Words to Know so n00bs get Lambo To The Moon

2 Factor Authentication (2FA)

2 Factor Authentication is a double layer security measure. Most crypto exchanges use it. In order to log in, you not only need to enter a password, but also a code that you receive from the Google authenticator for example.

Address or ADDY

An address is comparable to a bank account number. It is a unique collection of numbers and letters. This identification code is required to carry out a blockchain transaction and is unique for each owner

Airdrop

An airdrop is a way to distribute coins. End users can generally get coins for free or in exchange for a small task, such as subscribing to a newsletter, sending a tweet or inviting other people via a personal affiliate link. The opportunities and dangers of an airdrop are described in detail in this article: What is an airdrop?

Alphanumeric

Alphanumeric is something, like a code or password, that consists of both letters and numbers.

Altcoin

An altcoin is any cryptocurrency or token created after the Bitcoin was developed.

ATH

ATH is the abbreviation of ‘All Time High’ and means the highest price ever paid for a particular coin. ATH is also often used to indicate that someone’s total portfolio has reached the highest value ever.

ATL

ATL stands for ‘all-time-low’ and is the opposite of ATH, or ‘all-time-high’. ATL is used to indicate that the price of a coin or the entire wallet of a person is at the lowest level ever in terms of value.

Bear / Bearish

A ‘bearish’ market means that the complete (crypto) market trend is in a downward spiral. The opposite of ‘bearish’ is called ‘bullish’.

Bear flag

A bear flag is an indication on the price chart that the market is probably going to start a downwards trend. This is the opposite of a ‘bull flag’.

Bear Trap

A bear trap is the opposite of a bull trap. This is when there are false signals on the price chart that a downtrend is coming. This can be a trigger for traders to take a short position. However, the price will rise again and the traders are lured into the trap and lose money with their short positions.

Bitcoin Pizza

The first known Bitcoin purchase ever. At the time this pizza was bought for 10.000 bitcoins, which would be worth a fortune today.

Block

A block is a file in which blockchain data, like transactions, is stored. Each block relates to it’s previous block, making it a chain. This is why it’s called ‘Blockchain’. Most blockchains have a predetermined maximum file size per block. The first block in a blockchain is called the ‘genesis block’.

Blockchain

The blockchain is a technique that makes it possible to safely store data in a decentralized way. This data can be money, but it could be other data as well. Also read this extensive explanation about blockchain.

Bull market

A bull market is the condition of a financial markets where the prices of securities are rising or expected to rise. This concept can now also be applied to the crypto market. Prices rise and fall every day, but the term bull market is only reserverd for longer periods of rising prices. This can be a duration of months or even years. The opposite of this is called a ‘bear market’.

Bull Trap

A bulltrap is a false signal (during a bear market) that the price will go up again. However, after a short rise, the price drops again sharply.

Bullish

A bullish market means that the complete (crypto) market is in an upward trend. The opposite of bullish is bearish.

Centralized

Centralized means that one particular organization has control. For example, governments and companies are centralized. The opposite of centralized is decentralized, such as the Internet and the blockchain.

Circulating Supply

The total number of freely tradable coins of a cryptocurrency or token.

CMC

CMC is the abbreviation of Coinmarketcap. This is one of the first websites to list cryptocurrencies and exchanges

Coin

A Coin is the umbrella term for cryptocurrencies and tokens.

Cold Storage

Cold storage refers to storing cryptocurrency in a place where the private key cannot be accessed via the internet. This can be done on a hardware wallet, paper wallet or software wallet in an offline environment.

Cold Wallet

A cold wallet is a wallet for storing cryptocurrency where the private key is not exposed to the Internet.

Confirmation

A new transaction on a blockchain must first get a confirmation before it has been definitively processed. This is done by one of the consensus mechanisms, such as proof-of-work and proof-of-stake. The more confirmations, the greater the chance that the transaction is valid and a double spend is no longer possible.

Correction

A correction is a price movement (up or down) after the price has risen or fallen. This is caused by traders that want to cash in their profits. This occurs with both long and short positions.

DeFi

DeFi is the abbreviation of ‘Decentralized Finance’. It can be defined as a new financial ecosystem consisting of various financial tools, apps and services utilizing blockchain technology. It’s an umbrella term for all these projects combined and is growing daily. Examples of DeFi functionality are banking services in the form of stablecoins, decentralized exchanges, derivatives, prediction markets, or lending and borrowing systems. The last one can be either peer-to-peer or with a pool. It is a combination of replicating products and services in the traditional finance industry as well as innovative new ones only possible with blockchain technology.

Dip

A ‘Dip’ is a rapid decrease in the value of, for example, a cryptocurrency or an entire market. It is less strong than a ‘crash’ and can also quickly recover to the old price level. Also read this extensive explanation about a ‘dip’.

Exchange

An exchange is a place where you can buy and sell different kinds of cryptocurrencies and tokens. These coins can then be deposited back to a wallet, which supports the coin. Sometimes it’s also possible to convert it to dollars. This is an overview with all exchanges.

Fiat

Fiat money relates to all currencies issued by governments. Examples are the Euro (EUR), American dollar (USD) and Chinese Yuan (CNY).

Fiat Currency

Fiat currency or also simply called fiat is money issued by a government or organizations that are allowed to issue it, like banks for example. It doesnt have any value by itself and is for decades not backed by gold anymore either. It instead remains value based on the trust by the people. Once the trust goes away it will decrease in value and could eventually cause hyperinflation.

FOMO

FOMO is the abbreviation for ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ and is used in regard to people who are afraid they are missing the boat and therefore take a position in a coin.

Genesis block

The ‘Genesis Block’ is the first block in the blockchain of a cryptocurrency.

Hard Fork

A hard fork is a major change in the Blockchain protocol. A hard hork requires all nodes to upgrade to the latest version of the protocol software. Usually there is a transition period where the miners can show their support of the hard fork. Once a date is set via a specific block number, everybody will need to have updated their software by that time. The ones that fail to upgrade could cause a chain split. The chain with the highest number of nodes or hashrate will be seen as the original chain.

HODL

HODL is a wrong spelling of ‘hold’. This spelling mistake was once made by someone accidentally or intentionally on a forum. Since then, this term has been used to indicate that you keep or should be holding your position.

ICO

An ‘initial coin offering’ (ICO) can be compared a bit with an IPO. Investors get an opportunity to invest in a certain coin for the first time. The difference with the stock market however is that a company has to meet all kinds of requirements before the IPO can take place. The market of ICO’s is much less regulated. Therefore, it happens more often that an ICO is fraudulent.

Lambo

Lambo is an abbreviation of Lamborghini, a fast Italian car. In the crypto world this is often used to ask when the price is going to rise sharply, so that he can pay for such a car. In general, it is written: ‘When Lambo? An alternative is: ‘When Moon?

Market Capitalization (Market Cap)

The marketcap shows the total value of all coins together. Many beginners make the mistake to only look at the unit price of a coin to decide if the coin in question is worth much or little. The marketcap is a more suitable instrument for this.

Maximum supply (Max Supply)

This is the maximum number of coins that will exist for a token or cryptocurrency. If there is a max supply defined, no more coins can be created. ‘Burned’ coins are part of this supply, so therefore it is always larger than or equal to the total supply. For Bitcoin the maximum is set to 21 million.

Mining

Mining is also known as ‘Cryptocurrency mining’ or ‘Cryptomining’. It is a process where blocks are added to a blockchain by solving a mathematical puzzle. The block can also contain transactions on that blockchain and will then become verified and immutable. Depending on the blockchain, mining can be done with a CPU, GPU, specialised hardware or a combination of all.

Moon (Mooning)

Mooning’ is used to describe a rapid increase in price of a cryptocurrency or token. It’s often used in chats like ‘Coin X is mooning!’. It is also used to show the desire of a price increase by saying ‘When moon?’ or alternatively ‘When lambo?’

noob / n00b

A person who is not very experienced in particular topic, like the complex world of crypto for example, can be called a noob or sometimes spelled n00b. This person might think they know enough about the topic, but actually does not and is often not very willing to learn as well. It is different from a a newbie or newb. The topic is new to them and they ask questions to learn more about it.

OG

OG refers to ‘original gangster’ and has its origins in the rap and hip hop culture. These days it’s used more widely and also in the crypto space on Twitter and in Telegram chat groups. It basically means somebody who is around and involved since the early beginnings. In crypto this would mean since around the inception of a coin. There can be Bitcoin OG’s and altcoin OG’s.

Paper wallet

A paper wallet is an alternative to a hardware or software wallet. It is in fact a piece of paper or a PDF containing the information to access the cryptocurrency in that wallet. It normally consists of a ‘public key’ and a ‘private key’.

Portfolio

A cryptocurrency portfolio is total holdings of your crypto assets in one place. You can own several cryptocurrencies and tokens and to track the value of that you need to register the size and price of each buy and sell order. This can be done in a spreadsheet, but it is much more convenient to use a dedicated app like Delta for example. With these types of apps you can easily register your portfolio changes, since they retrieve the current price of a coin from API providers. Often you can also set alerts on a crypto to notify you when the price goes above or below your target.

Private key

A private key in the crypto space can be defined as the combination of letters and numbers that corresponds to a specific public key. The private key can be used to gain access to the assets on that public key, also known as wallet address. Once you share your private key with somebody, store it on your computer in plain text or type it in a website or app, you risk losing all your funds stored on its a corresponding public address.

QR Code

A QR code is a type of barcode in the form of a square. The letters QR stand for ‘Quick Response’. The code contains many dots, a few small squares and sometimes a small logo in the middle. This is different from most other barcode types, which are rectangular with lines. A QR code can therefore contain much more information. Within the crypto world it is often used to make a ‘wallet’ address scannable. This speeds up the process of transferring crypto and prevents errors.

REKT

The term ‘REKT’ comes from the word ‘Wrecked’ and is used in the crypto community to indicate enormous losses.

ROI

ROI is an abbreviation for ‘Return on Investment’. This is an indicator to show the ratio between your initial investment and the return on it. The formula is ((current value – investment) / investment) x 100. Example: if 1 Ether deposit in an ICO total has become worth 1.6 Ether, then the ROI is 60%.

Sat

Sat is the abbreviation of Satoshi.

Satoshi

A satoshi (sat) is the smallest amount of bitcoin and is named after the creator Satoshi Nakamoto. It is the eighth decimal place, so 0.00000001 BTC.

Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto is the alias of the creator of Bitcoin, who wants to remain anonymous. Nobody knows who it is. It could be a person, a group, a company or even a government. It is quite likely that it is a person, because there are people who have communicated with him or her via e-mail.

SEC

SEC is the abbreviation of Securities and Exchange Commission. This is an independent government organization of the United States of America. The SEC holds the primary responsibility regarding the financial markets. They enforce the federal securities laws, propose new rules and regulate the US financial markets.

Shilling

Shilling is when someone is promoting a coin or ICO in a subjective way. This is sometimes just out of enthusiasm and sometimes just to convince as many buyers or investors as possible to join in with the aim of having as much profit as possible when the price goes up.

Shitcoin

A Shitcoin is any coin, which is badly rated by the one who talks about it. So it can be any altcoin, but also Bitcoin. The reason given could be a lack of innovation, poor communication, slow development or another coin is considerably better according to that person.

Short

Shorting or going short on an asset is a trading strategy where you speculate on a price decline of that asset. It is very risky tactic and you can easily lose money with this method. Therefore it is only useful for experienced traders and investors with a high-risk tolerance. Shorting comes from the traditional finance world, but is now also possible on crypto and is mostly done on Bitcoin. The shorting method itself is a practice where borrowed assets are sold on the market to buy back at a lower price and make gains with the difference. It’s also possible to use high leverage for even higher gains, but that bears even more risk of losing. The opposite of going short is going long.

Stablecoin

Stablecoins are tokens or cryptocurrencies attempting to have a minimized volatility of its price. It usually tries to keep a stable price of a related asset like USD for example. It can be backed by the related asset or replicated using smart contracts. Stablecoins are usually pegged to fiat money, but it’s also possible to be pegged to precious metals like gold or silver, or even other assets. It enables an easily accessible way to store crypto wealth, temporarily, in a more stable asset during market volatility instead of using the traditional financial ecosystem. Fiat withdrawals can take a few days and could be costly as well.

Tanking

Tanking stands for a decrease in value. If a cryptocurrency ‘tanks’, the price drops considerably. This can have several causes on a fundamental level or when an important cross in technical analysis is formed.

Tether

The Tether is often abbreviated as USDT on exchanges. This is a non-government regulated ‘stablecoin’ with a value of around 1 US dollar. The company behind this coin claims that every Tether in circulation is covered with real dollars on their bank account.

To the moon

This expression is common in cryptocurrency chat groups and forums. It is used to communicate the desire for a huge price increase. For that purpose they say ‘When Moon?’. It is also used at times when the price of a coin is rising rapidly. In those cases the phrase ‘To the moon!’ is common.

Total Supply

The ‘total supply’ indicates the amount of coins already in circulation, supplemented with the coins that are not tradable yet. So it only applies to coins already in existence. Thjis is different from the ‘max supply’, in which future coins are included. The total supply is greater than or equal to the ‘circulating’ supply’. It can consist of tradable and non tradable coins, such as reserved or not yet released coins for the team or investors.

Transaction fee

The ‘transaction fee’ is the amount that has to be paid to execute transactions on the Blockchain. This fee is usually paid to the ‘Miners’, but sometimes they are burned. There are also a number of cryptocurrencies, where you don’t have to pay a fee

Transaction ID

All transactions in the Blockchain, such as the amount, the address of the sender and recipient and the date of transfer, are provided with an identification, which is publicly accessible in the ledger of the Blockchain. This is the ‘Transaction ID’.

Wallet

A ‘wallet’ is a place to store cryptocurrencies encrypted. There are several variants, such as a paper wallet, hardware wallet or software wallet. Each coin has one or more supported wallets. See here all wallets.

Whale

A ‘whale’ is someone with a very large position in a coin.

Whitepaper

A ‘whitepaper’ is a document that is almost always written for the launch of a new coin by means of an ICO. All aspects of a coin should be explained here: how it is used, for what and sometimes also the price expectation. After the ICO new versions can be released if the situation changes.

XBT

XBT is an alternative abbreviation for Bitcoin (BTC) and is the official ISO 4217 standard. It is country independent. The abbreviation for gold is XAU.