When I first started exploring the crypto world by joining forums and social media groups, I struggled to understand many of the terms members were using.
Despite having a background in finance, most of the jargon felt completely foreign to me.
After a month or two, I finally began to grasp the meanings of these terms and when they were used.
As a beginner, you might face the same challenges I did, so I’ve put together a list of common slang terms used in crypto communities to help you get up to speed faster.
Keep in mind that as the crypto community continues to evolve, new terms are constantly being added.
Let’s dive into the list.
At first glance, “HODL” might seem like a typo for “HOLD” — and you’d be correct.
The term originated from a post on the Bitcointalk forum in 2013, where a member accidentally misspelled “hold” during a rant about their poor trading skills.
The post went viral, and “HODL” has since become an acronym meaning “Hold On for Dear Life.” It refers to holding onto a cryptocurrency even during market downturns, waiting for its value to rise again.
Another misspelling, “REKT,” comes from the gaming world and is derived from “wrecked.”
In the crypto world, it refers to being financially ruined or losing a significant amount of money on a particular cryptocurrency.
FOMO stands for “Fear Of Missing Out.”
It’s the anxiety that arises when traders worry about missing a profitable investment opportunity, often leading them to make impulsive decisions.
The term originated in social media and has even been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
FUD stands for “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.”
It describes a situation where someone spreads negative information about a cryptocurrency to create fear and doubt, often to manipulate the market.
This phrase is used when the price of a cryptocurrency rises dramatically. When traders believe that a coin’s value will continue to soar, they say it’s going “to the moon.”
ATH stands for “All-Time High,” referring to the highest price ever reached by a particular cryptocurrency.
The opposite of ATH, ATL stands for “All-Time Low,” referring to the lowest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached.
In the crypto world, a “whale” is a trader with a significant amount of capital. These individuals can often influence the market by making large trades.
Market cap refers to the total market capitalization of a cryptocurrency, which is used to rank its size compared to others.
Altcoin stands for “alternative coins,” which refers to any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.
As the name suggests, a “shitcoin” is an altcoin with little to no value or practical use.
DYOR stands for “Do Your Own Research.” It’s a reminder to not blindly follow others’ advice and to carefully evaluate any investment decisions.
ICO stands for “Initial Coin Offering.” It’s a method used by crypto startups to raise capital through crowdfunding, similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
IEO stands for “Initial Exchange Offering,” another method of raising capital for crypto startups, but through a specific exchange platform rather than crowdfunding.
An airdrop refers to the initial distribution of a new token to users who hold a specific asset on a blockchain. It’s a way of distributing new tokens to users as a reward or promotion.
OTC stands for “Over The Counter.” It refers to transactions made outside of an exchange, often peer-to-peer through private trades.
BTD stands for “Buy The Dip.” It’s a suggestion to buy a cryptocurrency when its price declines, based on the belief that it will rise again.
The opposite of BTD, STH stands for “Sell The High,” which is the decision to sell a cryptocurrency when its price is going up.
The mempool is a pool of unconfirmed transactions in Bitcoin.
Fiat refers to centralized currencies like the Dollar or Euro.
A fork occurs when a cryptocurrency splits into two different cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), or Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
Key pairs are a pairing of public and private keys used in cryptocurrency transactions.
Nodes are used to store blockchain data and validate transactions.
Gas is a fee you pay on the Ethereum network for conducting transactions, creating smart contracts, or launching decentralized applications (DApps).
A privacy coin is a cryptocurrency that focuses on anonymity and non-traceability.
The smallest unit of Bitcoin, with one Bitcoin equal to 100,000,000 satoshis.
UTXO stands for “Unspent Transaction Outputs,” which occur when nodes validate transactions on the network.
A shill is someone who promotes an altcoin for their own benefit.
ASIC stands for “Application-Specific Integrated Circuit.” It refers to mining hardware specifically designed for cryptocurrency mining.
DAO stands for “Decentralized Autonomous Organization.” These organizations are managed through smart contracts on a blockchain.
“Lambo” is short for “Lamborghini.” It’s a term used when a cryptocurrency’s price rises so much that it could allow the holder to purchase a Lamborghini.
“ADDY” is slang for a cryptocurrency address.
After reading this list, you should have a better understanding of the terms commonly used in crypto communities, helping you navigate the space more confidently.
Let me know which terms you’ve come across before and didn’t understand.
