Crypto Glossary
Plain-English definitions, each reviewed by our editors before publication. Search by term or filter by topic. For structured learning, follow the learning paths.
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Account ModelThe account model is a way of structuring a blockchain's ledger around accounts with balances — like bank accounts — where transactions directly de...AddressAn address is a string of letters and numbers that identifies a destination for cryptocurrency payments — the account identifier you share when you...Address PoisoningAddress poisoning is a scam that plants lookalike addresses in your transaction history, hoping you will copy one of them the next time you send fu...AggregatorAn aggregator is a DeFi service that searches across many venues to find the best available outcome for a user's action — the best swap price, lend...AirdropAn airdrop is a distribution of free tokens to cryptocurrency wallet addresses, typically used by projects to reward early users, decentralize owne...Air GapAn air gap is the deliberate physical separation of a device from all networks, so that the machine holding your private keys never connects to the...Algorithmic StablecoinAn algorithmic stablecoin is a stablecoin that tries to hold its peg primarily through programmed supply adjustments and market incentives rather t...All-Time HighAn all-time high (ATH) is the highest price an asset has ever reached.All-Time LowAn all-time low (ATL) is the lowest price an asset has ever reached.AltcoinAn altcoin is any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin — the word is short for "alternative coin." The term dates from the early years of crypto, when...AMLAML stands for anti-money-laundering: the set of laws, regulations, and internal procedures designed to prevent criminals from disguising illegally...AMMAn AMM, or automated market maker, is a smart contract that prices and executes token trades using a mathematical formula and a pool of deposited a...Approval ExploitAn approval exploit is theft that abuses token approvals, the permissions users grant smart contracts to move tokens on their behalf.APRAPR, or annual percentage rate, is the simple yearly rate of return or cost of an investment or loan, quoted without compounding.APYAPY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly rate of return including the effect of compounding — earning interest on previously earned interest.ArbitrageArbitrage is profiting from price differences for the same asset across different markets by buying where it is cheaper and selling where it is mor...ASICAn ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) is a chip designed to do exactly one job — in crypto, computing a specific mining algorithm as fa...AskAn ask (also called an offer) is an order to sell an asset at a specific price, sitting on the sell side of an exchange's order book.AttestationAn attestation is a signed vote a validator broadcasts to affirm its view of the chain — most prominently on Ethereum, where attestations declare w...
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Bear FlagA bear flag is a continuation pattern in which a sharp decline — the flagpole — is followed by a weak, drifting bounce that slopes gently upward, f...Bear MarketA bear market is a prolonged period of falling prices and pessimistic sentiment, conventionally defined as a decline of 20 percent or more from rec...BidA bid is an offer to buy an asset at a specific price, resting on the buy side of an exchange's order book.BitcoinBitcoin is the first and largest cryptocurrency, launched in January 2009 by the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto as a peer-to-peer electronic...BlockchainA blockchain is a shared digital ledger in which transactions are grouped into blocks, and each new block is cryptographically linked to the previo...Block ExplorerA block explorer is a website or tool that lets anyone browse a blockchain's contents — transactions, addresses, blocks, and balances — much like a...Block HeightBlock height is the position of a block in a blockchain, counted as the number of blocks between it and the very first block.Block RewardA block reward is the payment a miner or validator receives for successfully adding a new block to a blockchain, typically consisting of two parts:...Block TimeBlock time is the average interval between consecutive blocks being added to a blockchain — effectively the heartbeat of the network, determining h...Bollinger BandsBollinger Bands are a volatility indicator consisting of three lines: a moving average in the middle (typically a 20-period simple moving average)...Brain WalletA brain wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet whose private key is derived directly from a phrase the user invents and memorizes, storing the key nowhe...BreakoutA breakout is a move in which price pushes decisively through an established support or resistance level, or out of a pattern such as a range, tria...BridgeA bridge is infrastructure that connects two blockchains so assets or messages can move between them, despite the chains having no native ability t...Bull FlagA bull flag is a continuation pattern in which a sharp upward move — the flagpole — is followed by a brief, shallow pullback or sideways drift that...Bull MarketA bull market is a sustained period of rising prices and optimistic sentiment, when demand outweighs supply and investors broadly expect further ga...Byzantine Fault ToleranceByzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) is a system's ability to keep reaching correct agreement even when some participants fail arbitrarily — including l...
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CandlestickA candlestick is a chart element that summarizes price movement over a fixed period by showing four values: the opening price, the closing price, t...Capital Gains TaxCapital gains tax is the tax owed on the profit made when an asset is sold or otherwise disposed of for more than it cost.CBDCA CBDC, or central bank digital currency, is a digital form of a country's official currency issued directly by its central bank.CEXA CEX, or centralized exchange, is a crypto trading platform operated by a company that holds customer funds, maintains an order book, and matches...CFTCThe CFTC, or Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is the U.S.ChannelA channel is a chart pattern formed by two roughly parallel trendlines that contain price action, with one line connecting the highs and the other...CheckpointA checkpoint is a designated block that a blockchain protocol or its clients treat as a fixed reference point — a block whose place in history is a...Circulating SupplyCirculating supply is the number of units of a cryptocurrency that are publicly available and moving in the market — excluding coins that are locke...Clipboard HijackingClipboard hijacking is a malware technique that silently watches your computer's or phone's clipboard and, when it detects a copied cryptocurrency...CoinA coin is a cryptocurrency that is native to its own blockchain — the asset the network itself issues and uses to pay for security and transaction...Cold WalletA cold wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet whose private keys are kept on a device or medium that is not connected to the internet.CollateralCollateral is an asset a borrower locks into a protocol to guarantee a loan, which the protocol can seize and sell if the loan is not maintained.Collateral RatioThe collateral ratio is the value of a borrower's locked collateral divided by the value of their outstanding debt, usually expressed as a percentage.ComplianceCompliance is the function within a business that ensures it follows the laws, regulations, and internal policies that apply to its activities.ComposabilityComposability is the property that DeFi protocols can plug into one another like building blocks, letting developers combine existing contracts int...Concentrated LiquidityConcentrated liquidity is an automated market maker design that lets liquidity providers allocate their capital to a specific price range rather th...ConfirmationA confirmation is the inclusion of a transaction in a blockchain block, plus each additional block built on top of it — a count of how deeply the t...ConfluenceConfluence is the alignment of multiple independent technical signals at the same price area or moment, which traders treat as strengthening the ca...Consensus MechanismA consensus mechanism is the set of rules and incentives by which a blockchain's independent, mutually distrusting computers agree on a single shar...ConsolidationConsolidation is a period when price moves sideways within a relatively narrow range, with neither buyers nor sellers in control, typically after a...Cost BasisCost basis is the original value of an asset for tax purposes, usually the purchase price plus any acquisition costs such as trading fees.Cross-ChainCross-chain describes any activity, application, or infrastructure that spans more than one blockchain — moving assets from Ethereum to Solana, tri...Crypto-Backed StablecoinA crypto-backed stablecoin is a stablecoin that maintains its peg using other cryptocurrencies as collateral, locked in smart contracts rather than...CryptocurrencyA cryptocurrency is a digital currency that uses cryptography to secure transactions and operates on a decentralized network rather than through a...Cup and HandleA cup and handle is a bullish continuation pattern in which price forms a rounded, U-shaped decline and recovery back to a prior high (the cup), th...Custodial WalletA custodial wallet is a cryptocurrency account where a third party, such as an exchange, holds the private keys on your behalf.CustodyCustody is the question of who actually holds and controls the private keys to cryptocurrency, and therefore who can move it.
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DAIDAI is a decentralized, dollar-pegged stablecoin created by the Maker protocol (whose ecosystem later rebranded around the name Sky).DAOA DAO, or decentralized autonomous organization, is a group that coordinates around shared funds and decisions through rules encoded in smart contr...dAppA dApp (decentralized application) is an application whose core logic runs as smart contracts on a blockchain rather than on a company's servers.Data AvailabilityData availability is the guarantee that the data behind a blockchain's blocks has actually been published so anyone can download it, verify the cha...Day TradingDay trading is opening and closing positions within the same day, so that no trades are held overnight.Death CrossA death cross is a chart signal that occurs when a shorter-term moving average crosses below a longer-term moving average, classically the 50-day d...DeFiDeFi, short for decentralized finance, is a category of financial applications built on public blockchains that let people trade, lend, borrow, and...Delegated Proof of StakeDelegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) is a consensus mechanism in which token holders vote to elect a small, fixed set of block producers who take turns...DelegationDelegation is the act of assigning your governance voting power to another address — a person, team, or organization — who then votes on proposals...DepegA depeg is when a stablecoin's market price moves significantly away from its target value, such as a dollar-pegged token trading at 0.95 or 1.05 i...Depth ChartA depth chart is a visual representation of an order book, showing the cumulative amount of buy and sell orders at each price level.Derivation PathA derivation path is the structured route a wallet follows to generate a specific private key and address from your seed phrase.DerivativesDerivatives are financial contracts whose value derives from the price of an underlying asset rather than from owning the asset itself.DEXA DEX, or decentralized exchange, is a trading venue that runs entirely on a blockchain through smart contracts, letting users swap tokens directly...Difficulty AdjustmentDifficulty adjustment is the mechanism by which a proof-of-work blockchain automatically tunes how hard it is to mine a block, so that blocks keep...Digital AssetA digital asset is anything of value that exists in digital form and can be owned and transferred — in the crypto context, the umbrella term coveri...DivergenceDivergence occurs when price and a momentum indicator move in opposite directions, signaling that the force behind a trend may be weakening even th...DojiA doji is a candlestick whose open and close are at or very near the same price, producing a candle with little or no body and, typically, wicks on...Dollar-Cost AveragingDollar-cost averaging (DCA) is the strategy of investing a fixed amount of money at regular intervals — say weekly or monthly — regardless of the c...Domain NFTA domain NFT is a blockchain-based name — such as alice.eth or alice.crypto — issued as a non-fungible token, so that owning the token means contro...Double BottomA double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern in which price falls to roughly the same low twice, separated by a bounce, and then breaks above the...Double TopA double top is a bearish reversal pattern in which price reaches roughly the same high twice, separated by a pullback, and then breaks below the l...DrawdownDrawdown is the decline in an account or asset's value from a peak to a subsequent trough, usually expressed as a percentage.Dusting AttackA dusting attack is the sending of tiny amounts of cryptocurrency, called dust, to many wallet addresses in order to track, deanonymize, or bait th...DYORDYOR stands for "do your own research" — the crypto community's standard advice to investigate an asset yourself before putting money into it, rath...
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EmissionsEmissions are the new tokens a protocol issues over time according to a predefined schedule, typically distributed as rewards to stakers, liquidity...Energy ConsumptionEnergy consumption, in a crypto context, refers to the electricity used by blockchain networks — overwhelmingly by proof-of-work mining, where the...Engulfing CandleAn engulfing candle is a two-candle reversal pattern in which the second candle's body completely covers the body of the first candle in the opposi...ENSENS (Ethereum Name Service) is a naming system that maps human-readable names ending in .eth to Ethereum addresses and other data, much as DNS maps...EpochAn epoch is a fixed span of time or blocks that a blockchain uses as an organizational unit for scheduling consensus duties, distributing rewards,...ETFAn ETF, or exchange-traded fund, is an investment fund whose shares trade on a stock exchange like an ordinary stock, giving investors exposure to...EthereumEthereum is a blockchain platform, launched in 2015 and proposed by Vitalik Buterin, that goes beyond simple payments by running programmable code...EVMThe EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is the computation engine at the heart of Ethereum: a virtual computer that every node runs identically, executi...ExchangeAn exchange is a marketplace where people buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies — the crypto equivalent of a stock brokerage combined with a tradin...Exit ScamAn exit scam is a fraud in which the operators of a crypto business or project collect user funds, then shut down and disappear with the money.Exponential Moving AverageAn exponential moving average (EMA) is a moving average that gives progressively more weight to recent prices, making it respond faster to new pric...
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FakeoutA fakeout is a failed breakout: price moves beyond a support or resistance level, appears to confirm a new direction, and then quickly reverses bac...FATFThe FATF, or Financial Action Task Force, is an intergovernmental body that sets global standards for combating money laundering and terrorist fina...Fiat-Backed StablecoinA fiat-backed stablecoin is a stablecoin whose value is maintained by reserves of traditional assets — cash, bank deposits, and short-term governme...Fiat CurrencyFiat currency is government-issued money — such as the US dollar, euro, or yen — that is not backed by a physical commodity like gold, deriving its...Fibonacci RetracementFibonacci retracement is a charting tool that projects horizontal levels at fixed percentages of a prior price move — commonly 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 6...FinalityFinality is the guarantee that a blockchain transaction is permanent and cannot be reversed, reordered, or dropped from the ledger.Flash LoanA flash loan is an uncollateralized loan that must be borrowed and fully repaid within a single blockchain transaction — if repayment fails, the en...Floor PriceFloor price is the lowest asking price for any NFT in a collection at a given moment — the cheapest listed item, and therefore the minimum cost of...FOMOFOMO stands for "fear of missing out" — the anxiety-driven urge to buy an asset because its price is soaring and everyone else seems to be profiting.ForkA fork is a divergence in a blockchain — a point where one chain of blocks splits into two possible continuations, either momentarily by accident o...Front-RunningFront-running is trading ahead of a known pending order to profit from the price impact that order will cause.FUDFUD stands for "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" — negative information or sentiment that pressures people into selling or avoiding an asset.Full NodeA full node is a blockchain node that downloads and independently verifies every block and transaction against the network's consensus rules, rathe...Funding RateThe funding rate is a periodic payment exchanged between long and short holders of perpetual futures, designed to keep the perpetual's price anchor...Futures ContractA futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price on a specific future date.
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GameFiGameFi is the combination of gaming and decentralized finance: games whose currencies, characters, and items are blockchain tokens, so that playing...GasGas is the unit that measures how much computational work a transaction requires on Ethereum and similar smart-contract blockchains, and paying for...Gas LimitA gas limit is the maximum amount of gas a transaction is allowed to consume, set by the sender as a ceiling on how much computation — and therefor...Gas PriceGas price is the amount a user pays per unit of gas to have a transaction executed on Ethereum and similar chains — effectively the bid in an ongoi...Generative ArtGenerative art is artwork produced by an algorithm, where the artist writes code that defines a visual system and each output is created by running...Genesis BlockThe genesis block is the very first block of a blockchain — block number zero, from which every subsequent block descends.Golden CrossA golden cross is a chart signal that occurs when a shorter-term moving average crosses above a longer-term moving average, most commonly the 50-da...Governance TokenA governance token is a cryptocurrency that grants its holders voting power over a protocol's decisions — parameter changes, treasury spending, upg...GPU MiningGPU mining is the use of graphics cards to mine cryptocurrency, exploiting their ability to perform many parallel calculations at once.GweiGwei is a unit of ether equal to one billion wei, or one-billionth of an ETH (0.000000001 ETH).
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HalvingThe halving is a scheduled event in Bitcoin's protocol that cuts the block reward — the amount of new bitcoin issued to miners with each block — in...Hard ForkA hard fork is a change to a blockchain's rules that is not backward-compatible: blocks valid under the new rules are rejected by software running...Hardware WalletA hardware wallet is a small physical device built to generate and store cryptocurrency private keys offline and to sign transactions without ever...HashA hash is the fixed-length output produced by running data of any size through a cryptographic hash function — a mathematical one-way fingerprint t...HashpriceHashprice is the expected revenue a miner earns per unit of hash rate over a given period, typically expressed in dollars per terahash per second p...Hash RateHash rate is the measure of how many hash computations a miner, mining pool, or an entire proof-of-work network performs per second while searching...Head and ShouldersA head and shoulders is a reversal chart pattern that marks a potential top: price forms three peaks — a left shoulder, a higher central peak (the...Health FactorA health factor is a single number, used by lending protocols such as Aave, that summarizes how safe a borrowing position is: above 1 the position...Higher HighA higher high is a swing high on a chart that exceeds the previous swing high, and it is one of the two building blocks — along with higher lows —...HODLHODL is crypto slang for holding onto your coins through price swings rather than selling — a deliberate misspelling of "hold" that became the comm...Hot WalletA hot wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet whose private keys are stored on a device connected to the internet, such as a phone, laptop, or web browser.Howey TestThe Howey test is the legal standard U.S.
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Impermanent LossImpermanent loss is the value a liquidity provider gives up, compared with simply holding their tokens, when the prices of the assets in a pool div...IndicatorAn indicator is a mathematical calculation applied to price, volume, or other market data and plotted on or below a chart to help traders interpret...InscriptionAn inscription is a piece of data — an image, text, or other file — permanently embedded in a Bitcoin transaction and attached to a specific satosh...InteroperabilityInteroperability is the ability of different blockchains to exchange assets, data, and messages with one another, despite being separate networks w...IPFSIPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing files, where each file is addressed by a fingerprint of its con...
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Key LoggerA key logger is malicious software or hardware that records everything typed on a device, capturing passwords, two-factor backup codes, and, most d...KYCKYC, short for Know Your Customer, is the process by which a financial service verifies the identity of its users before letting them transact.
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Layer 1A layer 1 is a base blockchain that handles its own consensus, security, and data — the foundation network on which everything else settles.Layer 2A layer 2 is a network built on top of a base blockchain (a layer 1) that processes transactions off the main chain while relying on it for securit...Lending ProtocolA lending protocol is a DeFi application that lets users lend crypto to earn interest and borrow crypto against collateral, with all terms enforced...LeverageLeverage means trading with borrowed funds so that your position is larger than the capital you put up, multiplying both gains and losses.LicenseA license, in the crypto context, is a formal authorization from a government or regulator that permits a company to offer specific financial servi...Light ClientA light client is blockchain software that verifies transactions without downloading the entire chain, storing only compact data such as block head...Lightning NetworkThe Lightning Network is a second-layer payment system built on top of Bitcoin that enables near-instant, very low-fee payments by keeping most tra...Limit OrderA limit order is an instruction to buy or sell only at a specified price or better.LiquidationLiquidation is the forced closure of a leveraged position by an exchange when the trader's margin can no longer cover potential losses.LiquidityLiquidity is how easily an asset can be bought or sold in size without materially moving its price.Liquidity MiningLiquidity mining is an incentive program in which a protocol distributes its own tokens to users who supply liquidity, effectively paying people in...Liquidity PoolA liquidity pool is a smart contract holding reserves of two or more tokens that traders can swap against, with prices set algorithmically by the p...Liquidity ProviderA liquidity provider (LP) is a user who deposits tokens into a liquidity pool so that others can trade against them, earning a share of the pool's...Liquid StakingLiquid staking is a service that stakes your tokens on your behalf and issues a tradable receipt token representing your staked position, so you ke...LongGoing long means taking a position that profits when the price rises: you buy an asset (or a derivative tracking it) expecting to sell later at a h...Lower LowA lower low is a swing low on a chart that falls beneath the previous swing low, and together with lower highs it defines a downtrend in classical...LP TokenAn LP token is a token issued to a liquidity provider as a receipt for their deposit into a liquidity pool, representing their proportional claim o...
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MACDMACD, short for Moving Average Convergence Divergence, is a momentum indicator built from the difference between two exponential moving averages of...MainnetMainnet is the live, production version of a blockchain — the network where transactions move real value, as opposed to testnets where tokens are w...MakerA maker is a trader whose order adds liquidity to the order book instead of executing immediately — typically a limit order placed away from the cu...Maker-Taker FeesMaker-taker fees are the two-tier fee structure most crypto exchanges use: orders that add liquidity to the book (maker orders) pay a lower fee tha...MarginMargin is the collateral a trader deposits to open and maintain a leveraged position.Margin CallA margin call is a demand — or in crypto, usually an automated warning — that a leveraged position's collateral has fallen near the minimum require...Market CapMarket cap (market capitalization) is the total value of a cryptocurrency, calculated by multiplying its current price by its circulating supply.Market MakerA market maker is a firm or trader that continuously quotes both buy and sell prices for an asset, profiting from the spread between them while pro...Market OrderA market order is an instruction to buy or sell immediately at the best price currently available on the order book.MarketplaceA marketplace, in the NFT context, is a platform where NFTs are listed, browsed, bought, and sold — the storefront layer of the NFT economy.Market StructureMarket structure is the framework of swing highs and swing lows that describes the state of a trend: an uptrend is a sequence of higher highs and h...Max SupplyMax supply is the maximum number of units of a cryptocurrency that can ever exist, as fixed by the protocol's rules.Mean ReversionMean reversion is the tendency of prices that have moved far from their recent average to move back toward it, and the trading style built on explo...MempoolThe mempool (memory pool) is the waiting room for blockchain transactions: the set of valid, signed transactions that have been broadcast to the ne...Merchant AdoptionMerchant adoption refers to businesses accepting cryptocurrency as payment for goods and services — a long-watched indicator of whether crypto func...Merkle TreeA Merkle tree is a data structure that summarizes a large set of items in a single hash by repeatedly pairing and hashing: each transaction is hash...MetadataMetadata is the descriptive information attached to a token — for an NFT, typically its name, description, image link, and a list of traits or attr...MetaverseThe metaverse is a broad term for persistent, shared virtual worlds where people interact through avatars — and in crypto, specifically for such wo...MEVMEV, originally 'miner extractable value' and now usually 'maximal extractable value', is the profit that whoever orders transactions in a block ca...MiCAMiCA, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, is the European Union's comprehensive legal framework for crypto assets and the companies that issue...MicropaymentA micropayment is a payment so small — cents or fractions of a cent — that traditional payment systems cannot process it economically, because fixe...MinerA miner is a participant in a proof-of-work blockchain who uses computing hardware to compete for the right to add the next block of transactions,...MiningMining is the process of using computing power to validate transactions and add new blocks to a proof-of-work blockchain, earning newly issued coin...Mining PoolA mining pool is a group of miners who combine their computing power and share block rewards in proportion to the work each contributes.MintingMinting is the act of creating a new token on a blockchain — most often used for NFTs, where minting means writing a brand-new token into a smart c...MomentumMomentum is the rate at which price is changing — how strongly and how fast a market is moving in its current direction.Moving AverageA moving average is an indicator that smooths price data by averaging the closing prices of the last N periods, recalculated as each new period com...MultisigMultisig, short for multi-signature, is a wallet setup that requires more than one private key to approve a transaction.
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Nakamoto ConsensusNakamoto Consensus is the mechanism Bitcoin introduced for reaching agreement in an open network: combine proof of work with a simple rule that nod...NFTAn NFT (non-fungible token) is a blockchain token that represents a unique item, so that one NFT is not interchangeable with another the way one bi...NodeA node is a computer that runs blockchain software and connects to other computers doing the same, together forming the peer-to-peer network that k...NonceA nonce — short for "number used once" — is a value included in data specifically so that the data can be varied or ordered, and in blockchains it...Non-Custodial WalletA non-custodial wallet is a wallet where you, not a company, hold the private keys that control your cryptocurrency.
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Off-RampAn off-ramp is any service that converts cryptocurrency back into traditional money — the exit from blockchain rails into the banking system.OHLCOHLC stands for Open, High, Low, Close — the four prices that summarize trading activity within a single time period on a chart.On-Chain ArtOn-chain art is artwork whose actual content — not just a link to it — is stored on the blockchain itself, so the piece exists as long as the chain...On-RampAn on-ramp is any service that converts traditional money into cryptocurrency — the entry point from the banking system onto blockchain rails.Open InterestOpen interest is the total number of derivative contracts — futures, perpetuals, or options — that are currently open and not yet closed or settled.Optimistic RollupAn optimistic rollup is a layer-2 network that scales a base blockchain by posting batches of transactions to it while assuming — optimistically —...OptionsOptions are contracts that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (a call) or sell (a put) an asset at a set price — the strike —...OracleAn oracle is a service that supplies blockchains with information from the outside world — prices, weather, sports results, or data from other chai...Order BookAn order book is the live list of all outstanding buy and sell orders for a trading pair on an exchange, organized by price.OrdinalsOrdinals is a protocol that makes NFT-like assets possible on Bitcoin by numbering individual satoshis — the smallest units of bitcoin — and attach...Orphan BlockAn orphan block is a valid block that was mined and briefly part of a blockchain but ended up excluded from the final chain, usually because two mi...OTC TradingOTC (over-the-counter) trading is buying or selling crypto directly between two parties, off the public exchange order books, usually through a spe...OverboughtOverbought describes a market condition in which price has risen unusually far or fast relative to its recent history, as measured by a momentum os...OvercollateralizationOvercollateralization means backing a loan or a token with collateral worth more than the amount issued, creating a safety buffer against price swi...OversoldOversold describes a market condition in which price has fallen unusually far or fast relative to its recent history, as measured by a momentum osc...
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Paper WalletA paper wallet is a physical document containing a cryptocurrency private key and its public address, usually printed as QR codes and text.PassphraseA passphrase, in the wallet context, is an optional extra word or sentence added on top of a seed phrase to derive a completely separate set of wal...Payment ChannelA payment channel is a technique that lets two parties transact many times off-chain while only recording two transactions on the blockchain: one t...Payment RailA payment rail is the underlying infrastructure that moves money from a payer to a payee — the network, rules, and settlement system beneath a paym...PegA peg is the fixed target value a stablecoin aims to track, most commonly one US dollar per token, though pegs to the euro, gold, and other assets...Perpetual FuturesPerpetual futures (perps) are derivative contracts that track an asset's price and can be held indefinitely, because unlike traditional futures the...PFPA PFP (profile picture) NFT is one designed to be used as a social media avatar, typically part of a large collection of algorithmically generated...PhishingPhishing is the practice of impersonating a trusted party, such as an exchange, wallet provider, or well-known project, to trick you into revealing...Play-to-EarnPlay-to-earn (P2E) is a game model in which players earn crypto tokens or NFTs through gameplay and can sell them for real money.Pool FeeA pool fee is the small percentage charged on every swap through a liquidity pool, paid by the trader and distributed to the pool's liquidity provi...Portfolio RebalancingPortfolio rebalancing is periodically adjusting your holdings back to their intended target weights after market moves have shifted them.PositionA position is a trader's current holding or exposure in an asset — the amount bought (a long position) or sold/borrowed against (a short position)...Position SizingPosition sizing is deciding how much capital to commit to a single trade or investment, so that no individual loss can seriously damage your account.Private KeyA private key is the secret number that controls a cryptocurrency address — whoever knows it can spend the funds, and no one without it can.Proof of AuthorityProof of Authority (PoA) is a consensus mechanism in which a small set of pre-approved, identified validators take turns producing blocks, with the...Proof of HistoryProof of History (PoH) is a cryptographic technique, used by Solana, that creates a verifiable ordering of events over time by running a sequential...Proof of ReservesProof of reserves is a method by which an exchange or custodian demonstrates that it actually holds the assets it owes its customers.Proof of StakeProof of stake (PoS) is a consensus mechanism in which the right to produce and confirm blocks is assigned to validators in proportion to cryptocur...Proof of WorkProof of work (PoW) is a consensus mechanism in which participants compete to add the next block by expending real computational effort, proving th...ProposalA proposal is a formal request put before a DAO or protocol's token holders to make a specific change — adjusting a parameter, spending treasury fu...Public KeyA public key is the shareable half of a cryptographic key pair, derived mathematically from your private key and used to verify that transactions w...Pump and DumpA pump and dump is a manipulation scheme in which organizers accumulate a cheap, thinly traded asset, artificially inflate its price through coordi...
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Recovery PhraseA recovery phrase is the sequence of words a wallet gives you at setup that can restore full access to your funds on any compatible device; it is a...RemittanceA remittance is money sent by a person in one country to a recipient in another, typically by migrant workers supporting family at home.ReorgA reorg (chain reorganization) is an event in which a blockchain node abandons blocks it had accepted because a competing branch of the chain prove...Reserve AttestationA reserve attestation is a report by an independent accounting firm stating that, at a specific moment, a stablecoin issuer held reserves matching...ResistanceResistance is a price level or zone where rising prices have historically stalled or reversed because selling pressure outweighed buying interest.RestakingRestaking is the practice of using tokens that are already staked to secure one network as collateral to secure additional protocols at the same ti...Risk-Reward RatioThe risk-reward ratio compares how much you stand to lose on a trade if your stop-loss is hit against how much you stand to gain if your target is...RollupA rollup is a layer-2 scaling design that executes transactions off the main blockchain, then "rolls up" hundreds or thousands of them into a singl...RouterA router is the smart contract in a decentralized exchange that receives a user's swap request and directs it through the right liquidity pool or s...RoyaltiesRoyalties are a percentage of each NFT resale that is paid to the original creator, on top of the sale price.RSIRSI, the Relative Strength Index, is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes on a scale from 0 to 100,...Rug PullA rug pull is a scam in which a crypto project's creators attract investor funds and then abruptly drain them, most often by removing the liquidity...
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SanctionsSanctions are legal restrictions that governments impose to prohibit dealings with specific countries, entities, or individuals, typically for nati...Sandwich AttackA sandwich attack is a form of front-running in which a bot places one trade immediately before a victim's pending swap and another immediately aft...SatoshiA satoshi is the smallest unit of bitcoin, equal to one hundred-millionth of one BTC (0.00000001 BTC).ScalpingScalping is an ultra-short-term trading style that aims to capture many small price moves, holding positions for seconds to minutes and closing the...SECThe SEC, or U.S.Secure ElementA secure element is a dedicated tamper-resistant chip designed to store secrets, such as cryptocurrency private keys, and to perform cryptographic...SecuritiesSecurities are tradable financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds, that typically represent an investment in a common enterprise with the exp...Seed PhraseA seed phrase is a list of ordinary words, usually 12 or 24, that encodes the master secret from which a wallet derives all of its private keys and...Self-CustodySelf-custody means holding your own private keys, so you alone control your cryptocurrency without relying on an exchange or other third party.Selfish MiningSelfish mining is an attack strategy in which a miner who finds a new block keeps it secret and continues mining privately, releasing withheld bloc...SettlementSettlement is the moment a payment or trade becomes final — when the asset actually changes hands irrevocably, as opposed to when it merely appears...ShardingSharding is a scaling technique that splits a blockchain's workload across multiple parallel segments — shards — so the network can process more th...ShortGoing short means taking a position that profits when the price falls.SidechainA sidechain is a separate blockchain that runs alongside a main chain and connects to it through a two-way bridge, letting assets move between the...Simple Moving AverageA simple moving average (SMA) is the arithmetic mean of an asset's closing prices over a fixed number of periods, plotted as a line that updates wi...SIM SwapA SIM swap is an attack in which a criminal takes control of your mobile phone number by convincing or bribing a telecom carrier to transfer it to...SlashingSlashing is a penalty mechanism in proof-of-stake networks that destroys a portion of a validator's staked tokens when the validator provably break...SlippageSlippage is the difference between the price you expected for a trade and the price you actually got.Smart ContractA smart contract is a program stored on a blockchain that runs automatically when its conditions are met, holding and moving funds according to its...Social RecoverySocial recovery is a wallet design that lets you regain access to your funds through a group of trusted parties, called guardians, instead of relyi...Soft ForkA soft fork is a backward-compatible change to a blockchain's rules that tightens what counts as valid: blocks created under the new rules still lo...Soulbound TokenA soulbound token (SBT) is a token that cannot be transferred: once issued to a wallet, it stays there permanently, or can only be revoked by the i...Spear PhishingSpear phishing is phishing aimed at a specific person or organization, using researched personal details to make the deception convincing.Spot ETFA spot ETF is an exchange-traded fund that directly holds the underlying asset, so its share price tracks the asset's current market, or "spot," pr...Spot TradingSpot trading is buying or selling an asset for immediate delivery at the current market price — the "spot" price.SpreadThe spread is the difference between the best bid (highest buy order) and the best ask (lowest sell order) for a trading pair.StablecoinA stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, most commonly one unit of a fiat currency such as the US dollar.Stablecoin RegulationStablecoin regulation refers to the laws and rules governing tokens designed to hold a steady value, typically pegged to a fiat currency like the U.S.StakingStaking is the act of locking up cryptocurrency to help secure a proof-of-stake blockchain, in exchange for rewards paid in that network's token.Staking PoolA staking pool is a service that combines many holders' coins so they can collectively participate in proof-of-stake validation and share the rewar...Stop HuntA stop hunt is a price move that pushes briefly through a level where many stop-loss orders are clustered, triggers them, and then reverses.Stop-Limit OrderA stop-limit order combines a stop trigger with a limit order: when the market reaches your stop price, the exchange places a limit order at a pric...Stop-Loss OrderA stop-loss order is an instruction to close a position automatically if the price moves against you to a predefined level, limiting how much you c...SupportSupport is a price level or zone where falling prices have historically stopped declining because buying interest absorbed the selling pressure.SwapA swap is the direct exchange of one cryptocurrency for another in a single transaction, most commonly executed against a liquidity pool on a decen...Swing TradingSwing trading is a style that holds positions for several days to a few weeks, aiming to capture a single meaningful "swing" in price rather than i...
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Take-Profit OrderA take-profit order is an instruction to close a position automatically once the price reaches a target in your favor, locking in gains without req...TakerA taker is a trader whose order executes immediately against orders already resting on the book, thereby removing (taking) liquidity from the market.Taxable EventA taxable event is any transaction or occurrence that triggers a tax obligation, requiring the gain, loss, or income to be reported.Tax-Loss HarvestingTax-loss harvesting is the practice of deliberately selling assets that have fallen below their purchase price in order to realize a capital loss,...TestnetA testnet is a parallel version of a blockchain that exists for experimentation: it runs the same software as the real network but uses tokens with...TickerA ticker is the short symbol used to identify a cryptocurrency on exchanges and price charts — such as BTC for bitcoin, ETH for ether, and SOL for...TimeframeA timeframe is the length of time each candle or bar on a chart represents, such as one minute, one hour, four hours, one day, or one week.TokenA token is a crypto asset created and managed by a smart contract on an existing blockchain, rather than being the blockchain's own native currency.Token ApprovalA token approval is an on-chain permission you grant a smart contract to spend a specific token from your wallet, up to a chosen amount.TokenomicsTokenomics is the economic design of a cryptocurrency token — how many exist, how new ones are created or destroyed, who receives them, on what sch...Token UnlockA token unlock is the scheduled release of previously locked tokens — typically allocations belonging to a project's team, investors, or foundation...Total SupplyTotal supply is the number of units of a cryptocurrency that currently exist — all coins or tokens created so far, minus any that have been verifia...TOTPTOTP, or Time-based One-Time Password, is the standard behind the six-digit codes that authenticator apps generate for two-factor authentication.Trailing StopA trailing stop is a stop order that automatically follows the price as it moves in your favor, staying a fixed distance or percentage behind, and...TransactionA transaction is a signed instruction that transfers cryptocurrency or interacts with a blockchain — the basic unit of activity every blockchain re...Travel RuleThe Travel Rule is a regulatory requirement that financial institutions transmitting funds must pass along identifying information about the sender...TreasuryA treasury is the pool of funds a DAO or protocol collectively owns and controls, used to pay contributors, fund development, provide grants, and s...TrendlineA trendline is a straight line drawn on a chart connecting a series of rising lows in an uptrend or falling highs in a downtrend, used to visualize...Triangle PatternA triangle pattern is a consolidation formation in which price swings become progressively smaller, so that trendlines drawn along the highs and lo...TVLTVL, or total value locked, is the combined dollar value of all crypto assets deposited in a DeFi protocol's smart contracts — the deposits in its...Two-Factor AuthenticationTwo-factor authentication (2FA) is a login protection that requires a second proof of identity beyond your password, so that a stolen password alon...
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Uncle BlockAn uncle block is a valid block that lost the race to be included in the main chain but was still referenced and partially rewarded — a concept use...Unstaking PeriodAn unstaking period is the mandatory waiting time between requesting to withdraw staked tokens and actually receiving them, imposed by many proof-o...USDCUSDC (USD Coin) is a fiat-backed stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and issued by Circle, a US-based company.USDTUSDT, also called Tether, is a fiat-backed stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and issued by Tether Limited.UTXOA UTXO (unspent transaction output) is a discrete chunk of cryptocurrency that has been received but not yet spent, and it is the basic unit of acc...
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ValidatorA validator is a participant in a proof-of-stake blockchain who locks up (stakes) the network's cryptocurrency for the right to propose and attest...Validator SetA validator set is the group of validators currently authorized to propose blocks and vote on their validity in a proof-of-stake or BFT-style block...VASPA VASP, or virtual asset service provider, is a business that conducts crypto-related financial services on behalf of customers, such as exchanging...VaultA vault is a smart contract that pools users' deposits and automatically deploys them into a yield-generating strategy, handling the work of farmin...VestingVesting is a schedule that releases allocated tokens gradually over time instead of all at once, typically applied to the allocations of a project'...Virtual MachineA virtual machine, in blockchain, is the standardized execution environment that every node runs to process smart contracts identically — a softwar...VolatilityVolatility is the degree to which an asset's price fluctuates over time — the statistical measure of how large and frequent its swings are.VolumeVolume is the total amount of a cryptocurrency traded during a given period, usually reported as a dollar value over 24 hours.Volume ProfileVolume profile is a charting tool that displays traded volume by price level rather than by time, drawn as a horizontal histogram along the side of...
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WalletA wallet is software or hardware that stores the cryptographic keys controlling your cryptocurrency and lets you send, receive, and manage it.Wallet DrainerA wallet drainer is malicious code, typically embedded in a scam website, that tricks visitors into signing transactions or approvals which transfe...Wash TradingWash trading is trading with yourself — or with a colluding party — to create the appearance of market activity without any real change in ownershi...Web3Web3 is an umbrella term for an internet built on blockchains, where users hold their own assets and identity in wallets instead of in accounts con...WeiWei is the smallest unit of ether, Ethereum's native currency: one ETH equals 10^18 wei, or a quintillion wei.WhaleA whale is an individual or entity holding a very large amount of a cryptocurrency — enough that their buying or selling can move the market.WhitepaperA whitepaper is a document published by a crypto project that explains what it is building, how the technology works, and why it matters — the foun...WickA wick, also called a shadow or tail, is the thin line extending above or below a candlestick's body, marking prices that traded during the period...
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Zero-Knowledge ProofA zero-knowledge proof is a cryptographic method by which one party can prove a statement is true without revealing any information beyond the fact...ZK-RollupA ZK-rollup is a layer-2 network that scales a base blockchain by executing transactions off-chain and posting each batch together with a zero-know...