Terminologies that every crypto user should know

Every digital asset user should be familiar with the most common terms and phrases used in the crypto sphere. With a myriad of jargons in the community, crypto traders can easily lose their way in a maze of information.

So, if you’re interested in increasing your knowledge on digital assets and learning how to talk like a true crypto trader, here’s an extensive list of crypto traders terminology to help you get started!

Address – In cryptocurrency, an address is where users send and receive their funds. Usually, it is made of a series of numbers and letters to create a unique and secure set of characters for users.
Altcoin – An altcoin is a currency other than Bitcoin.
Arbitrage – An arbitrage refers to making the most of a price difference between two cryptocurrency exchanges. Usually, a crypto arbitrage is buying and selling an asset on different exchanges to make revenue.
ATH/All time high – All time high or ATH is a term used when crypto assets have reached its peak price in the market.
Bear/Bearish – A bearish run in cryptocurrency means that the asset’s value will decline.
Block – A block in cryptocurrency refers to the ‘blocks’ that can be found in the decentralized ledger or blockchain. Each block contains the details of verified transactions, which are immutable and tamper-proof.
Blockchain – The blockchain is the decentralized distributed ledger made of blocks that contain all the information of transactions within the network.
Bull/bullish – If a cryptocurrency’s value will increase, the movement is often called bullish. It can also be used when investors have a positive sentiment towards the asset’s performance in the market.
Consensus – Before a transaction in the blockchain gets approved, a consensus must be reached within the validators. All the nodes within the system must agree on the details of the transaction, otherwise an agreement won’t take place.
Cryptocurrency – A cryptocurrency is a virtual asset that can be exchanged through the internet. Digital assets rely on cryptography in order to be exchanged through the blockchain.
Distributed ledger – A distributed ledger is a virtual record book of information and transactions that is shared in the network across multiple devices.
DApps – DApps stands for decentralised applications which are apps powered through the blockchain.
Exchange – An exchange is a platform where users and crypto traders can purchase, trade, buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
FOMO – FOMO in crypto means ‘fear of missing out’. This happens when people buy a certain asset with an expectation that it’s value will increase in the coming years.
Fork – A fork refers to any change happening within the blockchain. A fork can either be hard or soft, depending on the level of adjustments that will be made to the blockchain’s protocol.
FUD – FUD is an abbreviation for fear, uncertainty and doubt in cryptocurrencies. Usually, this term refers to the decline of an asset’s value due to misinformation spread by people regarding the coin.
Hash – Hashing is the process of decrypting data in the blockchain. Usually, hashes are decoded by miners to create new blocks in the ledger. If miners have more hashing power, it means they have more capacity to mine blocks that can result in bigger incentives.
Hard fork – A hard fork refers to the permanent change to the protocol of a certain digital asset. Once a hard fork takes place, the blockchain will no longer acknowledge the transactions using the old protocol.
HODL – Also known as ‘Hold on for dear life’, HODL is a term used by investors when they opt to keep their crypto assets even when the market is undergoing extreme price fluctuations.
Initial Coin Offering – Also referred to as ICOs, an initial coin offering is an event where an organization offers digital assets to investors to raise revenue.
KYC – KYC in cryptocurrency means ‘know your customer’. Usually, this refers to the regulations followed by companies before starting any crypto-related transactions. In KYC, companies should authenticate the identity of their customers.
Market Capitalization – Also known as market cap, it refers to the total market value of a certain digital asset. Additionally, it can also be used to total a group of digital assets’ market value.
Mining – Mining is another crypto traders terminology for the proof-of-work protocol that refers to the process of creating new digital assets. When miners ‘mine’ cryptos, their computers solve a difficult mathematical problem that will validate the transaction in the blockchain.
Mooning – Mooning is a term used to describe a sharp increase in a digital asset’s price.
Private key – A private key is a set of characters that crypto users use to access their funds from their wallet.
Public key – A public key is a set of characters that allows users to receive and send funds.
Pump and dump – A pump and dump in crypto is a type of investment scheme where people increase the price of a certain asset and sell it artificially high.
Rekt – Rekt in crypto is a shortened version of ‘wrecked’ which means that an investor or trader lost massive amounts of their investment.
Satoshi Nakamoto – Satoshi Nakamoto is the anonymous creator of Bitcoin who released the whitepaper on a decentralized system that can be transferred through the internet without the interference of third-party entities.
Smart contracts – Smart contracts are digital contracts on the blockchain that self-execute when certain conditions are met.
Transactions per second – Also known as ‘tps’, the transactions per second shows how many transactions a digital asset can process in a second.
Token – A term used for digital assets such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Whale – A whale in cryptocurrency means a trader who’s making substantial revenue in digital assets. Usually, crypto whales have the power to manipulate the market when they make large transactions.
Whitepaper – A whitepaper refers to the document produced by cryptocurrency developers that contain the key information of the asset they’ve created.