Crypto A to Z: Cryptocurrency Glossary

Biodun used to be a bagholder, but he FOMO’d and bought more ETH. Currently, he is a big whale HODLing for the next moon

Don't be surprised if that didn't make sense to you. It didn't make sense to me at first when I started in the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

You just needed an exchange to buy any crypto you want, but you needed a new set of language skills to talk crypto. Because I wanted to be a Technical writer, I had to go the extra mile to learn the language of crypto for me communicate like an expert in their community.

But as a newbie just engaging with a crypto community, you don't need to go through what I did. Luckily for you, I have compiled a list of some of the most popular words that cryptocurrency enthusiasts and newbies need to familiarize themselves with for smooth communication and transactions. They are:

All-Time High & All-Time Low

An All-Time High refers to the highest price that an asset has achieved on exchange for the current trading pair that is being referenced. An All-Time Low is the lowest price that a cryptocurrency has achieved on an exchange for the current trading pair that is being referenced.

Binance Academy notes that if a share of stock in XZY Corp trades at $20 per share before falling to $10 in a certain period, we could say that the “All-Time High” for the XZY Corp was $20.

Altcoin

An altcoin is any coin that isn't Bitcoin. From the second-most popular coin, Ethereum, to any of the thousands of coins in the crypto space, altcoins are very important. This is because altcoins marked an era of maturity within the crypto industry due to their wide use cases. Examples are Litecoin, Zugacoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, and more.

Address

An address is a long string of characters representing a wallet that can send and receive cryptocurrency. It is like a contact address or a home address, although it denotes the location of a wallet that can receive and send cryptocurrency on the blockchain.

Blockchain addresses can either be public or private. Public means that you can see the transactions climb in and out of the wallet and the total value of that wallet. Private means that those transactions and assets are locked up.

Airdrop

This is the distribution of a cryptocurrency coin or token to a huge number of wallets. They are often associated with the launch of a new cryptocurrency, primarily as a way of gaining attention and new followers, resulting in a larger user base.

Bitcoin

This is the first cryptocurrency that was launched in January 2009. It is a digital currency that operates free from banks and the government. Bitcoin works with a decentralized system where anyone can send and receive money online without the restrictions of a bank or the central government.

Blockchain

Blockchain technology is a structure that stores transactional records—the block—of the public in several databases—the chain—in a network that is connected through peer-to-peer nodes, commonly referred to as a 'digital ledger.’

Simply put, it is a digital form of record-keeping that is a result of sequentially arranging blocks on each other, creating an unchangeable ledger of data.

Bagholder

This refers to someone that’s holding onto a cryptocurrency that has plummeted in price—even to the point where it has become worthless.

Bullish and Bearish.

Being bullish means you are confident that prices will go higher from where they are. Being bearish is the opposite of being bullish; you think prices will trade lower from where they currently are. Bullish traders will look to take long positions, while bearish traders will look to take short positions.

Buy the dip (BTD)

Buying the dip, or BTD means purchasing a cryptocurrency after its price has dropped. Buying the dip represents buying a coin at a lower price, hoping that it will rise again in the future.

Coins

These are the stores of value on a cryptocurrency or a given blockchain. Buying a coin means buying a product on a blockchain network.

Cryptocurrency

This is a 21st-century language coined from two words: cryptography and currency. Cryptocurrency is a digital currency where transactions are verified and records are maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography rather than by a centralized authority.

Decentralization.

This is the process of distributing power across various networks. Blockchain is naturally decentralized because the ability to make changes is not tied to a bank or a central authority like most fiat currencies.

DeFi

This is a broad term referring to financial services and products that are available to anyone with an internet connection.

DApps.

DApp is short for "decentralized applications." DApps are applications, tools, or programs that work on the decentralized Ethereum blockchain. A decentralized application is an application that is run by many users on a decentralized network.

Ethereum

Ethereum is a software platform that is based on a blockchain and can be used for sending and receiving value with its native cryptocurrency, ether, without any third-party interference.

Ethereum was designed to expand the utility of cryptocurrencies by allowing developers to create their own special applications called Ethereum-based applications, or dApps. It was first proposed in 2013 by Russian-Canadian computer programmer Vitalik Buterin.

Exchange.

An exchange is a digital marketplace where you can buy or sell cryptocurrencies.

FOMO 

This stands for Fear of Missing Out. It refers to the sense of urgency to buy a cryptocurrency when everyone else is talking about it.

Gas.

"Gas" refers to the cost of performing a transaction on the Ethereum network. The price of gas is based on supply and demand for the computational power of the network needed to process smart contracts and other transactions.

HODL.

This stands for "Hold On for Dear Life." This is an investment strategy where people buy and hold cryptocurrencies for a long time in the hopes that they will increase in value. It was initially a typographical error in a Bitcoin forum.

KYC

This stands for "Know Your Customer" or "Know Your Client." KYC refers to the verification of a user’s identity. Cryptocurrency exchanges use KYC not only to verify a trader’s identity but also to comply with regulations and keep their marketplaces safe.

Market cap

"Market cap" is short for market capitalization and refers to the total value of a specific cryptocurrency. It is calculated by multiplying a coin’s current price by the circulating supply.

Moon

This is a belief that a particular cryptocurrency is going upwards under the current market conditions. A common cryptocurrency slang term is “to the moon,” meaning that a certain cryptocurrency is soon going to rise significantly in price.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are unique, one-of-one cryptographic assets that have special identification codes built within them. According to Odyssey, they are a record of ownership of a digital asset.

Pump and dump.

Pump-and-dump schemes involve a group of investors and social media celebrities making up false information, rumours and claims. The goal of a pump-and-dump is to entice investors to buy, inflate the price, and then sell, causing the currency’s value to fall.

REKT.

This simply means wrecked. It occurs when you lose all or most of your money while trading cryptocurrencies.

Stable Coins.

These are coins that are tied to the value of a fiat currency like the US Dollar. Their prices do not naturally fluctuate like other coins.

Stop Loss and Take Profit.

A stop-loss (SL) is a price limit entered by a crypto trader. When the price limit is reached, the open position will be closed in order to avoid further losses. A take profit (TP) works similarly—it automatically closes a position once a profit target is reached to lock in profits.

Stop Losses can limit losses. Take Profits allows the user to maximize profits by exiting a trade as soon as the market price is favorable.

Whale

A whale is someone who owns a significant amount of cryptocurrency. This is usually 5% or more of the total supply. 

Wallet

A wallet is a physical or digital place where you store cryptocurrency holdings. Cryptocurrency wallets may either be hot (online, software-based) or cold (offline, usually on a device).

Conclusion

These are the cryptocurrency terms you need to understand as a newbie. This is a relatively new space so there may be more that find their way to the online space. When that happens, I will be there to decode more for you. No need to FOMO, keep watch for that moon!

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