The field of digital money is full of words that are not always clear even to experienced traders. Let’s talk about what terms a novice user needs to know in order to blend in any crypto community and not to get confused if you come across some of them on the Internet.
Basic cryptocurrency terminology
Altcoin
Altcoin is any cryptocurrency offered as an alternative to Bitcoin. Since the world’s first cryptocurrency was BTC, all that appeared after it are designated by the collective concept of “altcoin”. According to buidlbee.com, the most popular altcoins are Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin.
Stablecoin
Stablecoin is a token with a fixed exchange rate. Most often, quotes of such coins are tied to the dollar. But there are other options as well. For example, Tether launched the XAUT stablecoin, which is worth as much as one troy ounce of gold.
Token
A token is a digital asset that is related to a specific project and is issued on the basis of a cryptocurrency. For example, on the basis of the Ethereum blockchain platform, it is possible to create ERC-20 standard tokens, including the well-known USDT stablecoin.
Shitcoin
Shitcoin is a coin that was issued by scammers. This term is also used to call unpromising cryptocurrencies.
Pump
Pump is a deliberate overpricing of a cryptocurrency. Several users with large capital can team up to “pump” a coin and then sell it to other users at an inflated rate. Almost always, the pump ends in a sharp drop, and the profit is fixed mainly by the organizers of the scheme.
Dump
Dump is the intentional sale of a large amount of cryptocurrency in order to bring down its course.
HODL
In December 2013, one of the not-so-sober users of the official Bitcoin forum made a post with the subject “I AM HODLING”, trying to say that he intended to keep the coins, despite the short-term depreciation. The post became an Internet meme, and the misspelled word “hold” was later used as an abbreviation for the phrase “hold on for dear life”, which means a call not to sell cryptocurrency during a fall in value and wait until it won’t start growing again.
To The Moon
The expression “to the moon” means a sharp jump in the value of the cryptocurrency. Similarly, if the rate is “is mooning”, then it has reached its peak, and the question “when moon?” people ask when they want to know the most favorable time for selling a cryptocurrency before the quotes fall.
Hyperbitcoinization
This word is used by optimistic bitcoin owners to describe the theory according to which, as a result of the devaluation of traditional money, the whole world will abandon them in favor of cryptocurrencies.
Obsessive Cryptocurrency Disorder
By analogy with the medical term “obsessive-compulsive disorder”, the phrase is used to refer to the obsession of crypto fanatics who are simply obsessed with Bitcoin and are ready to track changes in its rate around the clock.
FUD
The abbreviation for “Fear, uncertainty and doubt” is common not only in the Bitcoin community. However, here it means any negative press coverage of cryptocurrencies and blog posts, the purpose of which is to scare readers and dissuade them from buying “coins”. “FUD” can also be used in other cases, such as when someone is promoting their own cryptocurrency to stimulate its growth, or trying to make the owners of other cryptocurrencies doubt their value in order to knock down its price and buy it cheaper.
Nocoiner
A nocoiner is a person who doesn’t have Bitcoins. This is the name given to people who despise cryptocurrencies and their supporters. The term is used both for those who simply don’t own coins, and for those who emphasize their skepticism about them.
Flippening
A turning point in the world of cryptocurrencies, when in terms of market capitalization Bitcoin will yield to one of the altcoins, most likely Ethereum.
Rekt
A modified version of the word “wrecked”, denoting a person who has suffered a financial collapse, a failure. “Got rekt” refers to an unfortunate investor who sold “coins” just before their price skyrocketed.
DYOR
The abbreviation stands for “Do your own research” and means “think with your head.” It is emphasized that the trader must independently draw conclusions and make decisions based on their own research, and not guided by the herd instinct.
Whale
Large players in the cryptocurrency market who hold an impressive amount of “coins”, but at the same time make up only a small proportion of their users. When selling or acquiring cryptocurrencies, they can seriously affect the dynamics of the market.
Bulls
Bulls are market participants who expect the price of an asset to rise and buy or hold it in order to take profits in the future. When a bull sells a cryptocurrency, it can go over to the side of the bears, who play for a fall in the price.
Bears
Bears are market participants interested in falling asset prices. They can wait for the asset to fall in price in order to buy it at a better price or play short – that is, keep a short position.
Bagholder
Borrowed from the world of finance, the term refers to an investor who holds a company’s shares for too long and ends up losing huge sums of money after their value collapses. The same applies to cryptocurrencies.
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Now that you are familiar with the most common cryptocurrency terminology, you should be ready to explore the wider world of decentralization. Good luck!
