Crypto Glossary

Free tokens distributed to wallet addresses, usually as a marketing or reward mechanism.

Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

A sustained period of falling cryptocurrency prices, typically defined as a 20%+ decline from recent highs.

The first cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto as a peer-to-peer digital cash system.

A programmed event that cuts Bitcoin's mining reward in half approximately every four years.

A sustained period of rising cryptocurrency prices and positive market sentiment.

A digital currency secured by cryptography that operates on a blockchain network.

A system architecture where no single entity has control, with power distributed across many participants.

Slang for a crypto trader who takes high-risk speculative bets, often in memecoins or unaudited protocols.

A decentralized blockchain platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications.

A platform where you can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies.

Government-issued money like USD, EUR, or GBP that is not backed by a physical commodity.

A service that lets you buy cryptocurrency using traditional money like USD, EUR, or GBP.

Fear Of Missing Out — the anxiety of watching crypto prices rise without having invested.

A scheduled event that cuts the Bitcoin mining reward in half, occurring roughly every four years.

A crypto strategy of holding assets long-term regardless of price swings, originating from a misspelling of 'hold.'

A fundraising method where a crypto project sells tokens to early investors before launching.

Identity verification required by regulated crypto exchanges before you can trade.

The total value of a cryptocurrency, calculated by multiplying price by circulating supply.

The total value of a cryptocurrency, calculated by multiplying price by circulating supply.

A cryptocurrency created as a joke or based on internet culture, often with no fundamental utility.

A service that lets you convert cryptocurrency back into traditional money like USD or EUR.

Crypto slang for suffering a devastating financial loss, typically from a bad trade or protocol exploit.

The smallest unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred millionth).

A high-speed, low-cost blockchain designed for scalable decentralized applications.

A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value, usually pegged to the US dollar.

The total number of tokens that exist for a cryptocurrency, including those not yet in circulation.

Software or hardware that stores your private keys and lets you send and receive cryptocurrency.

The vision of a decentralized internet built on blockchain technology where users own their data and digital assets.

An individual or entity holding a very large amount of cryptocurrency, capable of moving markets.

A technical document explaining a cryptocurrency project's technology, purpose, and design.

Storing cryptocurrency offline in a hardware wallet or other device not connected to the internet.

A physical device that stores your private keys offline for maximum security.

A dedicated physical device that stores cryptocurrency private keys offline for maximum security.

A crypto wallet connected to the internet, offering convenience but less security than cold storage.

A cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet, offering convenience but increased exposure to online threats.

A wallet that requires multiple private key signatures to authorize a transaction.

A physical document containing your cryptocurrency private key or seed phrase for offline storage.

Fraudulent attempts to steal your crypto credentials through fake websites, emails, or messages.

A secret cryptographic code that gives you control over your cryptocurrency.

A market manipulation scheme where insiders artificially inflate a token's price before selling at the top.

The process of evaluating a token's smart contract and liquidity to assess the risk of a rug pull.

A scam where project creators abandon a crypto project and steal investor funds.

A crypto scam where project developers suddenly withdraw all funds and abandon the project.

A set of 12 or 24 words that can restore access to your crypto wallet.

Holding your own private keys rather than trusting an exchange or service to hold your crypto.

A social engineering attack where a hacker transfers your phone number to their device to bypass two-factor authentication.

A professional security review of a smart contract's code to identify vulnerabilities before deployment.

Granting a smart contract permission to spend tokens from your wallet.

An extra security layer requiring a second form of verification beyond your password.

Profiting from price differences of the same cryptocurrency across different exchanges or markets.

A type of price chart that shows the open, high, low, and close of an asset for a given time period.

A cryptocurrency exchange operated by a company that acts as intermediary for trades.

A cryptocurrency exchange that operates through smart contracts rather than a central authority.

A periodic payment between long and short traders on perpetual futures to keep the contract price aligned with spot price.

Borrowing funds to trade with a larger position than your own capital would allow.

Trading with borrowed funds to amplify potential gains (and losses) beyond your initial investment.

An order to buy or sell cryptocurrency at a specific price or better.

Forced closure of a leveraged position when collateral falls below the required level.

How easily an asset can be bought or sold without significantly affecting its price.

Exchange fee structure where makers (limit orders) pay less than takers (market orders).

An entity that provides liquidity by continuously placing buy and sell orders on an exchange.

An order to buy or sell cryptocurrency immediately at the best available current price.

A real-time list of buy and sell orders for a cryptocurrency, organized by price level.

Crypto derivative contracts that let you bet on price movements without an expiration date.

Betting that a cryptocurrency's price will decline by borrowing and selling it, then buying it back cheaper.

The difference between the expected price and the actual execution price of a trade.

The difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual price at which it executes.

Buying or selling cryptocurrency for immediate delivery at the current market price.

An automatic order that sells your cryptocurrency if the price drops to a specified level, limiting losses.

Price levels where an asset historically tends to stop falling (support) or stop rising (resistance).

The degree to which the price of a crypto asset fluctuates over time.

The total amount of a cryptocurrency traded within a specific time period, usually 24 hours.

An entity holding a very large amount of cryptocurrency — enough to influence market prices.

The annualized rate of return on an investment, including compound interest.

A self-directed individual retirement account that allows you to hold cryptocurrency with tax-advantaged status.

An investment strategy where you buy a fixed dollar amount of crypto at regular intervals.

An investment strategy of buying a fixed dollar amount of cryptocurrency at regular intervals, regardless of price.

Investing all available capital at once, rather than spreading purchases over time.

The recurring pattern of bull markets (rising prices) and bear markets (falling prices) in crypto.

Spreading investments across different crypto assets and categories to reduce overall risk.

Periodically adjusting your crypto holdings to maintain your target allocation percentages.

Periodically adjusting your cryptocurrency portfolio to restore your original target allocation.

A metric that compares the potential loss to the potential gain of an investment or trade.

Locking up cryptocurrency to help secure a blockchain network and earn rewards.

The economic design and mechanics of a cryptocurrency token, including supply, distribution, and incentives.

A schedule that gradually releases tokens to team members, investors, or community over a set period.

The average time it takes to produce a new block on a blockchain network.

A distributed digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers.

A protocol that transfers tokens or data between different blockchain networks.

The method a blockchain uses to agree on which transactions are valid and add new blocks.

Technology that enables communication, data sharing, and asset transfers between different blockchain networks.

An application that runs on a blockchain network using smart contracts instead of centralized servers.

Blockchain networks that coordinate real-world physical infrastructure like computing, storage, or wireless through token incentives.

A decentralized naming system that maps human-readable names like 'yourname.eth' to Ethereum wallet addresses.

A change to a blockchain's protocol rules that creates a divergence in the chain's history.

The cost you pay to execute a transaction on a blockchain network.

The maximum amount of gas you're willing to spend on a blockchain transaction.

A situation where users compete to get their transactions processed first by bidding up gas fees.

The total computational power being used to mine and process transactions on a Proof of Work blockchain.

A base blockchain network like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana that processes and finalizes transactions on its own.

A secondary network built on top of a blockchain to improve speed and reduce fees.

A scaling solution built on top of a Layer 1 blockchain that processes transactions faster and cheaper.

The profit that block producers can extract by reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions within a block.

The process of using computational power to validate transactions and create new cryptocurrency.

A unique digital token that represents ownership of a specific item like art, music, or a collectible.

A computer that maintains a copy of the blockchain and helps validate and relay transactions.

Activity or data that is recorded directly on a blockchain and publicly verifiable.

A service that provides external real-world data (like prices) to smart contracts on a blockchain.

A consensus mechanism where validators stake cryptocurrency to participate in transaction validation.

A consensus mechanism where miners solve complex puzzles to validate transactions and earn rewards.

A Layer 2 scaling technique that bundles many transactions into a single batch submitted to the main chain.

An independent blockchain that runs parallel to a main chain and is connected via a two-way bridge.

A penalty mechanism that destroys a portion of a validator's staked tokens for misbehavior or downtime.

Self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically enforces the terms of an agreement.

A separate blockchain network used for testing and development with tokens that have no real value.

A crypto asset that runs on another blockchain rather than its own.

Permanently removing tokens from circulation by sending them to an inaccessible wallet address.

A node that verifies transactions and creates new blocks on a proof-of-stake blockchain.

A cryptographic method that proves something is true without revealing the underlying information.

The annualized rate of return on an investment, not accounting for compounding.

A smart contract that enables decentralized trading by using liquidity pools instead of traditional order books.

An organization governed by smart contracts and token holder votes rather than traditional management.

Financial services built on blockchain that operate without traditional intermediaries.

A non-custodial wallet designed for interacting with decentralized finance protocols.

An uncollateralized loan that must be borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction.

A token that gives holders voting rights on protocol decisions like fee changes, upgrades, and treasury spending.

The temporary loss liquidity providers experience when the price ratio of pooled tokens changes.

A DeFi application that lets users lend their crypto to earn interest or borrow against their holdings.

Staking crypto while receiving a tradeable token that represents your staked position.

A smart contract holding paired tokens that enables trading on decentralized exchanges.

A collective pool where multiple users combine their tokens to increase staking rewards and reduce barriers to entry.

The total amount of cryptocurrency deposited in DeFi protocols, measuring the size of the DeFi ecosystem.

A token on one blockchain that represents a cryptocurrency from another blockchain.

A DeFi protocol that automatically moves your funds between different strategies to maximize returns.

Earning rewards by providing liquidity or staking tokens in DeFi protocols.

Earning returns by providing liquidity or staking tokens in DeFi protocols.

The tax obligation triggered by receiving free tokens through an airdrop distribution.

The profit made from selling cryptocurrency for more than you paid for it.

Tax owed on the profit from selling or trading cryptocurrency at a higher price than you bought it.

The original purchase price of a crypto asset, used to calculate capital gains or losses for taxes.

The original purchase price of a cryptocurrency, used to calculate taxable gains or losses when sold.

Accounting methods (First In First Out / Last In First Out) that determine which crypto purchase lots are sold first for tax purposes.

Holding a crypto asset for more than one year, which typically qualifies for lower capital gains tax rates.

The tax obligation that arises when you receive staking rewards from a Proof of Stake network.

Selling investments at a loss to offset capital gains and reduce your tax bill.

A crypto transaction that creates a tax obligation, such as selling, trading, or earning rewards.

Profit on a cryptocurrency holding that has not yet been sold — also called 'paper gains.'

A tax rule that disallows a loss deduction if you repurchase the same or substantially identical asset within 30 days.