss, often during a prolonged market downturn. It is typically accompanied by high trading volume and panic selling. Paradoxically, capitulation events are sometimes seen as a signal that the market may be near its bottom, as the last wave of sellers exits their positions.
CB is short for Coinbase, a very popular exchange based in the United States of America
Censorship resistance is a property of a blockchain network that makes it practically impossible for any single entity, government, or organization to prevent valid transactions from being processed or to alter the data stored on the chain. This is achieved through decentralization, cryptographic security, and distributed consensus mechanisms. Censorship resistance is considered one of the most valuable properties of public blockchains.
A central bank is a government institution responsible for managing a country's monetary policy, issuing currency, setting interest rates, and regulating the banking system. Examples include the Federal Reserve (US), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Bank of England. In crypto discussions, central banks are often contrasted with decentralized systems like Bitcoin, which operate without any central monetary authority.
CBDC stands for 'Central bank digital currency' and is the fully digital form of fiat money. Unlike at Bitcoin, this type of currency would be created by a centralised authority like a central bank or a monetary authority. It might or might not have a distributed ledger. Each central bank in the world can have a custom implementation. Currently, it is still in test phase or just a concept on paper.
Centralised means that one particular organisation has control. For example, governments and companies are centralised. The opposite of centralised is decentralised, such as the Internet and the blockchain.
A Centralized Exchange (CEX) is a cryptocurrency trading platform operated by a company that acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. Users deposit their funds into the exchange's custody, and the platform matches orders through its internal systems. Popular CEXs include Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. While CEXs offer high liquidity and ease of use, users must trust the exchange to safeguard their funds, unlike decentralized exchanges where users retain control of their keys.
A chain reorganization (or "reorg") occurs when a blockchain replaces one or more recently confirmed blocks with an alternative set of blocks that represents a longer or more valid chain. This can happen naturally when two miners find a block at nearly the same time, with the network eventually converging on one chain. Malicious reorgs (via 51% attacks) can reverse confirmed transactions. Deep reorgs are rare on large networks like Bitcoin due to the enormous hash power required.
A chain split is another word for 'fork'. See hard fork for more info.
CZ refers to Changpeng Zhao (赵长鹏 in Chinese). He is the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which owns Coinmarketcap, since their acquisition in 2020. Since Binance is a popular exchange the abbreviation CZ is commonly used related to this exchange. For example: 'CZ should list this coin asap!'
A cipher is an algorithm used to perform encryption and decryption of data. It transforms readable information (plaintext) into an unreadable format (ciphertext) and vice versa, using a specific key. Ciphers are fundamental to cryptography and underpin the security of blockchain networks, wallet protection, and secure communication.
The total number of freely tradable coins of a cryptocurrency or token.
Cloud mining is like normal mining, but then with remote processing power. This is usually rented from companies located in areas with low electricity costs. These companies offer mining contracts for a limited or perpetual period. During this period the mining rewards are deposited to your account or wallet. The amount will be based on the hash power you purchased and the mining difficulty.
CMC is the abbreviation of Coinmarketcap. This is one of the first websites to list cryptocurrencies and exchanges.
A Coin is the umbrella term for cryptocurrencies and tokens.
A coin mixer (also called a tumbler) is a service that enhances cryptocurrency privacy by mixing a user's coins with those of other users, making it difficult to trace the origin and destination of funds. Mixers break the on-chain link between sender and receiver by pooling multiple transactions together. While legitimate for financial privacy, coin mixers have attracted regulatory scrutiny due to their use in money laundering. The US Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based mixer, in 2022.
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency broker. You can directly buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and more with fiat currencies. It is based in the United States of America and has over twenty million users worldwide.
Cold storage refers to storing cryptocurrency on a place where the private key cannot be accessed via the internet. This can be done on a hardware wallet, paper wallet or software wallet in an offline environment.
A cold wallet is a wallet for storing cryptocurrency where the private key is not exposed to the Internet.
Collateral refers to an asset that can be used as security for a loan, but only if the lender accepts it. DeFi is growing fast in the crypto world and collateral backed loans are more and more common and with an increasing number of cryptocurrencies or tokens that can be used as collateral. In crypto it is not only used for lending but can sometimes also be used when running (master)nodes. C
Collateralization is the process of pledging an asset as security to back a loan or financial position. In DeFi, users lock up cryptocurrency as collateral to borrow other assets or mint stablecoins. If the value of the collateral drops below a certain threshold (the liquidation ratio), it may be automatically sold to repay the debt. Over-collateralization, where the collateral exceeds the loan value, is common in DeFi to account for price volatility.
A Collateralized Debt Position (CDP) is a smart contract mechanism in DeFi where a user locks up cryptocurrency as collateral to generate (borrow) a stablecoin or other asset. The most well-known implementation is MakerDAO, where users deposit ETH or other assets to mint DAI stablecoins. If the collateral value drops below the required ratio, the CDP can be liquidated to protect the system.
In software development it is common to use version control techniques, like the open-source Git, to track all the development changes. The commit command refers to the command used to save the changes to the repository. This creates one or more commits, or simply a revision, with all the changes to a file or set of files. Each commit has a unique identifier (hash). The number of commits can give some insight on the development speed, but it's not 100% reliable. Deletions and additions of code a
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is a US federal regulatory agency that oversees the derivatives markets, including futures, swaps, and options. In the crypto space, the CFTC has classified certain cryptocurrencies (notably Bitcoin and Ethereum) as commodities, giving it jurisdiction over crypto derivatives trading. The CFTC has taken enforcement action against unregistered crypto exchanges and fraudulent schemes.
Composability refers to the ability of different decentralized applications and protocols to interact with and build upon each other, much like building blocks. In DeFi, composability allows developers to combine existing protocols (such as lending, trading, and insurance) into new products without needing permission. This interconnectedness is often described as "money legos" and is one of the key advantages of open, permissionless blockchain ecosystems.
A new transaction on a blockchain must first get a confirmation before it has been definitively processed. This is done by one of the consensus mechanisms, such as proof-of-work and proof-of-stake. The more confirmations, the greater the chance that the transaction is valid and a double spend is no longer possible.
Confirmation time is the duration between when a transaction is submitted to the blockchain network and when it is included in a confirmed block. The confirmation time varies by blockchain: Bitcoin averages about 10 minutes per block, while Ethereum processes blocks roughly every 12 seconds. Multiple confirmations (additional blocks built on top) increase the certainty that a transaction is final and irreversible.
The consensus in the blockchain world can be defined as an agreement by a majority, which is often set to a minimum of 51%. When 51% of the entities or people on the (blockchain) network agree to a change, like a transaction or change to the system the consensus has been reached. Having consensus is a very important part of the cryptocurrency space since it is required to have the validity of transactions on a blockchain verified as well as having a method to manage decentralized systems. A cons
A consensus mechanism is the method by which a blockchain network agrees on the current state of the ledger and validates new transactions. It ensures all participants (nodes) reach agreement without relying on a central authority. The most well-known consensus mechanisms are Proof of Work (used by Bitcoin) and Proof of Stake (used by Ethereum). Other types include Delegated Proof of Stake, Proof of Authority, and Byzantine Fault Tolerance.
A contract address is an address used by the smart contract on a DApp platform. For Ethereum each token is based on the ERC-20 standard and has a contract address.
A Contract for Difference (CFD) is a financial derivative that allows traders to speculate on the price movement of an asset without actually owning it. The profit or loss is determined by the difference between the entry and exit price of the contract. CFDs are available for cryptocurrencies on many regulated trading platforms and can be traded with leverage. They are popular for short-term trading but carry significant risk due to leverage and are banned or restricted in some jurisdictions.
Copy trading is a feature offered by some cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms that allows users to automatically replicate the trades of experienced traders in real time. When the copied trader opens or closes a position, the same action is executed proportionally in the follower's account. Copy trading lowers the barrier to entry for beginners but carries risks, as past performance does not guarantee future results and followers are exposed to the same losses as the trader they copy.
A correction is a price movement (up or down) after the price has risen or fallen. This is caused by traders that want to cash in their profits. This occurs with both long and short positions.
Counterparty risk is the possibility that the other party in a financial transaction will fail to meet their obligations. In crypto, counterparty risk is significant when using centralized exchanges (which can be hacked or become insolvent), lending platforms, or custodial services. DeFi protocols aim to minimize counterparty risk by using smart contracts that execute automatically, though they introduce their own risks such as smart contract bugs.
Cross margin is a margin trading mode where all available funds in a trader's account serve as collateral for all open positions simultaneously. If one position incurs losses, it can draw from the entire account balance to avoid liquidation. This provides more flexibility and reduces the chance of liquidation on individual trades, but it also means a single bad trade could potentially drain the entire account. Cross margin is the opposite of isolated margin.
Cross-chain refers to the technology and protocols that enable the transfer of data, tokens, or information between two or more independent blockchain networks. Since blockchains are inherently isolated, cross-chain solutions like bridges, atomic swaps, and interoperability protocols allow users to move assets from one chain to another. Cross-chain functionality is essential for a multi-chain ecosystem where users want to access applications across different networks.
Crypto is the generic term to refer to cryptocurrency, the crypto market and the blockchain industry.
Crypto winter is a term for a prolonged period of declining prices and reduced activity in the cryptocurrency market, similar to a "bear market" in traditional finance but typically lasting longer. Notable crypto winters occurred in 2014-2015 (after the Mt. Gox collapse), 2018-2019 (after the ICO bubble), and 2022-2023 (after the Terra/LUNA collapse and FTX bankruptcy). During a crypto winter, trading volumes drop, projects shut down, and investor sentiment remains deeply negative.
A cryptocurrency, also known as 'crypto', is a type of currency that is transferred via a blockchain. It uses strong cryptography to secure the transactions, that usually have value. While traditional fiat currencies are subject to counterfeiting, this is not possible in a cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is still the most valuable cryptocurrency.
Cryptography is the science of securing information using mathematical algorithms and secret keys. It allows data to be encrypted so that only authorized parties can read it. In the context of blockchain and cryptocurrency, cryptography is used to secure transactions, protect wallets, verify identities, and ensure that data stored on the blockchain cannot be tampered with.
Cryptojacking is a form of cyberattack where a hacker secretly uses a victim's computer, smartphone, or server to mine cryptocurrency without their knowledge or consent. This is typically done through malicious software or browser-based scripts that consume the device's processing power. Cryptojacking slows down the victim's device, increases electricity costs, and can cause hardware damage over time.
CryptoPunks is one of the earliest and most iconic NFT collections on the Ethereum blockchain. Created by Larva Labs in 2017, the collection consists of 10,000 unique 24x24 pixel art characters. CryptoPunks are widely regarded as a foundational project in the NFT space and have sold for millions of dollars. The intellectual property was acquired by Yuga Labs (creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club) in 2022.
CT is the abbreviation of 'Crypto Twitter', which refers to the global group of crypto enthusiasts that is active on Twitter talking about everything blockchain-related. It can be used in a sentence like 'I miss the saltiness of CT', meaning that not many people are as negative as during a heavy bear market.
A custodial wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet where a third party (typically an exchange or financial institution) holds and manages the private keys on behalf of the user. The user trusts the custodian to secure their funds and facilitate transactions. Exchange wallets are the most common example. Custodial wallets are convenient and offer features like password recovery, but they introduce counterparty risk, as the saying goes: "not your keys, not your coins."
A custodian is an entity responsible for holding, safeguarding, and managing financial assets on behalf of clients. In the crypto industry, custodians are typically regulated institutions that store private keys and digital assets for investors who prefer not to manage their own security. Crypto custodians serve institutional investors, funds, and exchanges. The alternative is self-custody, where users manage their own private keys.
Custody refers to the safekeeping and management of assets on behalf of a client. In cryptocurrency, a custodial service holds and secures the private keys to a user's funds, meaning the custodian has control over sending and receiving coins. This is common with exchanges and institutional services. The alternative is self-custody (non-custodial), where the user holds their own private keys and has full control over their assets.
Someone who advocates a broad use of cryptography and technology to promote privacy with the aim of social and political change is called a 'Cypherpunk'. These people form an active community that has been around since the 1980s. Bitcoin is possibly developed by the 'Cypherpunks'.
DAO is an abbreviation of 'Decentralised Autonomous Organization'. This is an organisation that runs automatically on itself without any human interventions. The work is automatically executed through Smart contracts.
DApp is short for 'Decentralized application' that relies partly on blockchain for its functionality. They are different than 'Smart Contracts' because it can be interacted with. It does not need to have a financial function. Dapps can be created using common programming languages like Javascript, PHP or C#. At the time of writing, most Dapps are using the Ethereum blockchain.
The Dark Web is referred to a part of the Internet that is not easily accessible without special software and/or access permission. The content is usually not indexed by the Google search machine and could be password protected. The information and content could be secretive or even illegal.
Data Availability Sampling (DAS) is a technique that allows blockchain nodes to verify that all data in a block is available without downloading the entire block. Instead, nodes randomly sample small portions of the data and use mathematical proofs to confirm the complete dataset is accessible. DAS is a key component of EIP-4844 and Ethereum's danksharding roadmap, enabling Layer 2 rollups to post data more cheaply while maintaining security guarantees.
Day trading is a strategy in which securities positions (stocks, cryptocurrencies, options, warrants, bonds, etc.) are held by the trader for less than a day. Thus, a position can be taken and closed just a few hours later. To determine when to open and close a position, traders often use technical analysis.
DCA is the abbreviation for Dollar-Cost averaging. This is an investment technique, where a fixed amount in dollars is used to invest. Not the entire amount is used in one time, but according to a fixed schedule, no matter what the price is. With this method, you can never buy on the top, but also not on the bottom. Within the crypto space, the term is also used to indicate that someone buys low after a huge price drop of a coin.
A 'Dead Cat Bounce' is a term used in finance and now also in the crypto markets. It refers to a brief price recovery before a major crash.
A dead coin is a cryptocurrency that has been abandoned by its developers, has no active community, extremely low or zero trading volume, and no functional use case. Many dead coins were created during the ICO boom of 2017-2018 and subsequently failed. Websites like Coinopsy and DeadCoins track thousands of cryptocurrencies that are no longer active or were identified as scams.
A death cross is the opposite of a golden cross. It is a bearish signal in technical analysis that occurs when a short-term moving average crosses below a long-term moving average. Typically, this means the 50-day moving average falls below the 200-day moving average. Traders interpret this pattern as an indicator that downward momentum is building and that a prolonged price decline may follow.
A DEX is short for Decentralized Exchange. This is an exchange where people can trade cryptocurrencies and tokens without the need of a middleman. It is usually run by code in a 'smart contract'. The transactions are generally written to the blockchain, which makes a DEX by default slower than a centralized exchange that uses fast databases. The main benefit of a DEX is that nobody, but yourself, holds the private key to the funds. Even though a DEX will not have a middleman regarding the trades
A Decentralized Identifier (DID) is a new type of globally unique identifier that is created, owned, and controlled by the individual or entity it identifies, without relying on any central authority. DIDs are stored on a blockchain or distributed ledger and can be used to verify identity, credentials, and claims in a privacy-preserving way. They are a foundational building block for self-sovereign identity in Web3, allowing users to prove things about themselves without revealing unnecessary personal information.
Decryption is the process of converting encrypted data (ciphertext) back into its original, readable format (plaintext). It is the reverse of encryption and requires the correct cryptographic key to unlock the information. In the context of blockchain and cryptocurrency, decryption is essential for accessing wallet data, reading encrypted messages, and verifying signed transactions.
DeFi is the abbreviation of 'Decentralized Finance'. It can be defined as a new financial ecosystem consisting of various financial tools, apps and services utilizing blockchain technology. It's an umbrella term for all these projects combined and is growing daily. Examples of DeFi functionality are banking services in the form of stablecoins, decentralized exchanges, derivatives, prediction markets, or lending and borrowing systems. The last one can be either peer-to-peer or with a pool. It is
Degen is short for degenerate and refers to people trading crypto assets, mostly shitcoins, without doing proper research on it. These types of traders just go into a trade based on signals and just FOMO into price pumps. They will just buy it because it looks like a nice coin to trade and hope to make quick gains on it. Degen trades are often fueled by group chats on apps like
A delegator is a participant in a Proof of Stake network who assigns (delegates) their staked tokens to a validator to earn staking rewards without running a validator node themselves. Delegators share in the rewards earned by their chosen validator but also bear some risk: if the validator misbehaves and gets slashed, the delegator's stake may be partially penalized as well. Delegation makes staking accessible to users who lack the technical resources to validate independently.
Delisting is the removal of a cryptocurrency from an exchange, meaning it can no longer be traded on that platform. Exchanges may delist a token for various reasons, including low trading volume, regulatory concerns, security issues, or the project failing to meet the exchange's listing standards. Delisting typically causes a sharp drop in the token's price due to reduced liquidity and access.
A depeg occurs when a stablecoin or pegged asset loses its intended fixed value ratio (typically 1:1 with a fiat currency like the US dollar). Depegging can be caused by loss of confidence, insufficient reserves, market panic, or flaws in the stabilization mechanism. The most dramatic depeg in crypto history was the collapse of UST (TerraUSD) in May 2022, which lost its dollar peg entirely and caused billions in losses across the market.
DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) is a category of blockchain projects that use token incentives to build and maintain real-world physical infrastructure in a decentralized way. Instead of a single company owning and operating the infrastructure, participants contribute resources (such as wireless coverage, storage, computing power, or energy) and earn tokens in return. Examples include Helium (wireless networks), Filecoin (storage), and Render Network (GPU computing).
A derivative is a financial instrument whose value is derived from the performance of an underlying asset, such as a cryptocurrency, stock, commodity, or index. Common types of derivatives include futures, options, and perpetual swaps. In crypto markets, derivatives allow traders to speculate on price movements or hedge their positions without needing to own the underlying asset directly. They often involve leverage, which amplifies both potential gains and losses.
DEVCON stands for 'Developers Conference'. This is a meeting of software developers, usually organized by a company. The latest developments are discussed here. At Apple, it is called WWDC (the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference). In the blockchain space, the annual Ethereum Devcon is best known.
A DEX aggregator is a platform that searches across multiple decentralized exchanges to find the best price and lowest slippage for a token swap. Instead of manually checking prices on individual DEXs, the aggregator automatically splits orders across different liquidity pools and routes to optimize the trade. Popular DEX aggregators include 1inch, Paraswap, and Jupiter (on Solana). They save users time and money by ensuring the most efficient execution.
Diamond hands is a crypto and stock market slang term for investors who hold onto their assets through significant price drops and market volatility, refusing to sell in a panic. The opposite is "paper hands," which describes those who sell at the first sign of a price decline. The term originated in online trading communities and is often used as encouragement to stay committed to a long-term position.
Difficulty is a measure of how hard it is to find a valid hash during the Proof of Work mining process. The difficulty adjusts automatically based on the total hash rate of the network to maintain a consistent block time. In Bitcoin, difficulty adjusts every 2,016 blocks (roughly two weeks) to keep the average block time at approximately 10 minutes, regardless of how many miners are active.
A digital asset is any item of value that exists in a digital format and comes with the right to use or own it. In the context of cryptocurrency and blockchain, digital assets include cryptocurrencies, tokens, NFTs, stablecoins, and other blockchain-based representations of value. The term is also used more broadly in finance and law to cover any electronically stored value, from digital currencies to tokenized real-world assets.
Digital currency is a broad term for any form of money that exists only in electronic form and has no physical counterpart like coins or banknotes. It encompasses cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin), stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and other electronic money systems. Unlike cryptocurrency specifically, digital currency does not necessarily require blockchain technology or decentralization. The term is often used in regulatory and policy discussions to cover the full spectrum of electronic money.
Digital identity refers to information used by computers to represent a real-world entity, like a person or an organisation. It could also represent an application or device. It can be seen a set of attributes related to the entity. This digital identity is used for authentication and verification to access systems on a network, such as the Internet. Several developments are going on in the blockchain world where a digital identity plays a crucial role.
A digital signature is a cryptographic technique used to verify the authenticity and integrity of digital data. It works similarly to a handwritten signature but is far more secure, using public-key cryptography to prove that a message or transaction was created by the holder of a specific private key. In blockchain, digital signatures ensure that transactions cannot be forged or altered after they are signed.
A dildo, in crypto terms, refers to a large rise in the price of a coin. At the moment that a sudden rise in the price takes place, a 'candlestick' in a 'candlestick chart' shoots up. According to some people, this phenomenon looks like a dildo.
A 'Dip' is a rapid decrease in the value of, for example, a cryptocurrency or an entire market. It is less strong than a 'crash' and can also quickly recover to the old price level. Also, read this extensive explanation about a 'dip'.
A Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) is a data structure where information flows in one direction and never loops back on itself. In blockchain technology, DAGs are used as an alternative to traditional linear blockchains, allowing multiple transactions to be processed in parallel rather than sequentially. Cryptocurrency projects like IOTA (using the Tangle) and Hedera Hashgraph use DAG-based architectures to achieve higher throughput and lower fees.
Discord is a messaging app that can be used on mobile and desktop. Besides Telegram it is also a very popular messaging app in the crypto community. Discord allows the administrator to create several rooms, which is useful to divide the discussion topics. Examples are: general, marketing, support, development/tech talk and announcements. Coins often have both a Telegram and Discord channel for the community to meet each other.
A distributed ledger is a database that is shared, replicated, and synchronized across multiple locations, institutions, or participants in a network. Unlike a traditional centralized database, no single entity controls the ledger. Changes are agreed upon through consensus mechanisms and are visible to all participants. Blockchain is the most well-known type of distributed ledger, but the term also encompasses other architectures like directed acyclic graphs (DAGs).
Dividends are amounts of money that are periodically paid to reward people for holding certain securities over a period. In cryptocurrency, rewards are often paid on blockchains with a DPoS or PoS consensus algorithm, which can be seen as dividends but isn't legally declared dividends. For security tokens with revenue sharing of the platform, this is more likely to be seen as real dividends.
DYOR is a term, which you often see in disclaimers and chat groups regarding the cryptocurrency market. It stands for 'Do your own research'. It is a quick way of saying that no financial advice is given and you have to do your own research before you invest.
Double spending is the risk that a unit of digital currency could be spent more than once. Unlike physical cash, digital data can potentially be copied, making this a fundamental challenge for digital payment systems. Blockchain technology solves the double-spending problem by maintaining a decentralized, immutable ledger where each transaction is verified by the network before being recorded, making it virtually impossible to spend the same coins twice.
Drawdown is a measure of the decline from a peak value to a trough value in the price of an asset or portfolio over a specific period. It is expressed as a percentage. For example, if a portfolio peaked at $100,000 and dropped to $60,000, the drawdown would be 40%. Maximum drawdown (the largest peak-to-trough decline) is a key risk metric used by traders and fund managers to evaluate the worst-case scenario of an investment strategy.
In crypto slang, a "dump" refers to a significant and rapid sell-off of a cryptocurrency, causing its price to drop sharply. Dumps can be triggered by negative news, whale selling, market manipulation, or profit-taking after a price rally. The term is also used in the phrase "pump and dump," which describes a scheme where a group artificially inflates a price before selling at the peak.
A dusting attack is a type of surveillance tactic where an attacker sends tiny amounts of cryptocurrency (called "dust") to many wallet addresses. The goal is to track the transaction activity of those wallets to eventually link them to real-world identities. If the recipients spend the dust along with their other funds, the attacker can analyze the combined transaction trail. Dusting attacks target user privacy rather than stealing funds directly.
A Dutch auction is an auction format where the price starts high and gradually decreases until a buyer accepts the current price or a predetermined floor price is reached. In crypto, Dutch auctions are used for NFT drops, token sales, and DeFi liquidations. This mechanism aims to find a fair market price by letting demand determine the final price, and helps prevent gas wars where buyers compete by overpaying transaction fees.
An eclipse attack is a network-level attack where a malicious actor isolates a target node from the rest of the blockchain network by surrounding it with attacker-controlled nodes. The victim node only receives manipulated data, allowing the attacker to feed it false transactions, facilitate double spending, or disrupt mining. Eclipse attacks exploit the peer-to-peer networking layer rather than the consensus protocol itself.
EigenLayer is a protocol on Ethereum that introduces "restaking," allowing users who have already staked ETH to opt into securing additional services and protocols with their same staked assets. This creates a shared security marketplace where new protocols can bootstrap their security from Ethereum's existing validator set instead of building their own from scratch. Restakers earn additional rewards but also take on additional slashing risk.
EIP-1559 is an Ethereum Improvement Proposal implemented in August 2021 that redesigned the network's transaction fee mechanism. It introduced a base fee that is automatically burned (destroyed) with each transaction, plus an optional priority tip for validators. This makes fees more predictable for users and introduces a deflationary element to ETH's supply, since burned fees permanently reduce the total number of tokens in circulation.
EIP-4844 (also known as Proto-Danksharding) is an Ethereum upgrade implemented in March 2024 that introduced "blob" transactions, a new data format specifically designed for Layer 2 rollups. Blobs provide a cheaper way for rollups to post their transaction data to Ethereum, dramatically reducing fees on Layer 2 networks (by up to 90% in some cases). EIP-4844 is a stepping stone toward full danksharding, which will further increase Ethereum's data capacity.
Emission refers to the rate at which new coins or tokens are created and released into circulation according to a blockchain's protocol rules. Emission schedules define how many new tokens are generated per block or time period. Bitcoin has a decreasing emission schedule due to its halving mechanism, while other blockchains may have fixed, inflationary, or deflationary emission models. Understanding a project's emission rate is crucial for evaluating long-term tokenomics and potential inflation pressure.
The term 'Emission' is in relation to blockchain, often used as 'Emission Rate'. This is the speed at which new coins are released and thus increases the 'circulating supply'. This speed is known in advance by the design of the blockchain and can be shown in a graph, the 'Emission Curve'.
Encryption is the process of converting readable data (plaintext) into an unreadable, coded format (ciphertext) using a cryptographic algorithm and a key. Only parties with the correct decryption key can convert it back to its original form. In blockchain and cryptocurrency, encryption is fundamental for securing wallet data, protecting private keys, ensuring transaction privacy, and safeguarding communication between network participants.
The EEA (Enterprise Ethereum Alliance) is a partnership as part of the Ethereum Foundation. It connects Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, academics and technology suppliers with experts regarding Ethereum.
An epoch is a defined period of time or set of blocks in a blockchain protocol during which specific operations or calculations take place. In Ethereum's Proof of Stake system, an epoch consists of 32 slots (approximately 6.4 minutes), during which validators are assigned to propose and attest to blocks. The concept helps organize validator duties and finality checkpoints.
ERC-1155 is a token standard on the Ethereum blockchain, created by Enjin. Unlike ERC-20 (fungible tokens only) or ERC-721 (non-fungible tokens only), ERC-1155 allows a single smart contract to manage both fungible and non-fungible tokens simultaneously. This makes it more efficient for applications like gaming, where a developer might need both unique items (NFTs) and interchangeable currencies within the same contract.
ERC20 coins are all tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. These coins are also supported by most Ethereum wallets.
ERC-721 is a token standard on the Ethereum blockchain used to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Each ERC-721 token is unique and cannot be exchanged on a one-to-one basis with another token, unlike fungible tokens such as ERC-20. This standard is widely used for digital collectibles, artwork, virtual real estate, and other assets where individual uniqueness and provable ownership matter.
Escrow is an arrangement where a neutral third party temporarily holds funds or assets on behalf of two parties in a transaction, releasing them only when predetermined conditions are met. In crypto, escrow is commonly used in peer-to-peer trading, freelance payments, and OTC deals to protect both buyer and seller. Smart contracts can serve as automated, trustless escrow agents, releasing funds automatically when conditions are verified on-chain.
Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain. According to their website, it is a necessary element (a fuel) for operating the distributed application platform. It is a form of payment made by the clients of the platform to the machines executing the requested operations. The transaction fees for using the platform are paid for in Ether and measured based on the gas limit and gas price.
Ethereum (ETH) is consists of one blockchain where both its own transactions (Ether) and those of numerous other coins (tokens) are recorded. Ethereum distinctive feature is the so-called “smart contract”. The programming language of Ethereum is written in such a way that programmers can write their own programs based on the Ethereum blockchain. Read more about Ethereum in this article: 'What is Et
Ethereum Classic (ETC) is a cryptocurrency that came to existence due to a hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain. After a major hack where over 200 million USD worth of Ether was stolen, the Ethereum Foundation decided to roll back the blockchain. Part of the community didn't agree with this decision and kept mining the original chain, which was then called Ethereum Classic.
EIP is short for 'Ethereum Improvement Proposal'. This is similar to the 'BIP' that relates to Bitcoin. EIPs describe standards for the Ethereum platform. This includes contract standards, protocol specifications and client APIs. An EIP can be proposed by any Ethereum community member and is then discussed within the community.
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a decentralized naming system built on the Ethereum blockchain that maps human-readable names (like "alice.eth") to machine-readable identifiers such as wallet addresses, content hashes, and metadata. Similar to how DNS translates domain names to IP addresses, ENS makes it easier to send crypto (instead of copying long hex addresses) and create decentralized websites. ENS names are NFTs that can be bought, sold, and transferred.
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the runtime environment that executes smart contracts on the Ethereum network. It is a Turing-complete virtual machine, meaning it can run any computation given enough resources. Developers write smart contracts in languages like Solidity, which are compiled into bytecode that the EVM interprets. Many other blockchains have adopted EVM compatibility, allowing developers to deploy the same smart contracts across multiple networks.
An exchange is a place where you can buy and sell different kinds of cryptocurrencies and tokens. These coins can then be deposited back to a wallet, which supports the coin. Sometimes it's also possible to convert it to dollars. This is an overview with all exchanges.
ETF is an abbreviation for 'Exchange-Traded-Fund' or a listed fund on a stock exchange. This is a tradable product (security) that follows the price of an underlying asset. Examples are an equity index, a basket of certain securities, bonds and commodities. There are several applications for a Bitcoin ETF, but none of these has yet been approved by the SEC in the United States of America.
An exit scam is a type of fraud where the creators of a cryptocurrency project or exchange suddenly disappear with investors' funds. This typically occurs after a period of building trust and attracting deposits. Warning signs include anonymous teams, unrealistic promises of returns, lack of transparency, and sudden withdrawal restrictions. Exit scams have been one of the most common forms of fraud in the crypto industry.
The Exponential Moving Average (EMA) is a type of moving average that gives more weight to recent price data, making it more responsive to new information than the Simple Moving Average (SMA). The EMA reacts faster to price changes, which is why many short-term traders prefer it. Common EMA periods used in crypto trading include the 9-day, 21-day, 50-day, and 200-day. EMA crossovers are used to generate buy and sell signals, including the golden cross and death cross patterns.
A falling knife is a term referring to a tradable asset falling hard in price. "Never catch a falling knife" is a well-known saying that warns you not to invest in a security that is currently falling hard. The idea behind this is that a price must first show some recovery (aka bottoming out) before it is wise to take a position in it again.
A fan token is a type of cryptocurrency issued by a sports team, entertainment brand, or organization that gives holders access to exclusive perks such as voting on certain team decisions, merchandise discounts, VIP experiences, and digital collectibles. Fan tokens are typically traded on exchanges and their price fluctuates based on demand. Platforms like Socios.com have popularized fan tokens among major football clubs and sports organizations.
A fanboy or sometimes purposely misspelt 'fanboi' is a term to describe an obsessive (male) fan of something, like cryptocurrency for example. In the crypto space, most coins have chat groups on Telegram or Discord, where this term is often used.
A faucet is a website or application that distributes small amounts of cryptocurrency to users for free, usually in exchange for completing simple tasks like solving captchas, viewing ads, or participating in educational quizzes. Faucets are commonly used on testnets to provide developers with free test tokens for building and experimenting with blockchain applications.
The Fear and Greed Index is a market sentiment indicator that measures the emotional state of cryptocurrency investors on a scale from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed). It aggregates data from multiple sources including volatility, trading volume, social media activity, Bitcoin dominance, and Google Trends. Traders use it as a contrarian indicator: extreme fear may signal a buying opportunity, while extreme greed may suggest the market is due for a correction.
FOMO is the abbreviation for and is used regarding people who are afraid they are missing the boat and therefore take a position in a coin.
FUD is the abbreviation for Fear, uncertainty and Doubt. An article or post can be seen as FUD and can lower the price of a coin.
Fiat money relates to all currencies issued by governments. Examples are the Euro (EUR), American dollar (USD) and the Chinese Yuan (CNY).
Fiat currency or also simply called fiat is money issued by a government or organizations that are allowed to issue it, like banks for example. It doesn’t have any value by itself and is for decades not backed by gold anymore either. It instead remains value based on the trust of the people. Once the trust goes away it will decrease in value and could eventually cause hyperinflation.
A fiat on-ramp is a service or platform that allows users to convert traditional fiat currency (such as USD, EUR, or GBP) into cryptocurrency. On-ramps are the entry point for new users into the crypto ecosystem and typically involve payment methods like bank transfers, credit cards, or mobile payment apps. Major centralized exchanges serve as on-ramps, and dedicated services like MoonPay and Transak provide on-ramp widgets for wallets and dApps. The reverse process (crypto to fiat) is called an "off-ramp."
Fibonacci retracement is a technical analysis tool that uses horizontal lines to indicate potential support and resistance levels where price reversals may occur. The levels are derived from the Fibonacci sequence and are typically drawn at 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%, and 78.6% between a significant high and low point. Crypto traders use Fibonacci retracements to identify potential entry and exit points during pullbacks within a larger trend.
Finality refers to the point at which a blockchain transaction becomes irreversible and permanently settled. Once finality is achieved, the transaction cannot be altered, reversed, or cancelled. Different blockchains achieve finality in different ways: Bitcoin achieves probabilistic finality (security increases with each additional block), while some Proof of Stake chains offer absolute finality after a specific number of validator confirmations.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization that sets global standards for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. Its recommendations significantly impact the cryptocurrency industry, particularly the "Travel Rule" which requires virtual asset service providers to share sender and recipient information for transactions above certain thresholds. FATF guidelines influence how countries regulate crypto exchanges, wallets, and DeFi platforms.
A flash loan is a type of uncollateralized loan unique to DeFi that must be borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction. If the borrower fails to repay, the entire transaction is automatically reverted as if it never happened. Flash loans enable sophisticated strategies like arbitrage, collateral swaps, and self-liquidation without requiring any upfront capital. However, they have also been exploited in DeFi protocol attacks.
Flashbots is a research and development organization focused on mitigating the negative effects of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) on Ethereum. MEV refers to the profit that block producers can extract by reordering, including, or excluding transactions. Flashbots created tools and protocols that make MEV extraction more transparent and fair, reducing issues like front-running and sandwich attacks that harm regular users.
The Flippening is a hypothetical event where Ethereum's total market capitalization surpasses that of Bitcoin, making ETH the most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap. The term has been used since 2017 in debates about whether Ethereum's expanding use cases (DeFi, NFTs, smart contracts) could drive its valuation above Bitcoin's. While the term originally applied to any coin overtaking Bitcoin, it is now almost exclusively used in the context of Ethereum. As of now, the Flippening has not occurred.
The floor price, or price floor, is a term that comes from the NFT corner in the crypto world. Generally, individual NFTs are part of a larger series, and it is 1 out of 1000, for example. This series is published in its entirety on marketplaces such as OpenSea. These users can filter by properties and compare among themselves. An interesting feature there is the floor price, which in this situation means the cheapest NFT offered in that
A fork occurs when a blockchain's protocol is changed, creating a divergence from the existing version. There are two main types: a hard fork creates a permanent split where the new version is not backward-compatible, potentially resulting in two separate blockchains. A soft fork is backward-compatible and does not split the chain as long as a majority of nodes adopt the update. Forks can result from planned upgrades or community disagreements.
Formal verification is a rigorous mathematical process used to prove that a smart contract or software program behaves exactly as intended under all possible conditions. Unlike regular testing (which checks specific scenarios), formal verification uses mathematical proofs to guarantee correctness. In blockchain, it is particularly important for high-value DeFi protocols and critical infrastructure where bugs can result in the loss of millions. While extremely thorough, formal verification is time-consuming and expensive, so it is typically reserved for the most critical code.
A fraud proof is a cryptographic mechanism used in Layer-2 scaling solutions, particularly optimistic rollups, to verify the correctness of transactions. In optimistic rollups, transactions are assumed to be valid by default. If someone suspects fraud, they can submit a fraud proof during a challenge period to prove that a transaction was invalid. If the proof is accepted, the fraudulent transaction is reverted and the dishonest party is penalized.
A person who owns cryptocurrency, but has not bought it himself. The coins are obtained for free as a gift, airdrop or through affiliate programs. This term is coined by Blockspot.io (Tweet).
Front running is the practice of placing a transaction ahead of a known pending transaction to profit from the expected price movement. In crypto, front running is a form of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) where bots monitor the mempool for large pending trades, then submit their own transaction with a higher gas fee to get processed first. A common variant is the "sandwich attack," where the attacker places a buy before and a sell after a victim's trade, profiting from the price impact.
A 'Fudster' is a person who spreads wrong information in order to negatively influence the price.
A full node is a computer that runs a complete copy of a blockchain's transaction history and independently validates all transactions and blocks according to the protocol's rules. Full nodes do not rely on other nodes for verification, making them essential for the network's security and decentralization. Anyone can run a full node, and having more full nodes makes the network more resilient against attacks or censorship.
Fully Diluted in crypto refers to fully diluted market cap. This is the market cap of a coin based on its total supply instead of the circulating supply. This is an important metric for investors to compare coins and help with the decision if it’s overvalued or undervalued.
FA is the abbreviation of 'Fundamental analysis'. It is a method of evaluating an investment, such as a cryptocurrency, by looking at its intrinsic value. Related economic and financial factors are also examined.
Fungibility is the property of an asset where each individual unit is interchangeable and indistinguishable from another unit of the same type. For example, one Bitcoin is fungible because it can be exchanged for any other Bitcoin of equal value. Cash is fungible, while NFTs are non-fungible by definition, as each token is unique. Some privacy coins like Monero aim to enhance fungibility by making transaction histories untraceable.
The term 'futures' comes from the financial markets. It is a financial contract, which obliges the buyer to buy a security or the seller to sell it. This has to be done on a predetermined date and price in the future. It is a trading instrument on the stock exchange and is used for various underlying instruments, including Bitcoin nowadays. Some contracts require the physical delivery of the underlying instrument and others are settled in cash.
GameFi is a term combining "gaming" and "finance" that describes blockchain-based games incorporating DeFi elements such as token rewards, NFT ownership, and play-to-earn mechanics. In GameFi, players can earn real economic value through in-game activities, trade their assets on open markets, and have verifiable ownership of digital items. The concept gained significant popularity during 2021 with games like Axie Infinity.
Gas or 'Wei' is used to execute a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. The 'gas' that is used can be seen as 'fee' for the 'miners'. The more 'gas' you set, the faster your transaction will be completed. Because of the higher reward, more miners will be incentivized to process the transaction earlier.
The gas limit is the maximum amount of gas you are willing to pay for a blockchain transaction (gas price). The higher you set the limit, the faster your transaction will be executed. If you set the gas limit too low, there is a chance that your transaction will never be executed or will fail, and you will still have paid.
The gas price is the price that must be paid to execute a crypto transaction. Transactions on the blockchain are conducted in a manner similar to an auction. Miners want to make as much money as possible from executing transactions and therefore look for the transactions that earn them the highest fee. The more gas you are willing to pay on it, the faster your transaction is executed. At times when there are a lot of transactions being executed, the gas price can rise significantly. As a result,
A gem in the world of cryptocurrency is a coin, which is unique in a person's perception and therefore will increase in value.
The 'Genesis Block' is the first block in the blockchain of a cryptocurrency.
A GIF is the abbreviation of Graphics Interchange Format. It is an image format that allows an animation. These can be a couple of seconds long and are often used in the cryptocurrency chat groups and Twitter. Most of the time they are used in a funny way.
GitHub is a web-based platform for version control and collaboration that allows developers to store, manage, and track changes to their code. It is built on Git, an open-source distributed version control system. In the cryptocurrency space, GitHub is where most blockchain projects host their source code. A project's GitHub activity (commits, contributors, and updates) is often used as an indicator of development progress and team engagement.
A golden cross is a bullish signal in technical analysis that occurs when a short-term moving average crosses above a long-term moving average. Typically this involves the 50-day moving average rising above the 200-day moving average. Traders consider this pattern an indicator that upward price momentum is building and a potential trend reversal from bearish to bullish may be underway. The opposite pattern is known as a "death cross."
Governance in crypto refers to the systems and processes by which decisions are made about a blockchain protocol or decentralized project. On-chain governance allows token holders to vote directly on proposals such as protocol upgrades, fee changes, or treasury spending. Off-chain governance involves discussions and decisions made through forums, social media, or developer meetings. Many DeFi protocols issue governance tokens that grant holders voting rights on the project's future direction.
A governance token is a cryptocurrency that grants holders the right to vote on decisions that shape the future of a decentralized protocol or organization. These decisions can include protocol upgrades, fee structures, treasury allocations, and partnership proposals. Governance tokens align the interests of users with the protocol's development, giving the community direct influence over its direction. Examples include UNI (Uniswap), AAVE (Aave), and COMP (Compound).
Gwei is used to measure the cost of gas for transactions on the Ethereum network. A single Gwei amounts to 10⁹ Wei or 10^-9 ETH.
Hal Finney (1956-2014) was a pioneering cryptographer and computer scientist who was one of the earliest contributors to Bitcoin. He received the first-ever Bitcoin transaction from Satoshi Nakamoto on January 12, 2009. Finney was also known for creating the first reusable proof-of-work system before Bitcoin and for his work on PGP encryption. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in cryptocurrency history.
A halving is a programmed event in certain cryptocurrencies where the reward that miners receive for adding new blocks is cut in half. Bitcoin's halving occurs approximately every four years (every 210,000 blocks), reducing the rate at which new coins enter circulation. This mechanism creates increasing scarcity over time and is a core part of Bitcoin's monetary policy. Historically, Bitcoin halvings have preceded significant price increases, though past performance does not guarantee future results.
A hard cap is the absolute maximum number of tokens or coins that a cryptocurrency can ever have in circulation. This limit is written into the blockchain's code and cannot be changed without a fundamental protocol modification. For example, Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins. Hard caps create scarcity, which can support long-term value if demand increases while supply remains fixed.
A hard fork is a major change in the Blockchain protocol. A hard hork requires all nodes to upgrade to the latest version of the protocol software. Usually, there is a transition period where the miners can show their support of the hard fork. Once a date is set via a specific block number, everybody will need to have updated their software by that time. The ones that fail to upgrade could cause a chain split. The chain with the highest number of nodes or hash rate will be seen as the original c
A hardware wallet is a device meant to store coins securely. It usually looks like a USB flash drive with a small display and a few buttons. The best-known manufacturer of hardware wallets is the Ledger SAS company from France. The Ledger Nano S has been very widely sold. The main function of a hardware wallet is that your private key always remains offline. When commissioning the device, 12 or 24 words are
A hash is the fixed-length output produced by running data through a cryptographic hash function. No matter the size of the input, the output is always the same length. Even a tiny change in the input produces a completely different hash. In blockchain, hashing is used to secure transactions, link blocks together, generate wallet addresses, and power Proof of Work mining. The most commonly used hash function in crypto is SHA-256.
Hash rate (also called hash power) measures the total computational power being used to mine and process transactions on a Proof of Work blockchain. It is expressed in hashes per second (H/s), with common units being megahash (MH/s), gigahash (GH/s), terahash (TH/s), and exahash (EH/s). A higher hash rate means more miners are competing to validate blocks, which generally indicates greater network security.
A Hashed Timelock Contract (HTLC) is a type of smart contract that uses cryptographic hash locks and time limits to ensure that a payment is either completed within a specified timeframe or automatically refunded. HTLCs are a fundamental building block of the Lightning Network and enable trustless atomic swaps between different blockchains. They work by requiring the recipient to provide a cryptographic proof of payment before a deadline, or the funds return to the sender.
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that employs various strategies to generate returns for its investors, including long/short positions, leverage, derivatives, and arbitrage. In the crypto industry, crypto hedge funds manage portfolios of digital assets using strategies like quantitative trading, DeFi yield farming, venture investing, and market making. Hedge funds are typically only available to accredited investors due to their higher risk profiles and less regulatory oversight.
Hedging is a risk management strategy where an investor takes an offsetting position to reduce potential losses from adverse price movements. In crypto, common hedging methods include buying put options, opening short positions on perpetual futures, or holding stablecoins alongside volatile assets. While hedging limits downside risk, it also reduces potential upside gains. The goal is not to maximize profit but to protect a portfolio against unexpected market moves.
A Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that generates all of its keys and addresses from a single master seed phrase. The "hierarchical" structure means keys are organized in a tree, allowing the creation of unlimited addresses from one seed. This makes backup simple (only the seed phrase is needed) and improves privacy by enabling a new address for each transaction. HD wallets are defined by BIP 32.
HODL is the wrong spelling of 'hold'. This spelling mistake was once made by someone accidentally or intentionally on a forum. Since then, this term has been used to indicate that you keep or should be holding your position.
Hopium is a slang term created from the words hope and opium. In the cryptocurrency trading world, this is used on chats and social media in relation to people who are very positive about the market or a specific coin and keeps holding on to their positions. If somebody says that a coin will moon very soon, a response can be, ‘You are high on hopium!’, to say that you totally do not agree.
A hot wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the internet, allowing users to quickly send and receive funds. Examples include mobile wallet apps, browser extensions, and exchange wallets. While hot wallets are convenient for everyday transactions and trading, their constant internet connection makes them more vulnerable to hacking compared to cold wallets, which store private keys offline.
The Howey Test is a legal framework established by the US Supreme Court in 1946 (SEC v. W.J. Howey Co.) used to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an "investment contract" and therefore a security. The test asks whether there is: (1) an investment of money, (2) in a common enterprise, (3) with an expectation of profit, (4) derived from the efforts of others. In crypto, the Howey Test is central to debates about whether specific tokens are securities and should be regulated by the SEC.
An iceberg order is a large trading order that has been split into smaller visible portions to hide its true size from other market participants. Only a small part of the order is visible in the order book at any time, while the rest remains hidden. As each visible portion is filled, the next one appears. Iceberg orders are used by large traders and institutions to avoid signaling their intentions to the market and causing price movements.
An Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) is a fundraising method where a cryptocurrency project sells its tokens directly through a partnered exchange, rather than conducting the sale independently as in an ICO. The exchange acts as an intermediary, vetting the project and handling the token sale on behalf of the team. IEOs provide buyers with more confidence since the exchange stakes its reputation on the projects it lists.
A property that defines the inability to be changed. This is especially true over time. Usually, a blockchain has this property by default and makes it distinct from a traditional database. Though a rollback of blocks is possible, this is rare to happen and could cause a chain split. That would also mean that a transaction will be gone and unchanged. The more blocks generated after a transaction the harder it will be to perform a rollback.
Impermanent loss is the temporary reduction in value that liquidity pool providers experience when the price ratio of their deposited token pair changes compared to when they deposited. The greater the price divergence, the larger the impermanent loss. It is called "impermanent" because the loss only becomes permanent if the provider withdraws their funds while the prices are still diverged. If prices return to the original ratio, the loss disappears.
An index fund is an investment product that tracks the performance of a specific market index by holding a basket of assets in the same proportions as the index. In crypto, index funds and index tokens allow investors to gain diversified exposure to the broader cryptocurrency market or specific sectors (like DeFi or Layer 1 protocols) without having to buy and manage each asset individually. Crypto index funds can be centralized (managed by a fund company) or decentralized (managed by smart contracts).
An infinite mint attack is a type of exploit where an attacker discovers a vulnerability in a smart contract that allows them to create (mint) an unlimited number of tokens beyond the intended supply. The attacker then dumps these newly minted tokens on the market, crashing the price and draining liquidity pools. Infinite mint attacks have affected several DeFi protocols and highlight the importance of thorough security audits and formal verification.
An 'initial coin offering' (ICO) can be compared a bit with an IPO. Investors get an opportunity to invest in a certain coin for the first time. The difference with the stock market however is that a company has to meet all kinds of requirements before the IPO can take place. The market of ICO's is much less regulated. Therefore, it happens more often that an ICO is fraudulent.
The abbreviation IDO stands for Initial DEX Offering. This is very similar to an ICO but still slightly different. With an ICO, you have different forms: via a smart contract, an agreement contract, or via a launchpad of a centralized exchange. When the tokens are tradable depends on the listing on an exchange. An IDO also involves raising money for a new coin but goes through a DEX. In this way, the tokens are tradable almost immediately
If you plan to borrow money from your broker to take positions for margin trading, you will have to deal with initial margin requirements. This is a percentage you need in your account to make a purchase. Say you want to buy 10,000 USD worth of Bitcoin, and the initial margin requirement is 50%. Then you need at least 5,000 USD which you can deposit yourself. You borrow the other half from your broker.
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the process by which a private company offers its shares to the public for the first time on a stock exchange. This allows the company to raise capital from public investors. In the crypto world, the IPO concept has been adapted into token-based equivalents like ICOs, IEOs, and IDOs, which serve a similar fundraising purpose but involve tokens instead of company shares.
The term interoperability in crypto refers to blockchain interoperability. In short, this means the ability to share information between different blockchains. Since the launch of Bitcoin, a lot of new blockchains have emerged of which the most well known Ethereum. All these new blockchains are in a way competing with each other to get adoption by developers and users and results in a lot of silos. Since each blockchain usually has it's own speciality it would make sense for developers to utilis
The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a peer-to-peer protocol for storing and sharing files across a distributed network. Instead of using a centralized server with a fixed URL, IPFS identifies content by its cryptographic hash, meaning the same file always produces the same address regardless of where it is stored. In the crypto and NFT space, IPFS is commonly used to store metadata and media files in a decentralized manner, reducing reliance on single points of failure.
Intrinsic value refers to the perceived true or fundamental value of an asset based on objective analysis, independent of its current market price. In traditional finance, intrinsic value is calculated using methods like discounted cash flow analysis. In crypto, determining intrinsic value is debated because most cryptocurrencies do not generate cash flows. Proponents argue that network effects, utility, security properties, and scarcity contribute to intrinsic value, while critics claim some crypto assets have no intrinsic value at all.
IOTA is a distributed ledger technology project designed for the Internet of Things (IoT). Unlike traditional blockchains, IOTA uses a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) structure called the Tangle, where each transaction validates two previous transactions. This architecture aims to enable feeless transactions and high scalability, making it suitable for machine-to-machine payments and data transfer in IoT environments.
IRS stands for the ‘Internal Revenue Service’ and is a government agency of the United States of America and responsible for collecting taxes.
Isolated margin is a margin trading mode where the collateral allocated to a specific position is limited to the amount assigned to that trade. If the position is liquidated, only the margin dedicated to that position is lost, protecting the rest of the trader's account balance. This contrasts with cross margin, where all available funds in the account serve as collateral for all open positions. Isolated margin gives traders more precise risk control per trade.
A key pair is the combination of a public and private key together. During the process of creating a wallet, a pair of keys is generated. The private key is the most important one and should be backed up safely and not shared with anyone.
A keylogger is a type of malicious software (malware) that secretly records every keystroke made on a computer or mobile device. In the crypto context, keyloggers are a significant threat because they can capture passwords, seed phrases, private keys, and exchange login credentials as users type them. Protecting against keyloggers involves using hardware wallets, two-factor authentication, and keeping devices free of malware.
KYC is an abbreviation for 'Know Your Customer' and was created to combat money laundering via cryptocurrencies. At almost every ICO it is mandatory to prove that you are who you say you are. This is also regularly requested at crypto exchanges.
Lambo is an abbreviation of Lamborghini, a fast Italian car. In the crypto world, this is often used to ask when the price is going to rise sharply so that he can pay for such a car. In general, it is written: 'When Lambo? An alternative is: 'When Moon?
Large cap (large capitalization) refers to cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization typically above $10 billion. Large-cap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB are considered relatively more stable and less risky compared to mid-cap and small-cap alternatives, though they still experience significant volatility. Large-cap assets tend to have higher liquidity, more institutional investment, and greater resilience during market downturns.
Layer 0 refers to the foundational infrastructure that underlies Layer 1 blockchains. It encompasses the protocols, networks, and frameworks that enable different blockchains to be built and to communicate with each other. Layer 0 solutions focus on interoperability and scalability at the most fundamental level. Examples include Polkadot's relay chain, Cosmos's Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, and Avalanche's subnet architecture.
Layer 1 refers to the base blockchain network itself, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, or Avalanche. It is the main chain where transactions are finalized and the consensus mechanism operates. Layer 1 improvements (like sharding) aim to increase the base chain's capacity, while Layer 2 solutions build on top of Layer 1 to handle transactions more efficiently.
Layer 2 refers to protocols and solutions built on top of a Layer 1 blockchain to improve its scalability, speed, and cost-efficiency. Layer 2 solutions process transactions off-chain and periodically settle them on the main chain. Common types include optimistic rollups, zk-rollups, state channels, and the Lightning Network.
A ledger is a record-keeping system used to track financial transactions. In traditional finance, ledgers are physical books or digital files where transactions are logged as debits and credits. In the crypto world, a blockchain acts as a decentralized, distributed ledger where all transactions are validated, recorded, and stored in an immutable way. This means entries cannot be altered or deleted, only appended with new data.
A 'Ledger Blue' is a Hardware wallet in the shape of a small tablet and is made by the French company Ledger SAS. It is the successor of the popular Ledger Nano S.
A 'Ledger Nano S' is a popular Hardware wallet in the form of a USB stick, made by the French company Ledger SAS.
A lending pool is a smart contract-based pool of cryptocurrency that enables decentralized borrowing and lending without traditional intermediaries. Lenders deposit their assets into the pool and earn interest, while borrowers can take loans by providing collateral. Interest rates are typically determined algorithmically based on supply and demand. Lending pools are a core component of DeFi platforms like Aave and Compound.
Leverage is a trading strategy that involves using borrowed funds to open a position larger than what your own capital would allow. For example, with 10x leverage, a trader can control a position worth 10 times their initial deposit. While leverage amplifies potential profits, it equally amplifies potential losses. If the market moves against a leveraged position, the trader risks losing their entire deposit (liquidation). Leverage is commonly offered on crypto exchanges for futures and margin trading.
Leveraged tokens are cryptocurrency derivatives that provide amplified exposure to an underlying asset's price movements without requiring the trader to manage margin, collateral, or liquidation risk directly. For example, a 3x Long Bitcoin token aims to deliver three times the daily return of Bitcoin. Leveraged tokens automatically rebalance to maintain their target leverage ratio. While convenient, they suffer from "volatility decay" over longer holding periods, making them suitable primarily for short-term trading.
LFG stands for "Let's F***ing Go." It is an enthusiastic expression widely used in the crypto and trading community to express excitement about a project launch, price rally, or market opportunity. Similar to WAGMI, LFG reflects the high-energy, community-driven culture of crypto social media and is frequently seen on platforms like Twitter/X and Discord.
A light node (also called a light client or SPV node) is a type of blockchain node that does not download or store the entire blockchain history. Instead, it only keeps block headers and relies on full nodes to provide transaction data when needed. Light nodes can verify that a transaction is included in a block using Merkle proofs without processing every transaction. They are ideal for mobile wallets and devices with limited storage and bandwidth.
The Lightning Network is a Layer-2 protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It was designed to solve Bitcoin's scalability limitations by processing transactions off-chain through payment channels between users. These transactions are near-instant and carry much lower fees compared to on-chain transactions. Only the opening and closing of a payment channel are recorded on the main blockchain.
With a 'limit order', you give the order to the stock exchange to buy an x number of coins for price x. When 'filling' the order, the price can't differ with the order you gave. The number of coins can however differ, but never more than the order.
Liquid staking is a method of staking cryptocurrency that allows users to earn staking rewards while maintaining access to the value of their staked assets. When a user stakes through a liquid staking protocol, they receive a derivative token (like stETH for staked ETH) that represents their staked position. This derivative can be traded, used as collateral in DeFi, or transferred, solving the liquidity problem of traditional staking where funds are locked.
Liquidation occurs when a trader's leveraged position is forcibly closed by the exchange or protocol because the collateral value has fallen below the required maintenance margin. In DeFi lending, liquidation happens when the value of deposited collateral drops below the collateralization threshold, and the smart contract automatically sells the collateral to repay the loan. Liquidation is a risk inherent to leveraged trading and DeFi borrowing.
Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold on the market without causing a significant change in its price. A cryptocurrency with high liquidity has many active buyers and sellers, making it simple to execute trades quickly at stable prices. Low liquidity means fewer participants and wider price spreads, which can lead to more volatile price swings when larger orders are placed.
Liquidity mining refers to the process where a yield farmer will receive a new token as well as the usual APY in exchange for providing liquidity to a pool. The received token is the native token of the specific project and usually represents governance rights. This can be used to vote in favour or against proposed changes to the underlying project.
A liquidity pool is a collection of cryptocurrency tokens locked in a smart contract that provides liquidity for decentralized trading. Instead of matching individual buyers and sellers, AMMs use liquidity pools to facilitate trades. Users who deposit their tokens into these pools (liquidity providers) earn a share of the trading fees generated. Liquidity pools are a foundational component of DeFi ecosystems.
A liquidity provider is somebody who submits assets of a trading pair on an exchange for market-making. This has become popular in the crypto scene with the launch of the Ethereum based exchange, Uniswap. For example on the Ethereum <> Chainlink pair you can submit the equivalent of $1000 on both assets, so a total of $2000, to the pool. In exchange, you get a pro-rato claim token of that pool. All the trades on that pool are shared with
A Liquidity Provider (LP) token is a receipt token issued to users who deposit assets into a liquidity pool on a decentralized exchange. LP tokens represent the holder's share of the pool and can be redeemed at any time for the underlying assets plus a proportional share of accumulated trading fees. LP tokens can also be used in other DeFi protocols for yield farming or as collateral, creating layers of composability.
In trading, going "long" means buying an asset with the expectation that its price will increase over time. A trader who is long on Bitcoin believes the price will rise and profits when it does. Long positions can be taken on the spot market (simply buying the asset) or through derivatives like perpetual futures with leverage. The opposite of going long is going "short," which profits from price declines.
LP is short for Liquidity Provider
LT stands for long-term. In crypto, it could be used as ‘ This is the perfect timing for an LT position into Ethereum’.
A lurker or somebody who lurks is a person that joins a message board or chat group, but does not actively participate in the conversations. This can have various reasons, like for example not having the confidence of knowing enough about the topic. It could also be that this person joins a crypto chat group to analyse the overall market sentiment or that of individual coins.
MA is the abbreviation for 'Moving Averages' and is a common term in technical analysis. It allows you to understand the price trend of an underlying security, such as a share or coin. Well-known types are the EMA and MACD.
MACD stands for 'Moving Average Convergence/Divergence'. This is a tool used by traders to see what the trend is in a price. The instrument consists of 2 parts. An exponential moving average (EMA), which is subtracted from another EMA (usually 26 and 12 days) and an EMA which is calculated with a less number of days (usually 9), this last EMA is also called the signal line. A common trading signal is that as soon as the signal line breaks the other line from below, a buy order is placed and as s
Mainchain (also called the main chain or parent chain) refers to the primary blockchain in a network, as opposed to sidechains or Layer 2 solutions that extend its functionality. The mainchain is where final transaction settlement occurs and where the core consensus mechanism operates. All secondary chains ultimately derive their security from or settle their transactions on the mainchain.
A mainnet (short for "main network") is a fully operational, independent blockchain where real cryptocurrency transactions are broadcasted, verified, and permanently recorded on the distributed ledger. It is the live production version of a blockchain project, as opposed to a testnet which is used for development and experimentation. When a project "launches its mainnet," it means the network is ready for real-world use.
Maintenance margin is what you have to deal with when you engage in margin trading. The maintenance margin is the minimum value that you must keep in your broker account to prevent a margin call. How high the maintenance margin is depends on several factors (underlying asset, a regulated market or not, your broker, etc.).
A margin call occurs when you borrow money from your broker to be able to take certain positions (margin trading) and the price falls so far that the broker no longer has the confidence that they will get their money back if the price falls even further. The moment you engage in margin trading you have a predetermined “maintenance margin”. This is the mini
Margin trading means trading securities with borrowed money. This means you are trading with leverage. Trading with leverage increases your profit if your prediction is correct but also increases your loss if your prediction turns out to be incorrect. You can do this with many online brokers. Depending on the provider and the risk of the securities you trade, you can invest initial margin requirements with a certai
The moment you want to buy a coin or other security, you can place your order in several ways. A market order is one of the ways to do this. With the market order, you do not specify a price at which you want to buy, for example, Bitcoin, but indicate that you want to buy as soon as possible at the then lowest possible price. When liquidity is low, this type of order is not recommended. You might have to buy your shares at a much
The market cap shows the total value of all coins together. Many beginners make the mistake to only look at the unit price of a coin to decide if the coin in question is worth much or little. The market cap is a more suitable instrument for this.
MCAP is short for Market Capitalization
Market depth is a measure of the liquidity available in an order book at various price levels. It shows the volume of buy and sell orders stacked at different prices, indicating how much buying or selling pressure exists. A market with deep depth can absorb large orders without significant price impact, while shallow depth means even moderate trades can cause large price swings. Market depth charts are a visual tool traders use to assess how easily an asset can be traded.
A market maker or sometimes referred to as MM is an individual or a company who actively submits sell (ask) and buy (bid) orders on the order book of an asset. By being on both sides on the market the market maker can realise a profit using the spread. Market makers have an important role as well since they provide liquidity for that asset.
With a 'market order' you give the order to buy or sell a coin at the best price at that moment. The chance that an order will be executed is almost 100 per cent, because there are almost always buy or sell orders. With coins with little volume, the market order is a dangerous order because your coins may be sold at a very low price, or the opposite happens: you buy your coins at a very high price.
A market sell is the opposite of a market buy. With a market sell order, you again indicate that you want to sell at the then highest offered price. Before you submit a market sell order, it is advisable to first check in the order book whether there are enough bidders for the price you have in mind. However, if you have the possibility, it is advisable always to use a limit order
Market sentiment refers to the overall attitude and emotional state of investors toward a particular asset or the market as a whole. Sentiment can be bullish (optimistic), bearish (pessimistic), or neutral. In crypto, sentiment is heavily influenced by social media, news events, regulatory announcements, and whale activity. Tools like the Fear and Greed Index and social media analytics platforms attempt to quantify market sentiment to help traders make more informed decisions.
A masternode is a server, ran from home or in a data center, that has an essential role in a decentralized network. It usually performs specific tasks, like storing files or data and keeping it accessible in the network. It could also function to validate the transaction or for consensus purposes like voting on proposals. The technical (memory, CPU, etc) and financial criteria (number of coins needed) are different for each coin. If the masternode you set up does not perform well it's possible t
This is the maximum number of coins that will exist for a token or cryptocurrency. If there is a max supply defined, no more coins can be created. ‘Burned’ coins are part of this supply, so therefore it is always larger than or equal to the total supply. For Bitcoin, the maximum is set to 21 million.
Medium (medium.com) is a platform for online publications. It is especially popular for blogs and news and is used by many coins to share the latest developments and newsworthy events.
Medium of exchange is one of the three traditional functions of money (alongside store of value and unit of account). It refers to an asset that is widely accepted in exchange for goods and services. Bitcoin was originally conceived as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system (a medium of exchange), though its volatility and slower transaction speeds have led many to view it more as a store of value. Stablecoins are often considered better suited as a crypto medium of exchange.
A memecoin is a cryptocurrency that originated from an internet meme, joke, or cultural reference rather than a specific technological innovation or utility. Dogecoin (inspired by the Shiba Inu meme) and Shiba Inu are the most well-known examples. Memecoins are typically driven by community enthusiasm, social media hype, and viral marketing rather than fundamentals. While some have achieved enormous market capitalizations, they are considered highly speculative and prone to extreme volatility.
A mempool (short for "memory pool") is a temporary waiting area within a blockchain node where unconfirmed transactions are held before being picked up by miners or validators and included in a block. Every node maintains its own mempool. When network activity is high, the mempool can become congested, leading to longer confirmation times and higher transaction fees as users compete to get their transactions processed first.
A Merkle root is the single hash at the top of a Merkle tree that represents a summary of all the data contained within it. In blockchain, each block contains a Merkle root that is calculated by repeatedly hashing pairs of transaction hashes until one final hash remains. This allows anyone to efficiently verify whether a specific transaction is included in a block without needing to download all transactions, simply by checking a short proof path from the transaction up to the root.
A Merkle tree, also called a hash tree, is a data structure used in cryptography and blockchain technology to efficiently organize and verify large sets of data. Each piece of data (such as a transaction) is hashed, and pairs of hashes are combined repeatedly until a single "Merkle root" remains. This root acts as a digital fingerprint of all the data beneath it, allowing nodes to verify whether a specific transaction is included in a block without needing to download the entire dataset.
Metadata is data that provides information about other data. In blockchain and cryptocurrency, metadata can describe the properties of a token (such as its name, image, and attributes for an NFT), transaction details beyond the basic transfer information, or block characteristics. For NFTs, metadata is often stored on IPFS or other decentralized storage to ensure persistence and immutability.
Metamask is a popular browser plugin that bridges your cryptocurrency holdings with a website. It allows you to easily perform blockchain transactions and send coins.
The metaverse is a collective term for immersive, persistent virtual worlds where users can interact with each other and digital objects in real time. These environments often combine elements of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), social media, and online gaming. In the crypto space, blockchain technology plays a key role by enabling true digital ownership through NFTs, in-world economies powered by tokens, and decentralized governance of virtual spaces.
MEW is the abbreviation for MyEtherWallet. This is one of the best-known wallets to store Ether and tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
Microbitcoin is the name for the abbreviation uBTC. This represents one-millionth of a bitcoin and is commonly written as 0.000001 BTC.
A microtransaction is a very small financial transaction, typically involving fractions of a cent to a few dollars. In gaming, microtransactions are used to purchase in-game items, skins, or features. Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency have enabled new forms of microtransactions by reducing the fees associated with small payments, making it practical to pay tiny amounts for digital content, services, or data through payment channels like the Lightning Network.
Mid cap (medium capitalization) refers to cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization typically between $1 billion and $10 billion. Mid-cap cryptocurrencies sit between large caps (more established, lower relative risk) and small caps (higher growth potential but more volatile). Mid-cap assets often represent projects with proven technology and growing adoption that have not yet reached their full market potential, making them attractive to investors seeking a balance between growth and stability.
Millibitcoin is the name for the abbreviation mBTC. This represents one-thousandth of a bitcoin and is commonly written as 0.001 BTC.
A 'miner' is a person or organisation that uses computing power (CPU, GPU or ASIC) required to find the next blockchain block. Once the answer is found, a new 'block' is generated, in which a number of transactions are permanently stored. The miner is rewarded with the predefined number of cryptocurrencies. Usually, this is complemented with the transaction costs, which are paid by the user.
Mining is also known as 'Cryptocurrency mining' or 'Cryptomining'. It is a process where blocks are added to a blockchain by solving a mathematical puzzle. The block can also contain transactions on that blockchain and will then become verified and immutable. Depending on the blockchain, mining can be done with a CPU, GPU, specialised hardware or a combination of all.
A mining farm is a large-scale operation dedicated to cryptocurrency mining, typically consisting of hundreds or thousands of specialized mining rigs running continuously. Mining farms are often located in regions with cheap electricity and cool climates to minimize operating costs. They represent the industrial side of Proof of Work mining and have raised debates about energy consumption and mining centralization.
A mining pool is a group of cryptocurrency miners who combine their computational resources (hash power) to increase their chances of successfully mining a block and earning the associated reward. When the pool finds a block, the reward is distributed among participants proportionally to the computing power each contributed. Mining pools make it feasible for individual miners with limited hardware to earn consistent rewards, rather than competing alone against large-scale operations.
A mining reward is the cryptocurrency payment that miners receive for successfully validating transactions and adding a new block to the blockchain. In Proof of Work systems like Bitcoin, the mining reward consists of two components: a block subsidy (newly created coins) and the transaction fees paid by users whose transactions are included in that block. The block subsidy is reduced periodically through halving events.
A mining rig is a computer system specifically configured for cryptocurrency mining. It can range from a single GPU-based setup to specialized ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) machines designed exclusively for mining. The rig's purpose is to perform the intensive hash calculations required by Proof of Work blockchains. The profitability of a mining rig depends on its hash rate, energy consumption, and the current mining difficulty.
Minting is the process of creating new tokens or coins on a blockchain. In Proof of Work systems, minting occurs when miners successfully add a new block. In the NFT context, minting refers to the act of creating a new NFT by uploading digital content to the blockchain and registering it as a unique token. The term can also apply to stablecoins, where new tokens are minted when users deposit collateral.
Mooning' is used to describe a rapid increase in the price of a cryptocurrency or token. It's often used in chats like 'Coin X is mooning!'. It is also used to show the desire of a price increase by saying 'When moon?' or alternatively 'When lambo?'.
A moving average (MA) is a widely used technical analysis indicator that smooths out price data by calculating the average price over a specific number of periods. The two most common types are the Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the Exponential Moving Average (EMA). Traders use moving averages to identify trends, support and resistance levels, and potential buy/sell signals. Patterns like the golden cross and death cross are based on moving average crossovers.
Mt. Gox (or Mount Gox) was the largest and most important exchange for Bitcoin in its early years. However, it went bankrupt on February 28, 2014. The cause, according to the company, is a hack, in which Bitcoins worth hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen.
A multisignature (multisig) wallet requires multiple private keys to authorize a transaction, rather than just one. For example, a 2-of-3 multisig wallet needs any two out of three designated key holders to sign before funds can be moved. Multisig wallets provide enhanced security for organizations, DAOs, and individuals by preventing a single point of failure. Even if one key is compromised, the attacker cannot access the funds without the additional required signatures.
The network effect is the phenomenon where a product or service becomes more valuable as the number of its users increases. In crypto, network effects are powerful: the more people who use Bitcoin, the more secure and valuable it becomes; the more developers build on Ethereum, the more useful it becomes for everyone. Network effects create a self-reinforcing cycle and help explain why established blockchains tend to maintain their dominance over newer competitors.
NGMI stands for "Not Gonna Make It." It is the opposite of WAGMI ("We're All Gonna Make It") and is used in the crypto community to describe decisions, projects, or attitudes that are perceived as misguided or likely to lead to losses. The term is often used humorously or critically on social media when someone makes a questionable investment decision, falls for an obvious scam, or sells an asset right before a major price increase.
Nick Szabo is a computer scientist and cryptographer who is widely credited with developing the concept of smart contracts in the mid-1990s, long before blockchain technology existed. He also created Bit Gold, a precursor to Bitcoin that proposed a decentralized digital currency using proof of work. Szabo's work on digital contracts and decentralized protocols has been foundational to the cryptocurrency industry.
A person, who does not possess any cryptocurrency, is also called a nocoiner.
A node is a computer or device connected to a blockchain network that maintains a copy of the blockchain's data. Nodes are responsible for receiving, validating, and relaying transactions and blocks to other participants in the network. They play a critical role in keeping the blockchain secure, decentralized, and up to date. There are different types of nodes, such as full nodes (which store the entire blockchain history) and light nodes (which only store essential data).
Non-custodial (also called self-custody) describes a wallet or service where the user retains full control of their own private keys and, by extension, their cryptocurrency. No third party can access, freeze, or move the funds. Non-custodial wallets include hardware wallets, software wallets, and browser extensions. The trade-off is that the user is solely responsible for securing their keys and seed phrase. Losing them means permanent loss of access to the funds.
NFT is the abbreviation of non-fungible token. This is a type of token representing a unique asset. These can be either digital or represent real-world assets. Examples are a sword in a game or ownership of a piece of land. NFT's are generally scarce, unique and indivisible. The Ethereum blockchain makes it easy to create NFT's with it's ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards.
A nonce is short for number only used one. This relates to a number that is added to a hashed or encrypted block in a blockchain. It is the number that blockchain miners are trying to solve. Once the solution is found, the miner will receive a reward in the form of cryptocurrency. You can read more about this in the blog post 'What is blockchain'.
A person who is not very experienced in a particular topic, like the complex world of crypto, for example, can be called a noob or sometimes spelt n00b. This person might think they know enough about the topic, but actually does not and is often not very willing to learn as well. It is different from a newbie or newb. The topic is new to them and they ask questions to learn more about it.
ODN is the abbreviation of 'OriginTrail Decentralized Network'. This is an open-source and permissionless network that relies on an off-chain technology stack consisting of several inter-related layers. It is a decentralised network of data providers, data creators, data holders, and data viewers. The glue between all entities is the ERC-20 based Trace Token (TRAC). This is used as a collateral stake to keep data holders honest and for payment
Off-chain refers to transactions or processes that occur outside the main blockchain. Instead of recording every interaction directly on-chain, off-chain solutions handle transactions through secondary channels or protocols, only posting the final result back to the blockchain. This approach significantly improves speed and reduces transaction costs. Examples of off-chain solutions include the Lightning Network for Bitcoin and state channels for Ethereum.
An offshore account is a bank account or financial account held in a country different from the account holder's country of residence. In the crypto world, the concept is relevant because some exchanges and financial platforms operate in jurisdictions with more favorable regulations, lower taxes, or greater privacy protections. While offshore accounts are legal, they have become associated with tax evasion and money laundering, leading to increased regulatory scrutiny worldwide.
OG refers to 'original gangster' and has its origins in the rap and hip hop culture. These days it's used more widely and also in the crypto space on Twitter and in Telegram chat groups. It means somebody who is around and involved since the early beginnings. In crypto, this would mean since around the inception of a coin. There can be Bitcoin OG's and altcoin OG's.
On-chain refers to transactions and activities that are recorded directly on the blockchain and are publicly verifiable by anyone. Every on-chain transaction must be validated by the network's consensus mechanism and is permanently stored in the blockchain's history. On-chain data is transparent and immutable but can be slower and more expensive than off-chain alternatives due to the need for network-wide validation.
Open source refers to software whose source code is publicly available for anyone to inspect, modify, and distribute. In the blockchain world, most protocols and cryptocurrency projects are open source, allowing developers worldwide to review the code for security, contribute improvements, and build new applications on top of it. This transparency is considered a core value in the crypto community, as it enables trustless verification: anyone can audit the code rather than relying on promises from a central authority.
An optimistic rollup is a Layer-2 scaling solution that processes transactions off-chain and posts the results to the main blockchain, assuming all transactions are valid by default (hence "optimistic"). If someone suspects an invalid transaction, they can submit a fraud proof during a challenge window to dispute it. Optimistic rollups significantly increase throughput and reduce fees while inheriting the security of the underlying blockchain. Arbitrum and Optimism are well-known implementations.
An oracle is a service that connects blockchain smart contracts with external, real-world data. Since blockchains cannot natively access information outside their own network, oracles act as a bridge, feeding data such as asset prices, weather conditions, sports results, or API responses into smart contracts. This external data allows smart contracts to execute based on real-world events. Decentralized oracle networks like Chainlink help reduce the risk of relying on a single data source.
An order book is a real-time, electronic list of all open buy and sell orders for a specific trading pair on an exchange. Buy orders (bids) and sell orders (asks) are organized by price level, showing the quantities traders are willing to trade at each price. The order book provides a transparent view of market supply and demand, helping traders gauge liquidity and identify potential support and resistance levels.
Ordinals is a protocol created by Casey Rodarmor in January 2023 that enables inscribing data (images, text, video) directly onto individual satoshis (the smallest unit of Bitcoin). This effectively brings NFT-like functionality to the Bitcoin blockchain without requiring smart contracts. Each inscription is permanently stored on-chain, making Bitcoin Ordinals fully decentralized. The protocol sparked significant debate within the Bitcoin community about block space usage.
An 'Orphan' or 'Orphan block' is a block in the blockchain that is not further built on. Blockchain blocks are usually generated by 'mining' or 'staking'; occasionally two blocks are created simultaneously by different computers. Only one of the two can be valid on the blockchain, so the other expires and becomes an orphan block.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) trading refers to the direct buying and selling of cryptocurrency between two parties, outside of a traditional exchange. OTC desks are used primarily by institutional investors, whales, and high-net-worth individuals who need to trade large amounts without causing significant price impact on the open market. OTC trades are privately negotiated and typically involve higher minimum trade sizes.
Overbought is a condition where an asset's price has risen rapidly and may be due for a correction or pullback. In technical analysis, an asset is considered overbought when indicators like the RSI exceed 70. An overbought reading does not guarantee an immediate price drop, but it signals that buying pressure may be unsustainable and traders should exercise caution.
Oversold is a condition where an asset's price has fallen sharply and may be undervalued relative to its fundamentals. In technical analysis, an asset is considered oversold when indicators like the RSI fall below 30. An oversold reading suggests selling pressure may be exhausted and a price recovery could follow, though it does not guarantee an immediate rebound.
Paper trading (also called simulated or demo trading) is the practice of executing trades using virtual money in a simulated market environment. It allows beginners to learn how trading works and experienced traders to test new strategies without risking real capital. Most major cryptocurrency exchanges offer paper trading modes. While useful for learning, paper trading does not fully replicate real market conditions because it lacks the emotional pressure and slippage of live trading.
A paper wallet is an alternative to a hardware or software wallet. It is a piece of paper or a PDF containing the information to access the cryptocurrency in that wallet. It normally consists of a 'public key' and a 'private key'.
A parachain is a part of the Polkadot blockchain and is a simpler form of blockchain where the security is provided by a “relay chain” instead of providing its own. The relay chain provides the security to the attached parachains and guarantees passing messages between them in a secure way. Computations on parachains are independent and this prevents slowing down of transactions due to it's parallelized execution instead of sequential.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) refers to a network architecture where participants (peers) interact directly with each other without the need for a central server or intermediary. Each peer acts as both a client and a server, sharing resources and data directly. Blockchain networks are inherently peer-to-peer: transactions are broadcast and validated across a distributed network of nodes, eliminating the need for a central authority to process or approve them.
A peg is a fixed exchange rate that ties the value of one asset to another. In crypto, pegs are most commonly associated with stablecoins that maintain a 1:1 value ratio with a fiat currency like the US dollar. Pegs can be maintained through various mechanisms: fiat reserves (USDC, USDT), over-collateralization with crypto (DAI), or algorithmic supply adjustments. When a stablecoin loses its intended value ratio, it is called a depeg.
A permabull is someone who always sees developments in the market in an optimistic light and therefore has no eye for negative developments. A permabull continues to believe that his positions will be worth more in the future than they are now. When the entire crypto market crashed in 2018, there were many people who continued to believe in better times (and were eventually proven right). Here you can find the famous bagholder bingo card for crypto Permabulls: https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurr
Anyone can mine Bitcoins because it is a public blockchain. This is not the case with a permissioned blockchain. There is a layer above it that determines which entity is allowed to write transactions in a block. The XRP coin from the company Ripple Labs is an example of such a blockchain and has CGI, MIT and Microsoft as approved entities for example. These are called 'transaction validators'.
Permissionless describes a system or network that anyone can access and participate in without needing approval from a central authority. Public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum are permissionless: anyone can run a node, send transactions, deploy smart contracts, or build applications without asking for permission. Permissionlessness is a core property that enables innovation and equal access, and stands in contrast to private blockchains where access is controlled.
Perpetual futures (or perpetual swaps) are a type of derivative contract unique to cryptocurrency markets that allows traders to speculate on the price of an asset with leverage, without an expiry date. Unlike traditional futures that settle at a set date, perpetual contracts can be held indefinitely. They use a funding rate mechanism to keep the contract price aligned with the spot price: when the contract trades above spot, longs pay shorts, and vice versa. Perpetual futures are the most traded instrument in crypto markets.
Phishing is when hackers try to get a user to give up personal information such as login and password or credit card details. This is often done using a fake website or application, which is very similar to the original. This is common in cryptocurrency because only the private key is enough to steal all coins.
Plasma is an early Layer 2 scaling framework for Ethereum, proposed by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon in 2017. Plasma creates "child chains" that process transactions off-chain and periodically commit their state to the main chain. While Plasma offered significant throughput improvements, it had limitations around data availability and complex exit procedures. It has largely been superseded by more practical solutions like optimistic rollups and zk-rollups.
Play-to-Earn (P2E) is a gaming model where players can earn real-world value, typically in the form of cryptocurrency tokens or NFTs, through in-game activities. Unlike traditional games where in-game assets belong to the developer, P2E games use blockchain technology to give players verifiable ownership of their digital items, which can be traded or sold on open markets. The model gained mainstream attention with games like Axie Infinity in 2021.
PoA stands for 'Proof of Authority'. This is a validation method to process transactions and blocks in a blockchain only by approved accounts. These are known as 'validators' and run specific software to store the transactions in blocks. Since the identity is linked to the system, it can contribute to more trust.
PoB stands for 'Proof of Burn'. This is a method to invest in a new cryptocurrency by destroying coins of an existing one, which has been given the term 'Burning' in the crypto world. This is done by sending coins to a special, unusable address. That's usually the only way to destroy coins within a blockchain. This method can also be used when a coin gets a relaunch with a new team and a new coin.
PoD is the abbreviation for 'Proof of Developer'. This can be any verification that can serve as proof that a cryptocurrency was created by a real software developer. This method is mainly used when launching a new cryptocurrency to prevent scams.
Polka is short for Polkadot, which is a cryptocurrency similar to Ethereum. Because of the growth of the ecosystem, it is referred to in short using Polka instead of the full name, like for example: ‘this is a new polka project.’
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation where returns are paid to earlier investors using funds collected from newer investors, rather than from legitimate business profits. These schemes create the illusion of high returns to attract more participants, but they inevitably collapse when the flow of new money dries up. In the crypto space, Ponzi schemes have taken the form of fake yield platforms, fraudulent staking programs, and scam tokens promising unrealistic returns.
A cryptocurrency portfolio is total holdings of your crypto assets in one place. You can own several cryptocurrencies and tokens and to track the value of that you need to register the size and price of each buy and sell order. This can be done in a spreadsheet, but it is much more convenient to use a dedicated app like Delta for example. With these types of apps, you can easily register your portfolio changes since they retrieve the current pric
A pre-mine is the creation and allocation of a portion of a cryptocurrency's total supply before it is made available to the public through mining or open sale. Pre-mined tokens are typically allocated to founders, developers, early investors, or a project treasury. While pre-mining can fund development and incentivize teams, it is sometimes viewed negatively because it gives insiders an advantage. Transparency about pre-mine allocations and vesting schedules is important for investor confidence.
A 'Pre-sale' the phase of an ICO before the 'Public-sale'. During this phase, investors can make the first investment. The tokens often have a lower price than during the public sale. The money raised is generally used for further development, financing of the public sale and as a method to explore the market's enthusiasm. It is possible that the ICO itself is not successful and a 'refund' is not always guaranteed. This also makes a pre-sale riskier than a public sale.
A prediction market is a platform where users can bet on the outcome of future events, such as elections, sports, economic indicators, or crypto price movements. In decentralized prediction markets (like Polymarket or Augur), bets are settled by smart contracts using oracle data, and the odds reflect the collective probability assessment of participants. Prediction markets are valued for their ability to aggregate information and produce surprisingly accurate forecasts.
Price discovery is the process by which the market determines the price of an asset through the interaction of buyers and sellers. In crypto, price discovery happens primarily on spot markets and perpetual futures markets, where supply and demand continuously adjust the price. Factors that influence price discovery include trading volume, liquidity, market sentiment, and new information (such as regulatory announcements or protocol upgrades).
A privacy coin is a cryptocurrency, which focuses on security and anonymity of the users. Some examples are Pivx, Dash, and Monero. There are several methods to make a transaction anonymous.
A private blockchain is a restricted network where access is controlled by a single organization or a group of authorized participants. Unlike public blockchains, not everyone can join, read data, or submit transactions. Private blockchains are used by enterprises for internal processes like supply chain management, record keeping, and inter-company settlement, where privacy and control are prioritized over full decentralization.
A private key in the crypto space can be defined as the combination of letters and numbers that corresponds to a specific public key. The private key can be used to gain access to the assets on that public key, also known as the wallet address. Once you share your private key with somebody, store it on your computer in plain text or type it in a website or app, you risk losing all your funds stored on its a corresponding public address.
A private sale is an early-stage fundraising round where a cryptocurrency project sells tokens to a select group of investors (typically venture capital firms, angel investors, and strategic partners) before the public token sale. Private sale participants usually receive tokens at a discounted price in exchange for larger investment amounts and longer lockup periods. Private sales help projects secure initial funding and strategic partnerships before broader market exposure.
The Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) is a system for creating digital badges (as NFTs) that prove an individual attended or participated in a specific event, whether physical or virtual. POAPs serve as on-chain credentials that can be collected and displayed, functioning like digital souvenirs. They are used at conferences, community meetups, online events, and protocol milestones. POAPs have become a building block for on-chain reputation and community engagement systems.
Proof of Personhood is a category of mechanisms designed to verify that a participant in a digital system is a unique, real human being, without necessarily revealing their identity. This is important for preventing Sybil attacks in systems that require one-person-one-vote fairness, such as airdrops, governance, and universal basic income experiments. Approaches include biometric verification, social graph analysis, and trusted ceremonies. Worldcoin's iris scanning is one of the most well-known (and controversial) implementations.
Proof of Reserves (PoR) is an auditing practice where a cryptocurrency exchange or custodian provides cryptographic evidence that it holds sufficient assets to cover all customer deposits. Typically implemented using Merkle tree proofs, PoR allows users to verify that their specific balance is included in the total without revealing other customers' data. The practice gained urgency after the collapse of FTX in 2022, which revealed massive shortfalls between customer deposits and actual reserves.
The Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm is introduced as an alternative to Proof-of-Work (PoW) without the energy-consuming aspect. In the case of PoS the creator of the next block is randomly chosen based on a combined selection of age and wealth, where the wealth is the 'stake' or amount of cryptocurrency that has been put to work. This is done by having it in an unlocked wallet for staking. The staking can usually be done on a VPS or computer at home.
The Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm successfully came to life with the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009. It is the algorithm that is used to confirm transactions and the creation of new blocks in a blockchain. Specialised devices, computers or graphic cards can be used to do calculations. In PoW a new block is created or found by solving a mathematical puzzle. The process of trying to solve that puzzle is called mining. The miners are working hard and usually consuming a lot of energy to
A public blockchain is an open-source, permissionless network that anyone can join, use, and participate in without requiring approval. All transactions are publicly visible and verifiable. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most prominent examples of public blockchains. This stands in contrast to private or permissioned blockchains, where access is restricted to approved participants.
A public key in the crypto space can be defined as a combination of letters and numbers and forms the address to which the cryptocurrencies or tokens can be sent to. Everybody who knows the public key of somebody can see the assets stored on that address. Only the owner of the corresponding private key can send those assets out.
A pump and dump is a market manipulation scheme where a group of actors artificially inflates the price of an asset (the "pump") through coordinated buying and misleading promotion, then sells their holdings at the peak (the "dump"), causing the price to crash and leaving other investors with losses. Pump and dump schemes are illegal in traditional securities markets and are considered fraudulent in the crypto space, though enforcement remains challenging.
A put option is a financial contract that gives the buyer the right (but not the obligation) to sell an underlying asset at a specified price (the strike price) before or on a specific expiration date. In crypto markets, put options allow traders to profit from price declines or hedge against downside risk in their portfolio. The maximum loss for the buyer is the premium paid for the option. Put options are the counterpart to call options, which profit from price increases.
A pyramid scheme is a fraudulent business model where participants earn money primarily by recruiting new members rather than selling legitimate products or services. Each level of recruits must bring in more people below them. Unlike a Ponzi scheme (where one operator controls everything), pyramid schemes rely on each participant actively recruiting. In crypto, pyramid schemes often disguise themselves as affiliate marketing programs, multi-level referral systems, or "guaranteed return" staking platforms.
A QR code is a type of barcode in the form of a square. The letters QR stand for 'Quick Response'. The code contains many dots, a few small squares and sometimes a small logo in the middle. This is different from most other barcode types, which are rectangular with lines. A QR code can therefore contain much more information. Within the crypto world, it is often used to make a 'wallet' address scannable. This speeds up the process of transferring crypto and prevents errors.
Quantum computing is an emerging field of computer science that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to process information in fundamentally different ways than traditional computers. Instead of classical bits (0 or 1), quantum computers use qubits that can exist in multiple states simultaneously. This gives them the potential to solve certain problems exponentially faster. In crypto, there is concern that sufficiently powerful quantum computers could one day break the cryptographic algorithms that secure blockchain networks, though that capability remains theoretical for now.
The 'Raiden Network' is a way to make the Ethereum blockchain scalable, for example by making off-chain transactions possible. It is a separate ERC20 token and the team held an ICO in 2017.
Real World Assets (RWAs) refer to physical or traditional financial assets that are tokenized and brought onto a blockchain. Examples include real estate, government bonds, commodities, private credit, art, and carbon credits. RWA tokenization aims to make traditionally illiquid assets more accessible, tradable, and composable within DeFi. The RWA sector has grown significantly as institutions explore blockchain-based settlement and fractional ownership.
Rebrands already happened many times in the crypto space. It means that the coin changes their name, logo and sometimes their vision. This can be done for several reasons. It could be a better fit for what they are trying to achieve, or the old name has a bad reputation. Rebranding can be used as an attempt to make people forget it. Sometimes it even causes hype where the price goes up. The 'ticker' sometimes stays the same though, because it's more practical in regards to third parties like wal
A recursive inscription is an Ordinals inscription on the Bitcoin blockchain that references and uses data from other existing inscriptions. Instead of storing all data within a single inscription, recursive inscriptions can call upon code libraries, images, or other assets already inscribed on-chain. This dramatically reduces the data size of new inscriptions and enables more complex applications, such as on-chain generative art and interactive content, while reusing shared resources efficiently.
Reddit is a social media platform that is used intensively in the crypto community. The website has pages per topic, which is called a subreddit. Visitors can post messages and respond to them. Coins often have their own subreddit for the community to converse and for the team to post (development) updates.
A 'Refund address' is a wallet address that a user sometimes has to enter to receive a chargeback. This is often necessary for coin conversion websites in case a transaction fails.
The term 'REKT' is a comes from the word 'Wrecked' and is used in the crypto community to indicate enormous losses.
A rektdrop is a new term, which may have been coined by Evmos, a Cosmos-based project, and is a combination of the terms 'REKT' and 'Airdrop'. It is basically an airdrop for people who have 'rekt' in certain projects or paid a lot of ETH fees. This is a playful way to offset those losses. In addition, you immediately build a community, w
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum indicator used in technical analysis that measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes to evaluate whether an asset is overbought or oversold. RSI is displayed as a number between 0 and 100. A reading above 70 generally suggests the asset may be overbought (and due for a correction), while a reading below 30 suggests it may be oversold (and potentially undervalued). RSI is one of the most widely used indicators among crypto traders.
A Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a communication protocol that allows a program to request a service or execute a function on a remote server as if it were a local operation. In blockchain, RPC is how wallets, dApps, and developers interact with blockchain nodes. When you send a transaction through MetaMask or query an account balance, your request travels via an RPC endpoint to a node that processes it. Public RPC providers like Infura and Alchemy serve as crucial infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem.
These are attacks on a blockchain after a fork. When you try to send coins on one of the chains there could be an attempt to mirror the action on the other chain. So when sending 1 BTC it could happen that 1 BCH is also sent. Bitcoin Cash has implemented a replay protection method, but not all (Bitcoin) forks have this, which could be done on purpose. This is a risk when claiming hard fork coins.
A resistance level is a price point on a chart where an asset historically tends to stop rising and begins to pull back, due to increased selling pressure at that level. Resistance levels are identified using historical price data, moving averages, and chart patterns. If a resistance level is broken (the price rises above it), it often becomes a new support level. Resistance and support analysis is one of the most fundamental tools in technical trading.
A retail investor is an individual who buys and sells financial assets (including cryptocurrencies) with their own personal funds, as opposed to institutional investors who manage large pools of capital on behalf of others. Retail investors typically trade smaller amounts and may have less access to research, tools, and preferential pricing compared to institutions. In crypto, retail investors have played a significant role in driving adoption and market movements, particularly during bull runs.
ROI is an abbreviation for 'Return on Investment'. This is an indicator to show the ratio between your initial investment and the return on it. The formula is ((current value - investment) / investment) x 100. Example: if 1 Ether deposit in an ICO total has become worth 1.6 Ether, then the ROI is 60%.
A ring signature is a type of digital signature that can be performed by any member of a group, making it impossible to determine which member's key was used to produce the signature. This provides strong privacy because the signer is hidden among the group without needing any setup or cooperation from other members. Ring signatures are a core privacy feature of Monero, where they obscure the sender of every transaction.
Ripple is the company that created the coin XRP. The coin itself is sometimes also called Ripple, but that is not correct.
A roadmap is a plan that shows what an organization or team wants to achieve. This usually contains the deliverables for the year, but sometimes it's even a couple years in the futures. In can be as detailed with specific dates or months, but it can also be broader and based on quarters. In crypto, it's a common practice that the team shares this roadmap publicly to give insight into the coming features and when those will be realised.
You are rugged if you have experienced a rugpull. In such a case, you have generally pretty much lost your entire investment in that coin. For example, a saying in the chat groups is: “I got rugged”.
A rug pull is a scam variant in crypto where the team behind the coin intensively promotes the project and tries to drive up the price only to dump all their coins at once on the order book or by removing all liquidity in case of a DEX. Just like a literal rug pull where a rug is pulled out from under your feet, and you fall, the price of the coins also collapses. This is then clearly visible on the chart with a large red candle.
A sandwich attack is a type of front-running exploit where an attacker places two transactions around a victim's pending trade. The attacker first buys the asset (pushing the price up), then the victim's trade executes at the inflated price, and finally the attacker sells at the higher price for a profit. This is a common form of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) on decentralized exchanges and exploits the transparent nature of the mempool. Tools like Flashbots aim to mitigate sandwich attacks.
Sat is the abbreviation of Satoshi.
A satoshi (sat) is the smallest amount of bitcoin and is named after the creator Satoshi Nakamoto. It is the eighth decimal place, so 0.00000001 BTC
Satoshi Nakamoto is the alias of the creator of Bitcoin, who wants to remain anonymous. Nobody knows who it is. It could be a person, a group, a company or even a government. It is quite likely that it is a person because there are people who have communicated with him or her via e-mail. You can read more about this in our article about Satoshi.
Scalability refers to a blockchain network's ability to handle increasing numbers of transactions and users without sacrificing speed, cost, or decentralization. The "blockchain trilemma" (coined by Vitalik Buterin) suggests that achieving scalability, security, and decentralization simultaneously is inherently difficult. Solutions to the scalability challenge include Layer 2 protocols, sharding, larger block sizes, and alternative consensus mechanisms.
A scam is a fraudulent scheme that is performed by a dishonest individual, group or company. The goal is to get money or something else of interest like personal information or in the case of cryptocurrency the 'private key'.
A scammer is a person who performs a scam.
A secondary market is where previously issued assets are bought and sold between investors, as opposed to the primary market where assets are sold for the first time (like an ICO or token sale). Cryptocurrency exchanges are secondary markets where tokens are traded after their initial distribution. NFT marketplaces like OpenSea are also secondary markets. Healthy secondary markets are essential for liquidity and price discovery.
SAFU is a term in the cryptocurrency world that means safe. It is used by, for example, exchange CEO's when a hack has happened and then can say 'All user funds are SAFU!'. It became popular when this Youtube video by Bizonacci was released.
SEC is the abbreviation of 'Securities and Exchange Commission'. This is an independent government organization of the United States of America. The SEC holds the primary responsibility regarding the financial markets. They enforce the federal securities laws, propose new rules and regulate the US financial markets.
A security audit is a professional review of a blockchain project's smart contract code, protocol design, or infrastructure to identify vulnerabilities, bugs, and potential exploits before they can be exploited by attackers. Audits are typically conducted by specialized firms such as Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Certik, or Halborn. While an audit significantly reduces risk, it does not guarantee a project is completely safe. In DeFi, the presence (or absence) of an audit is one of the first things users check before depositing funds.
A security token is a digital token that represents ownership in a real-world asset, such as equity in a company, real estate, bonds, or other financial instruments. Unlike utility tokens, security tokens are subject to securities regulations and must comply with the laws of the jurisdiction in which they are offered. They combine the benefits of blockchain (transparency, fractional ownership, 24/7 trading) with the legal protections of traditional securities.
A Security Token Offering (STO) is a fundraising method where a company issues security tokens that represent ownership stakes or investment contracts in compliance with securities regulations. STOs are considered a more regulated alternative to ICOs, as they must follow legal frameworks such as KYC/AML requirements. This regulatory compliance provides investors with greater legal protections but also makes the process more complex and costly for issuers.
A seed phrase (also called a recovery phrase or mnemonic phrase) is a sequence of 12 to 24 randomly generated words that serves as the master backup for a cryptocurrency wallet. From this single phrase, all private keys and addresses associated with the wallet can be regenerated. If a user loses access to their device, the seed phrase allows them to restore their wallet and funds on any compatible software. It should be stored securely offline, as anyone with the seed phrase has full access to the wallet.
SegWit is a solution to make Bitcoin more scalable with the goal of faster transactions at lower costs. The use of SegWit required a 'soft fork' which took place on 21 July 2017. Altcoins like Litecoin, Digibyte or Vertcoin have also implemented SegWit in their Bitcoin-based blockchain.
Selfish mining is an attack strategy where a miner or mining pool secretly withholds newly found blocks from the public blockchain, building a private chain ahead of the network. When the private chain is longer, the attacker releases it, causing the network to abandon the honest chain and adopt the attacker's blocks. This allows the attacker to earn a disproportionate share of mining rewards while wasting honest miners' work. The attack is theoretically possible with less than 51% of the hash rate.
A sell wall is the opposite of a buy wall. It is an unusually large sell order, or a cluster of sell orders, placed at a single price level on an exchange's order book. A sell wall can prevent the price from rising above that level because there is too much supply to absorb. Sell walls may be placed strategically by large holders to suppress the price or accumulate more of the asset at lower prices.
Settlement is the process of completing a financial transaction by transferring the asset from the seller to the buyer and the payment from the buyer to the seller. In traditional finance, settlement can take days (T+1 or T+2). Blockchain technology enables near-instant settlement because the transfer of ownership is recorded on the distributed ledger as soon as the transaction is confirmed. This reduction in settlement time is one of the key advantages of blockchain-based financial systems, eliminating counterparty risk during the settlement period.
SHA-256 (Secure Hashing Algorithm 256-bit) is a cryptographic hash function that takes any input and produces a fixed 256-bit (64-character hexadecimal) output. It is a one-way function, meaning the original data cannot be derived from the hash. SHA-256 is the core algorithm behind Bitcoin's Proof of Work mining process and is also used to verify transaction integrity and generate wallet addresses.
Sharding is a scaling technique that splits a blockchain network into smaller partitions called shards, each capable of processing its own transactions and smart contracts in parallel. Instead of every node processing every transaction, the workload is distributed across shards, significantly increasing the network's overall throughput. A coordination layer (such as a beacon chain) manages communication between shards to maintain consistency and security across the full network.
A shielded transaction is a type of cryptocurrency transaction where the sender, receiver, and amount are all encrypted and hidden from public view on the blockchain. Unlike transparent transactions, shielded transactions use zero-knowledge proofs to verify validity without revealing any details. This provides strong financial privacy. Shielded transactions are a key feature of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Zcash.
Shilling is when someone is subjectively promoting a coin or ICO. This is sometimes just out of enthusiasm and sometimes just to convince as many buyers or investors as possible to join in withto have as much profit as possible when the price goes up.
A Shitcoin is any coin, which is badly rated by the one who talks about it. So it can be any altcoin, but also Bitcoin. The reason given could be a lack of innovation, poor communication, slow development or another coin is considerably better according to that person.
Shorting or going short on an asset is a trading strategy where you speculate on a price decline of that asset. It is a very risky tactic and you can easily lose money with this method. Therefore it is only useful for experienced traders and investors with a high-risk tolerance. Shorting comes from the traditional finance world, but is now also possible on crypto and is mostly done on Bitcoin. The shorting method itself is a practice where borrowed assets are sold on the market to buy back at a
A short squeeze occurs when the price of an asset rises sharply, forcing traders who had bet against it (short sellers) to buy back the asset to close their positions and limit their losses. This forced buying creates additional upward pressure, pushing the price even higher and potentially triggering more short sellers to cover. Short squeezes can cause explosive, rapid price increases and are particularly common in volatile crypto markets with high leverage.
A sidechain is a separate blockchain that runs parallel to a main blockchain (the parent chain) and is connected to it through a two-way bridge. This bridge allows assets to be transferred between the two chains. Sidechains can have their own consensus mechanisms and block parameters, enabling faster transactions, lower fees, or specialized functionality without congesting the main chain. The main chain's security is not directly shared, so sidechains must provide their own security guarantees.
A SIM swap (also called SIM hijacking) is a social engineering attack where a criminal convinces a mobile carrier to transfer a victim's phone number to a SIM card they control. Once successful, the attacker receives all calls and text messages intended for the victim, including two-factor authentication (2FA) codes. In crypto, SIM swaps have been used to bypass SMS-based 2FA and gain access to exchange accounts, resulting in significant theft. Using app-based 2FA (like Google Authenticator) instead of SMS is the primary defense.
Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) is a method described in the original Bitcoin whitepaper that allows light nodes to verify that a transaction has been included in a block without downloading the entire blockchain. SPV clients only store block headers and use Merkle proofs to confirm transaction inclusion. This makes it possible to run a Bitcoin wallet on devices with limited storage, like smartphones, while still independently verifying payments.
Slack is a cloud-based software for team collaboration. It became popular among coins in 2016 and 2017 to create a place where fans can discuss the coin and interact with the team behind it. Though it is not very suitable for large groups of thousands of members in its free version. This often caused problems where new people weren't able to join. Nowadays a lot of coins have moved their community to Telegram and Discord.
Slashing is a penalty mechanism in Proof of Stake blockchain networks designed to discourage dishonest or negligent behavior by validators. When a validator acts maliciously (such as signing conflicting blocks) or goes offline for an extended period, a portion of their staked tokens is automatically deducted or "slashed." This creates a strong financial incentive for validators to operate honestly and maintain high uptime.
Slippage is the difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual price at which it is executed. It typically occurs in markets with low liquidity or during periods of high volatility, where price movements happen between the moment an order is placed and when it is filled. Slippage can be positive (better price than expected) or negative (worse price). In decentralized exchanges, users can often set a maximum slippage tolerance to limit how much price deviation they are willing to accept.
A smart contract came to existence with the launch of the Ethereum blockchain but has nowadays also been replicated in different forms on other blockchains. It can be seen as a protocol or computer program that is meant to autonomously and automatically execute pre-defined commands based on relevant events. The goal of this technology is to automate events and reduce the need for trusted third parties. This technology can be used for various purposes like the creation of tokens, facilitating DeF
A snapshot is a record of the state of a blockchain or a specific set of wallet balances at a particular block height or point in time. Snapshots are commonly used to determine eligibility for airdrops, governance votes, or fork-based token distributions. For example, a project might take a snapshot of all holders at block 15,000,000 and distribute new tokens proportionally to those balances.
SocialFi (Social Finance) is a category that combines social media with decentralized finance, allowing users to monetize their social interactions, content, and influence through blockchain and token-based incentives. SocialFi platforms enable features like tokenized social profiles, pay-to-access content, tipping in cryptocurrency, and on-chain reputation systems. The concept aims to shift value from centralized platforms (which profit from user data) back to the content creators and community members who generate it.
A soft cap is the minimum fundraising target that a cryptocurrency project aims to reach during its token sale or ICO. If the soft cap is met, the project considers the fundraise successful and proceeds with development. If it is not met, some projects return the funds to investors. The soft cap contrasts with the hard cap, which is the maximum amount a project will raise.
A soft fork is a backward-compatible update to a blockchain's protocol. Unlike a hard fork, a soft fork does not require all nodes to upgrade in order to continue participating in the network. Nodes running the old software can still recognize new blocks as valid, though they may not be able to use the new features. Soft forks typically require majority miner or validator agreement and do not result in a permanent chain split. An example is Bitcoin's SegWit upgrade.
A software wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that exists as a program or application on a computer, smartphone, or web browser. Software wallets store private keys digitally and are connected to the internet, making them convenient for everyday transactions. They come in three main forms: desktop wallets (installed on a PC), mobile wallets (smartphone apps), and web wallets (accessed through a browser). Software wallets are also known as hot wallets.
Solidity is a programming language for writing or implementing 'Smart Contracts' that run on the Ethereum blockchain. Several Blockchains now support this new language.
Source code is the human-readable set of instructions written in a programming language that defines how a software program functions. In the cryptocurrency world, source code determines the rules and behavior of a blockchain protocol, smart contract, or decentralized application. Most blockchain projects publish their source code as open source on platforms like GitHub, allowing anyone to review, audit, and verify the code.
Spear phishing is a targeted form of phishing attack directed at a specific individual or organization, using personalized information to appear more convincing. In crypto, spear phishing attacks often impersonate exchange support staff, project team members, or trusted contacts to trick victims into revealing private keys, seed phrases, or login credentials. These attacks are more dangerous than generic phishing because they are tailored to the victim.
The spot market is where financial assets like cryptocurrencies are bought and sold for immediate delivery at the current market price (the "spot price"). When you buy Bitcoin on an exchange and receive it in your wallet right away, you are trading on the spot market. This is in contrast to the derivatives market, where contracts are traded based on future prices. Spot trading is the most straightforward form of crypto trading and is where real price discovery occurs.
Spot trading is the buying and selling of cryptocurrency for immediate delivery at the current market price (the "spot price") on a spot market. When you place a buy order and receive the asset directly in your wallet, you are spot trading. It is the most straightforward form of crypto trading, without leverage, expiry dates, or complex contract structures. Spot trading is where real price discovery happens and is generally considered lower risk than derivatives trading.
Stablecoins are tokens or cryptocurrencies attempting to have a minimized volatility of its price. It usually tries to keep a stable price of a related asset like USD for example. It can be backed by the related asset or replicated using smart contracts. Stablecoins are usually pegged to fiat money, but it's also possible to be pegged to precious metals like gold or silver, or even other assets. It enables an easily accessible way to store crypto wealth, temporarily, in a more stable asset durin
Staking the process that belongs to Proof-of-Stake.
A staking pool is a mechanism that allows multiple cryptocurrency holders to combine their tokens and stake them together in a Proof of Stake network. By pooling resources, participants increase their collective chance of being selected to validate blocks and earn rewards. The rewards are then distributed proportionally among the pool members. Staking pools make it accessible for smaller holders to participate in staking without needing the minimum stake or technical infrastructure required to run a validator node independently.
A state channel is a Layer-2 scaling solution that allows two or more parties to conduct multiple transactions off-chain, only settling the final result on the main blockchain. This significantly reduces the number of on-chain transactions needed, resulting in faster speeds and lower fees. The participants open a channel, exchange signed transactions between themselves, and then close the channel by posting the final state to the blockchain.
Steemit is a social media platform that runs entirely on the Steem blockchain. The coins allow the user to promote messages. The coins can be bought on an exchange, but can also be earned within Steemit by actively contributing in the form of new messages or reactions to existing messages.
Stimmy is a slang term for stimulus, referring to the money that citizens of the USA received from their government to support them financially during the Coronavirus period. This is part of the relief package. In the cryptocurrency world, people believe that many people will use this money to buy Bitcoin or other altcoins.
The Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow model (S2F) is invented by PlanB and explained in detail in this post. This model uses scarcity to quantify the value of bitcoin, but it can also be applied to other assets like gold or silver. Although the model has become very popular in the crypto space, not everybody agrees.
A stop-loss order is an automated trading instruction that triggers a sell order when an asset's price drops to a specified level. It is designed to limit potential losses by automatically closing a position before the price falls further. For example, if a trader buys Bitcoin at $50,000 and sets a stop-loss at $45,000, the position will be sold automatically if the price reaches that threshold. Stop-loss orders are a fundamental risk management tool used by both beginner and experienced traders.
A store of value is an asset that maintains its purchasing power over time without significantly depreciating. Traditional stores of value include gold, real estate, and stable currencies. Bitcoin is often referred to as a "digital store of value" or "digital gold" due to its fixed supply of 21 million coins, decentralized nature, and resistance to censorship. Whether Bitcoin truly functions as a long-term store of value remains a topic of debate due to its price volatility.
A supply chain attack is a cyberattack that targets the less-secure elements in a software or hardware supply chain to compromise the final product. In crypto, supply chain attacks can involve injecting malicious code into popular development libraries, wallet software, browser extensions, or hardware wallet firmware. These attacks are particularly dangerous because developers and users trust the compromised components. Notable examples include compromised npm packages targeting cryptocurrency wallets and backdoored hardware devices.
A support level is a price point on a chart where an asset historically tends to stop falling and begins to bounce back upward, due to increased buying interest at that level. Traders and analysts identify support levels using historical price data, moving averages, and chart patterns. If a support level is broken (the price falls below it), it often becomes a new resistance level. Support and resistance analysis is fundamental to technical trading.
A swap is the exchange of one cryptocurrency token for another, typically performed through a decentralized exchange or AMM. Unlike traditional order book trading, swaps on DEXs are executed against liquidity pools in a single transaction. Swaps are one of the most fundamental actions in DeFi. The term can also refer to atomic swaps (trustless cross-chain exchanges) or token migration events where old tokens are exchanged for new ones.
A 'Swing' is a zigzag movement of price. A 'Swing trader' is someone who makes intensive use of it to get more coins.
A Sybil attack is a security threat where a single entity creates multiple fake identities or nodes to gain disproportionate influence over a peer-to-peer network. Named after the book "Sybil" about a person with multiple personalities, these attacks can be used to manipulate voting, disrupt network operations, or undermine consensus. Blockchain networks resist Sybil attacks through mechanisms that make creating identities costly, such as Proof of Work or Proof of Stake.
A synthetic asset is a financial instrument created using smart contracts that mimics the value of another asset without requiring ownership of the underlying asset itself. In DeFi, synthetic assets can represent stocks, commodities, fiat currencies, or other cryptocurrencies. They are typically backed by collateral locked in a protocol. Synthetic assets allow crypto users to gain exposure to traditional financial markets without leaving the blockchain ecosystem.
Tanking stands for a decrease in value. If a cryptocurrency 'tanks', the price drops considerably. This can have several causes on a fundamental level or when an important cross in technical analysis is formed.
Taproot is a major upgrade to the Bitcoin protocol, activated in November 2021. It introduced Schnorr signatures and Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees (MAST), which improve Bitcoin's privacy, efficiency, and smart contract capabilities. Taproot makes complex transactions (such as multisig and time-locked transactions) look identical to simple payments on the blockchain, enhancing privacy. It also reduces transaction sizes and fees for advanced transaction types.
TA stands for technical analysis. This is used to analyze the graph of a cryptocurrency or stock with different indicators. This gives an investor or trader more justification for the choice to buy or sell. The different indicators are explained in this post about TA.
Telegram is a messaging app that can be used on mobile and desktop. It is very popular in the crypto community. Most coins have a telegram channel, where interested people can join and discuss the developments of the coin. You can join as many channels as you want. It is abused a lot though by scammers, who send out links and viruses. But since Telegram supports advanced bots, this can be tackled easily. The bot is also often used to welcome new users or for sending cryptocurrency tips to each o
A testnet (short for "test network") is a separate blockchain environment used by developers to experiment with new features, smart contracts, or protocol upgrades without affecting the live mainnet. Testnets use tokens that have no real-world value, so developers and users can freely test functionality without financial risk. Most major blockchain projects maintain public testnets where anyone can participate.
The Tether is often abbreviated as USDT on exchanges. This is a non-government regulated 'stablecoin' with a value of around 1 US dollar. The company behind this coin claims that every Tether in circulation is covered with real dollars on their bank account.
The DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) was one of the earliest and most ambitious projects built on Ethereum, launched in April 2016 as a decentralized venture capital fund. It raised approximately $150 million in ETH through a token sale. In June 2016, a hacker exploited a vulnerability in the smart contract code and drained about one-third of the funds. The Ethereum community controversially decided to hard fork the blockchain to reverse the hack, which split the network into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
Throughput is the number of transactions a blockchain network can process per unit of time, typically measured in transactions per second (TPS). Higher throughput means the network can handle more activity simultaneously. Bitcoin processes roughly 7 TPS, Ethereum around 15-30 TPS on the base layer, while networks like Solana claim thousands of TPS. Increasing throughput without sacrificing security or decentralization is the core challenge of blockchain scalability.
A 'Ticker' is an abbreviation of, among other things, shares on the stock exchange. It consists of a few letters. In the crypto world, this system is also used. In the case of shares, a unique ID has also been developed, the so-called ISIN code. Such a system does not yet exist for crypto. It happens a ticker exists several times for different coins. Therefore it is extra important to check the name before placing a buy or sell order.
A timestamp is a digital record of the exact date and time when a specific event occurred. In blockchain, each block contains a timestamp indicating when it was created and added to the chain. Timestamps are crucial for maintaining the chronological order of transactions, preventing double spending, and creating an auditable history. They also serve as proof that certain data existed at a specific point in time.
This expression is common in cryptocurrency chat groups and forums. It is used to communicate the desire for a huge price increase. For that purpose, they say 'When Moon?'. It is also used at times when the price of a coin is rising rapidly. In those cases the phrase 'To the moon!' is common.
Briefly, a token, according to our definition, is a coin without its own blockchain. So tokens are different from cryptocurrencies, which is the native coin of a blockchain. There are quite a lot of different blockchains today where it is easy to generate a token on them. The best known is Ethereum, and many thousands of tokens have been launched on it. Anyone can do this, and no approval is n
A Token Generation Event (TGE) is the moment when new cryptocurrency tokens are created and distributed to the public, typically on a smart contract platform. TGEs are often associated with fundraising activities where participants receive tokens in exchange for their investment. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with ICO, though TGE focuses specifically on the technical creation and distribution of the tokens rather than the broader fundraising process.
A token lockup (also called a vesting period) is a predetermined period during which certain tokens cannot be sold or transferred. Lockups are commonly applied to team allocations, investor tokens, and advisor shares to prevent large-scale selling immediately after a token launch. This protects the market from sudden supply shocks and demonstrates long-term commitment from the project's insiders. Tokens are typically released gradually over months or years.
A token sale is a fundraising event where a cryptocurrency project sells its tokens to early investors and the public in exchange for established cryptocurrencies or fiat money. Token sales can take various forms, including ICOs, IEOs, IDOs, and private sales. The funds raised are typically used to develop the project, build the team, and grow the ecosystem.
A token standard is a set of rules and specifications that defines how tokens behave on a particular blockchain. Token standards ensure that all tokens following the same standard are compatible with wallets, exchanges, and applications on that network. The most well-known standards include ERC-20 (fungible tokens on Ethereum), ERC-721 (NFTs), ERC-1155 (multi-token), BEP-20 (BNB Chain), and BRC-20 (Bitcoin).
Tokenization is the process of converting rights to a real-world or digital asset into a digital token on a blockchain. Virtually anything of value can be tokenized, including real estate, art, stocks, commodities, intellectual property, and even time or services. Tokenization enables fractional ownership (allowing multiple people to own portions of an asset), increased liquidity, faster settlement, and transparent ownership records, all managed by smart contracts on the blockchain.
A tokenized stock is a digital token on a blockchain that represents ownership of a share in a publicly traded company. Tokenized stocks aim to bring the benefits of blockchain (fractional ownership, 24/7 trading, faster settlement) to traditional equity markets. They are backed 1:1 by real shares held by a custodian. While tokenized stocks expand market access, they face regulatory challenges regarding securities laws across different jurisdictions.
Tokenomics is a crypto-specific term and is the combination of “Token” and “Economics”. So, as the term itself actually makes clear, this refers to the economics of a token. Tokens decompose value from their use and thus will need to have a good use case. Among other things, the way it can be used, the offering - including the release speed - and any lock-ups with the team or early investors relate to the tokenomics of a token. By s
TOR is an abbreviation for 'The Onion Router'. Onion routing is a method to send data anonymously over the Internet. The TOR Network consists of thousands of proxy servers on the Internet run by volunteers, which enables the routing. There are already cryptocurrencies that support 'nodes' on the TOR network.
The 'total supply' indicates the number of coins already in circulation, supplemented with the coins that are not tradable yet. So it only applies to coins already in existence. This is different from the 'max supply', in which future coins are included. The total supply is greater than or equal to the 'circulating' supply'. It can consist of tradable and non-tradable coins, such as reserved or not yet released coins for the team or investors.
TVL is the abbreviation for total value locked. This refers to DeFi platforms, where users lock their crypto assets for yield or put them to work as liquidity providers. All assets combined are the TVL, and it is an important metric to see how popular a DeFi platform is. The TVL is often shown as a current figure but also with a historical chart, so you can clearly see how it is trending. An example of this is
TradFi is short for "traditional finance" and refers to the established financial system including banks, stock exchanges, insurance companies, and other conventional financial institutions. In crypto discussions, TradFi is often used as a contrast to DeFi (decentralized finance). The term highlights the differences between the centralized, regulated traditional system and the permissionless, blockchain-based alternatives. As the crypto industry matures, the lines between TradFi and DeFi are increasingly blurring.
A trading bot is an algorithm that trades for a trader on a stock exchange or crypto exchange. Trading bots are used by both professionals and amateurs.
A trading pair represents two assets that can be traded against each other on an exchange. For example, BTC/USDT means you can buy Bitcoin with USDT or sell Bitcoin for USDT. The first asset listed is the base currency (what you're buying or selling) and the second is the quote currency (what you're pricing it in). Trading pairs determine which markets are available on an exchange and directly affect liquidity and price discovery for each asset.
Trading volume represents the total amount of a cryptocurrency that has been traded over a specific time period, typically measured in 24 hours. High trading volume indicates strong market interest and liquidity, making it easier to buy and sell at stable prices. Low volume can signal reduced interest and may lead to greater slippage and price volatility. Volume is one of the most basic indicators used to assess the health and activity of a crypto market.
The 'transaction fee' is the amount that has to be paid to execute transactions on the Blockchain. This fee is usually paid to the 'Miners', but sometimes they are burned. There are also several cryptocurrencies, where you don't have to pay a fee.
All transactions in the Blockchain, such as the amount, the address of the sender and recipient and the date of transfer, are provided with an identification, which is publicly accessible in the ledger of the Blockchain. This is the 'Transaction ID'.
TPS stands for transactions per second and refers to the number of transactions that a network can process each second. For example, the TPS of Bitcoin is around 5 and that of Ethereum is around 10 at the moment. This means that a higher fee is needed to have a transaction processed quickly. New Blockchains can distinguish themselves by having a much higher TPS, but this often comes with more centralisation of lower (chain) security.
The Trezor is a popular 'Hardware Wallet', which supports multiple blockchains.
A trillion is in numbers 1,000,000,000,000. Since this is such a large number, you can also say that it is one thousand billion or one million million. For most people, those are more understandable numbers. In 2021 Bitcoin reached a market cap of 1 trillion for the first time.
A Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) is a secure area within a processor that runs code in isolation from the rest of the system, ensuring that the data and operations inside it cannot be tampered with or observed by external software, even the operating system. In blockchain, TEEs are used for secure key management, confidential smart contract execution, and private transaction processing. Projects like Secret Network and Oasis Network leverage TEEs to enable privacy-preserving computations on public blockchains.
Trustless describes a system where participants do not need to trust each other or a central authority for the system to function correctly. Instead, trust is placed in the protocol itself, which uses cryptographic verification, consensus mechanisms, and transparent rules to ensure that all interactions are valid. Blockchain networks are considered trustless because transactions are verified by the network as a whole, not by any single party. The term does not mean "untrustworthy" but rather "trust is not required."
Turing complete refers to a system that can perform any computation or solve any problem, given enough time and resources. The concept is named after mathematician Alan Turing. In blockchain, a Turing-complete platform (such as Ethereum) can execute any programmable logic through smart contracts, enabling the creation of complex decentralized applications. Bitcoin's scripting language, by contrast, is intentionally limited and not Turing complete.
An uncle block (also called an ommer block in Ethereum terminology) is a valid block that was mined but not included in the main blockchain because another block at the same height was accepted first. In Ethereum's former Proof of Work system, uncle blocks received a partial mining reward to compensate miners and encourage network participation. Since Ethereum's transition to Proof of Stake, uncle blocks no longer apply.
A unit of account is one of the three traditional functions of money (alongside medium of exchange and store of value). It refers to a standard measurement used to set prices and compare the value of goods and services. While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can technically serve as units of account, their price volatility makes them less practical for everyday pricing compared to stable fiat currencies.
See Tether for the meaning of USDT.
A utility token is a type of cryptocurrency token designed to provide holders with access to specific products, services, or features within a blockchain-based platform or ecosystem. Unlike security tokens, utility tokens are not intended as financial investments but function more like digital keys that unlock functionality. Examples include tokens used to pay for transaction fees on a network, access storage on a decentralized platform, or participate in governance decisions.
UXTO is the abbreviation of 'Unspent Transaction Output'. The total balance of bitcoins on an address can be spread over multiple blocks in the blockchain. The unspent bitcoins have a UXTO attribute. By searching the blockchain for the UXTO's, which belong to a 'wallet' address, the total spendable balance can be determined. This is displayed by the wallet when it is fully synchronised.
A validator is a participant in a Proof of Stake blockchain network who is responsible for verifying transactions and proposing new blocks. To become a validator, one must lock up (stake) a certain amount of the network's native cryptocurrency as collateral. Validators are selected to create blocks based on factors like the size of their stake and network-specific rules. If a validator acts dishonestly, they risk losing part of their stake through slashing.
Vaporware is a term that comes from the software world to indicate announced, but not released or cancelled software. In the cryptocurrency world, this also happens, but the term Shitcoin is more common.
In DeFi, a vault is a smart contract that automates yield-generating strategies on behalf of depositors. Users deposit their assets into a vault, which then deploys those funds across various DeFi protocols to maximize returns through strategies like compounding rewards, liquidity provision, or lending. Vaults simplify complex DeFi strategies into a single deposit action. The term is also used more broadly for any secure smart contract that holds and manages funds, such as treasury vaults in DAOs.
Venture Capital (VC) refers to private financing provided by investment firms to early-stage companies and startups with high growth potential. In the crypto industry, VC firms play a major role by funding blockchain projects, DeFi protocols, and Web3 startups in exchange for equity or discounted token allocations. Prominent crypto VCs include a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), Paradigm, and Sequoia Capital. VC backing can provide credibility but also raises concerns about insider advantages and centralized token ownership.
A Verkle tree is a next-generation data structure proposed as a replacement for Merkle trees in Ethereum. Verkle trees use vector commitments instead of hash-based commitments, which dramatically reduces the size of proofs needed to verify data. This means light nodes can verify blockchain state with much less data, improving scalability and enabling "stateless clients" that can validate blocks without storing the full state. Verkle trees are part of Ethereum's long-term roadmap (The Verge).
Vitalik Buterin is a programmer of Canadian-Russian descent. He is the inventor of 'Smart Contracts' and co-founder of Ethereum.
Volatility is a statistical measure of how much and how quickly the price of an asset fluctuates over a given period. Highly volatile assets experience large price swings in short timeframes, while low-volatility assets tend to move more gradually. Cryptocurrency markets are generally considered more volatile than traditional financial markets, meaning prices can rise or fall dramatically within hours or even minutes. While volatility creates opportunities for traders, it also increases risk.
WAGMI stands for "We're All Gonna Make It." It is a popular rallying cry in the crypto community expressing collective optimism and encouragement during market uncertainty. The phrase promotes solidarity among investors and builders, suggesting that the whole community will eventually benefit from the growth of the crypto ecosystem. The opposite, NGMI ("Not Gonna Make It"), is used to describe poor decisions or bearish outlooks.
A 'wallet' is a place to store cryptocurrencies encrypted. There are several variants, such as a paper wallet, hardware wallet or software wallet. Each coin has one or more supported wallets. See here all wallets.
Wash trading is the activity on an exchange where trades are done with themselves. The sole purpose of this is to increase the trading volume. This could lure in new investors to trade that asset or makes it look like that specific exchange is heavily used and thus makes it look more trustworthy. This behaviour is forbidden in traditional markets.
The term 'weak hands' refers to an investor that has sold their investment or a part of it, due to emotional distress. People who got nervous and sold too early are then called 'weak hands' in crypto chat groups. The opposite of this can be the term HODL or Hodler.
Web 2.0 refers to the second generation of the internet, characterized by user-generated content, social media platforms, interactive web applications, and centralized services. Companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon define the Web 2.0 era. In crypto discussions, Web 2.0 is contrasted with Web3, which envisions a decentralized internet where users own their data, digital identity, and assets through blockchain technology. The transition from Web 2.0 to Web3 represents a shift from platform-controlled to user-controlled digital experiences.
WEB3 refers to ‘Web 3.0 Technologies Stiftung’ , which is a foundation that funds research and development teams who are building the foundation of the decentralized web. Web2 refers to the internet as we know it today. A large number of entities received this funding, among a lot of blockchain projects. This is why you’ll see the term WEB3 more often in the crypto space. More broadly WE
A 'Wei' is the smallest denomination of Ether. 1 Ether = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Wei (10-18)
A 'whale' is someone with a very large position in a coin.
A Whitelist is a list of approved participants, who may participate in an ICO or Pre-ICO. A 'whitelist' is not always used, but it is usually used to generate 'hype' and exclusivity for the ICO.
A 'whitepaper' is a document that is almost always written for the launch of a new coin through an ICO. All aspects of a coin should be explained here: how it is used, for what and sometimes also the price expectation. After the ICO new versions can be released if the situation changes.
A wholecoiner is someone who owns 1 full Bitcoin. The higher the price of Bitcoin gets, the harder it becomes to achieve this. Therefore, the number of 'wholecoiners' will also be limited.sat
A wire transfer is the electronic transfer of money through a network of banks or related agencies across the world. The sender pays a fee for the transaction and provides the recipient's name, bank account number, and the amount that should be transferred. The fee of this transfer could vary a lot. Within the European union it's free, but intercontinental it should become quite expensive. Unlike cryptocurrencies, there is always a middleman involved and a transfer could take up to days instead
Dit is over het adres dat op gegeven moet worden om een cryptocurrency op te ontvangen bij een terugstorting (withdrawal). Deze term wordt over het algemeen door exchanges gebruikt. Meestal geef je hier je persoonlijke wallet address op, maar het kan ook het 'deposit address' zijn van een andere exchange.
The Wojak literally means warrier or soldier in Polish and has its origin from the image-board Krautchan, where a user posted the picture for the first time with an accompanying phrase 'That feel when X' after which is spread to other boards, including 4chan. It's original is in white and looks like a cartoony bold man expressing several types of emotions, but later deformed (pink) variants were used heavily in the crypto scene as a way to mock or criticize people's actions or intelligence. It's
Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum that is pegged 1:1 to Bitcoin. Each wBTC is backed by an actual Bitcoin held in reserve by a custodian. Wrapping Bitcoin allows BTC holders to use their assets in Ethereum's DeFi ecosystem for lending, borrowing, and providing liquidity. wBTC is one of the most widely used wrapped assets and demonstrates how cross-chain value transfer works in practice.
Year to Date (YTD) is a time period that starts from the first day of the current calendar year (January 1st) up to the present date. In crypto and financial markets, YTD performance shows how much an asset's price has changed since the beginning of the year. For example, if Bitcoin started the year at $40,000 and is currently at $60,000, its YTD return would be +50%. YTD is a standard metric used to compare performance across different assets and time periods.
A 'yellow paper' is a research document. It describes a more in-depth and technical analysis. The purpose of this document is to inform those involved and interested.
Yield farming is the process of generating the most returns possible on your crypto assets by putting them to work. Within the crypto space, DeFi has taken on a big role and services inside this space are making yield farming possible. There are nowadays ways to move your crypto assets to pools to gain interest on those assets giving it an annual percentage yield (APY). Just buying crypto-assets and holding them in your wallet, won’t generate any yield, but lending them out with DeFi services li
A zero confirmation transaction is a cryptocurrency transaction that has been broadcast to the network but has not yet been included in a confirmed block. These transactions appear as "pending" or "unconfirmed" in the mempool. Accepting zero confirmation transactions carries risk because they could theoretically be reversed through a double-spend attack before being confirmed. Most merchants and exchanges require at least one (often more) confirmations before considering a payment final.
A zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is a cryptographic method that allows one party (the prover) to demonstrate to another party (the verifier) that a statement is true, without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement itself. In blockchain, ZKPs are used to enhance privacy by enabling transaction verification without exposing sensitive details like amounts or addresses. Notable implementations include zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs, which power privacy-focused protocols and Layer-2 scaling solutions.
A Zero-Knowledge Rollup (zk-Rollup) is a Layer 2 scaling solution that processes transactions off-chain and generates a cryptographic validity proof (using zero-knowledge proofs) to verify the correctness of all transactions in a batch. Unlike optimistic rollups, zk-rollups do not require a challenge period because the validity proof mathematically guarantees correctness. This results in faster finality and greater security. Examples include zkSync, StarkNet, and Polygon zkEVM.
Zerocoin, also known as Zerocoin protocol, is originally a proposal to give Bitcoin a privacy function. It is currently implemented by, among others, the coins Firo (formerly Zcoin) and PivX. Read more about this in this detailed description of zerocoin.
A zk-SNARK (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) is a cryptographic proof that allows one party to prove they possess certain information to another party without revealing the actual data. "Succinct" means the proofs are small and quick to verify, while "non-interactive" means no back-and-forth communication is needed between prover and verifier. zk-SNARKs are used in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Zcash and increasingly in Layer-2 scaling solutions (zk-rollups) to bundle thousands of transactions into a single verifiable proof.
A zk-STARK (Zero-Knowledge Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge) is a type of zero-knowledge proof that offers several advantages over zk-SNARKs. STARKs do not require a trusted setup ceremony, making them more transparent and resistant to certain attacks. They are also quantum-resistant, meaning they remain secure even against future quantum computers. However, STARK proofs are larger than SNARK proofs, requiring more on-chain storage. StarkNet and StarkEx are prominent implementations that use zk-STARKs for Layer 2 scaling.