157 terms, all written for someone who has never heard any of them before. The A to Z below filters as you type.
By theme
Seven sections
If you would rather read a topic than hunt for a word.
15 terms
Foundations
The words you need before anything else makes sense.
Start reading24 termsTrading
Market vocabulary, from spread to liquidation.
Start reading20 termsDeFi
Decentralized finance, pools, yield and the risks underneath.
Start reading23 termsCulture
The slang, the memes and what they actually mean.
Start reading22 termsSecurity
Attacks, defenses and the vocabulary of staying safe.
Start reading34 termsTechnology
How the machinery works underneath.
Start reading19 termsWeb3
Ownership, identity and applications beyond finance.
Start readingA to Z
Every term, alphabetically
A
Account abstractionMaking wallets programmable, so accounts can have custom rules.AddressYour public destination for receiving funds, derived from your public key.Address poisoningPlanting a lookalike address in your history so you copy the wrong one.AirdropFree tokens distributed to past users of a protocol.All time high (ATH)The highest price an asset has ever reached.AlphaInformation or an edge not yet widely known.AMMAn automated market maker, which prices trades with a formula instead of an order book.Ape inBuying quickly and heavily with minimal research.AppchainA blockchain dedicated to a single application.Arweave and the permawebStorage you pay for once, intended to last for centuries.
B
BagholderSomeone still holding an asset well after it collapsed.Bear marketA long stretch of falling prices, usually a drawdown of 70 percent or more in crypto.BlockA batch of transactions added to the chain at one time.Block explorerA website for reading everything on a blockchain.Block timeHow often a new block is produced on a given network.BlockchainA shared record of transactions that no single party controls.BridgeInfrastructure for moving assets between blockchains.Bull marketA sustained period of rising prices and rising optimism.
C
CandlestickA chart bar showing open, high, low and close for one period.CapitulationThe point where holders give up and sell regardless of price.CEXA centralized exchange, where a company holds your funds and matches trades.Chart patternsRecurring shapes traders use to anticipate what price might do next.Circulating and total supplyHow many tokens exist now versus how many will exist eventually.Cold storageKeys kept on a device that never connects to the internet.ComposabilityProtocols snapping together like building blocks, because they are all public.ConfirmationHow many blocks have been built on top of the one containing your transaction.ConsensusHow a distributed network agrees on which transactions are valid and in what order.Cross chain messagingSending instructions, not just assets, between blockchains.CustodyWho actually controls the keys to an asset.
D
DAOA decentralized autonomous organization, coordinated by token votes and contracts.dAppA decentralized application, where the backend is a smart contract rather than a company server.Data availabilityThe guarantee that transaction data was actually published for anyone to read.Decentralized identity (DID)Proving who you are without a platform vouching for you.DeFiFinancial services built as open smart contracts instead of companies.DegenShort for degenerate, worn as a badge by high risk traders.DepegWhen a stablecoin loses its intended price.DePINDecentralized physical infrastructure networks, where people are paid in tokens to provide real world capacity.DEXA decentralized exchange, where you trade directly from your own wallet.Diamond handsHolding through severe drawdowns without selling.Dollar cost averaging (DCA)Buying a fixed amount on a schedule instead of all at once.Due diligence (DYOR)Checking a project yourself before putting money in.Dusting attackTiny amounts sent to your wallet to track or bait you.
E
F
FaucetA service that gives away free testnet tokens.FinalityThe point at which a transaction can no longer be reversed.Flash loanAn uncollateralised loan that must be borrowed and repaid in a single transaction.Floor priceThe cheapest listed item in an NFT collection.FOMOFear of missing out, and the most reliable way to buy a local top.ForkA change to the rules, or a split into two chains.Front runningActing on knowledge of a pending transaction before it executes.FUDFear, uncertainty and doubt, whether the concern is real or manufactured.Fully diluted valuation (FDV)What the market cap would be if every token existed today.Funding rateThe periodic payment between longs and shorts in a perpetual market.
G
GameFi and play to earnGames where in game assets are real tokens the player owns and can sell.GasThe fee you pay to have the network process your transaction.Gas warBidding fees up sharply when many people compete for the same block space.GMGood morning, the standard greeting across crypto social media.Governance tokenA token that grants voting rights over how a protocol is run.GweiA billionth of an ETH, and the unit gas prices are quoted in.
H
HalvingThe scheduled 50 percent cut in Bitcoin's block reward, roughly every four years.Hardware walletA dedicated device that keeps your keys offline and signs transactions internally.HashA fixed length fingerprint of any piece of data.HODLHolding through volatility instead of trading, from a famous 2013 typo.HoneypotA token you can buy but cannot sell, by design.Hot walletA wallet on an internet connected device.
I
Impermanent lossThe gap between providing liquidity and simply holding the two assets.IndexerInfrastructure that makes blockchain data queryable.InteroperabilityBlockchains being able to read and act on each other state.IPFSA content addressed file system used to store data that blockchains point at.
L
Layer 1A base blockchain that settles its own transactions.Layer 2A network that processes transactions off chain but settles to a layer 1.Layer 3A chain built on top of a layer 2, usually for one application.LeverageBorrowing to increase position size, which multiplies both gains and losses.Limit orderAn order to trade only at a price you choose or better.LiquidationForced closure of a leveraged position when your collateral runs out.LiquidityHow much you can buy or sell without moving the price much.Liquidity poolA shared pot of two tokens that traders swap against.LP tokenA receipt proving your share of a liquidity pool.
M
MainnetThe live network where real value moves.Market capPrice multiplied by circulating supply. Far more useful than price alone.Market orderAn order to trade immediately at whatever price is available.MaxiA maximalist who believes one chain will win and the rest are noise.Meme coinA token whose value comes from attention and community rather than utility.MempoolThe waiting room where broadcast transactions sit before being included in a block.MEVValue extracted by reordering, inserting or censoring transactions in a block.MiningCompeting to produce blocks on a proof of work chain in exchange for rewards.MoonA very large upward price move. To the moon.MultisigA wallet that needs several signatures before anything moves.
N
Name serviceHuman readable names that resolve to blockchain addresses.NFTA non fungible token, a unique onchain record of ownership.NGMINot going to make it, aimed at bad decisions rather than people.NodeA computer that keeps a copy of the blockchain and checks the rules.NormieSomeone outside crypto, used affectionately more often than not.
O
Onchain and offchainWhether something is recorded on the blockchain itself or stored somewhere else.Optimistic rollupA rollup that assumes transactions are valid unless someone proves otherwise.OracleA service that brings outside data, usually prices, onto a blockchain.Order bookThe live list of buy and sell orders waiting to be matched.
P
Paper handsSelling quickly at the first sign of trouble.Perpetual (perp)A futures contract with no expiry, kept in line by a funding rate.PFPProfile picture, and the NFT collections built around them.PhishingTricking you into revealing keys or signing a malicious transaction.Position sizingDeciding how much to risk on a single trade, which matters more than entry.Private keyThe secret number that controls your funds. Whoever has it owns the coins.Proof of stakeSecuring a chain by requiring validators to lock capital they can lose.Proof of workSecuring a chain by making block production computationally expensive.Public keyDerived from your private key, and used to verify your signatures.Pump and dumpCoordinated buying to inflate a price, followed by insiders selling into the excitement.
R
RektWrecked. Suffering a severe loss, usually through leverage.RestakingReusing staked assets to secure additional services, for additional yield and risk.Risk managementThe rules that keep one bad decision from ending your participation.RollupA layer 2 that bundles many transactions into one settlement on the base chain.Rug pullWhen a project team abandons it and takes the money.RWAReal world assets tokenized so they can move and settle onchain.
S
Sandwich attackA bot buys before your swap and sells after it, taking the difference.Seed phraseTwelve or twenty four words that regenerate every key in your wallet.Self custodyHolding your own keys, with everything that follows from that.Session keysTemporary limited permissions so an app can act without prompting you constantly.ShardingSplitting a blockchain into parallel pieces to increase capacity.ShillPromoting an asset you hold, often without disclosing that you hold it.SidechainAn independent chain connected to another by a bridge, with its own security.SIM swapAn attacker takes over your phone number to defeat SMS two factor authentication.SlashingConfiscating part of a validator's stake as a penalty.SlippageThe gap between the price you expected and the price you got.Smart accountA wallet that is a programmable contract instead of a plain key pair.Smart contractCode deployed on a blockchain that runs exactly as written.SnapshotA recorded moment of blockchain state, used to decide eligibility.SocialFiSocial networks where the graph and the content belong to users rather than the platform.Soulbound tokenA token that cannot be transferred, used to represent something earned rather than bought.SpreadThe gap between the best buy price and the best sell price.StablecoinA token designed to hold a steady value, almost always one US dollar.StakingLocking tokens to help secure a proof of stake network, earning rewards.Support and resistancePrice zones where buyers or sellers have repeatedly stepped in.Sybil resistanceStopping one person from pretending to be thousands.
T
TestnetA practice network with worthless tokens, used for development and learning.Token approvalPermission you grant a contract to spend your tokens.Token gatingRestricting access to something based on what a wallet holds.Token standardA shared interface so wallets and apps can handle any token.TokenomicsThe supply, distribution and incentive design of a token.TransactionA signed instruction to change the state of the blockchain.TrendThe prevailing direction of price over a chosen timeframe.TVLTotal value locked, the dollar value of assets held in a protocol.Two factor authenticationA second proof of identity beyond your password.
V
W
WAGMIWe are all going to make it, an expression of collective optimism.WalletSoftware that holds your keys and signs transactions. It does not hold your coins.Wallet drainerMalicious code that empties a wallet in one signature.Wash tradingTrading with yourself to fake volume and interest.Web2 vs Web3The difference is who owns the account, the data and the exit.Web3The idea of an internet where users own their accounts, data and assets.WhaleA holder large enough that their trades move the market.Wrapped tokenA token on one chain that represents an asset held on another.
Still lost in the jargon?
Half the difficulty in crypto is that everyone uses shorthand nobody defines. On a session you can ask whatever you want, including the questions that feel too basic to ask in public.