Glossary
Key crypto & Web3 terms explained in plain language
A
Allocation General
The maximum amount of investment that a single person is permitted to make in a given project or token sale round. Allocations are often limited to prevent concentration of ownership.
AMA
(Ask me anything) – is an interview with a member or members of the crypto project team. An AMA session is used as a marketing ploy to increase audience loyalty to the project.
C
Consensus Blockchain
A decision-making process in a distributed system where all participating nodes agree on a single, shared outcome in the interests of the entire network.
Consensus Algorithm Blockchain
A mechanism — a set of rules and requirements — that allows users or nodes to coordinate their actions in a blockchain network and agree on a single valid state…
Consortium Blockchain Blockchain
A hybrid of public and private blockchains that contains both centralized and decentralized features. Governance is shared among a predefined group of organizations rather than being fully open or fully…
Custodial Wallet Security
A cryptocurrency wallet where the private keys and access credentials are held and managed by a third party (such as an exchange or service provider) rather than by the user…
D
DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) DeFi & Tokens
A governance structure for blockchain projects in which decisions are made collectively by token holders through on-chain voting proposals, rather than by a central team or company.
DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging) Trading
An investment strategy designed to reduce the impact of volatility by purchasing a fixed dollar amount of a target asset at regular intervals, regardless of price. Over time, this averages…
DeFi (Decentralized Finance) DeFi & Tokens
An umbrella term for financial services and infrastructure built on public blockchains using smart contracts — enabling lending, borrowing, trading, and earning yield without banks or traditional intermediaries.
Degen Trading
Short for "degenerate." In crypto, a degen is someone who knowingly makes very high-risk trades or investments — often with a small portion of their portfolio — fully aware the…
Degen Play Trading
A high-risk investment or trading idea — typically a speculative bet on an unproven token, NFT, or low-liquidity project with potential for outsized returns but a high likelihood of total…
Divergence Trading
In technical analysis, divergence occurs when an asset's price movement and a technical indicator (such as RSI or MACD) move in opposite directions, often signaling a potential trend reversal.
Diversification Trading
An investment strategy of holding a variety of financial assets with different risk profiles in order to reduce overall portfolio risk. The idea: if one asset loses value, others may…
DYOR (Do Your Own Research) General
A fundamental principle in crypto — a reminder never to blindly follow investment advice, influencer calls, or hype. Always verify information independently, read the whitepaper, analyze the team, tokenomics, and…
E
Escrow Security
A financial arrangement in which a neutral third party holds and regulates payment of funds on behalf of two transacting parties. In crypto, escrow smart contracts release funds automatically once…
Ethereum 2.0 Blockchain
Also known as ETH2 or "The Merge," Ethereum 2.0 is a major upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that transitioned the network from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake consensus, significantly improving energy efficiency…
F
Fiat General
Government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity but by the trust and authority of the issuing government. Examples: USD, EUR, UAH. The term "fiat" is also informally…
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) Trading
The overwhelming anxiety of missing a profitable opportunity. In crypto, FOMO often drives investors to buy assets at peak prices due to fear of being left behind — frequently leading…
FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) Trading
Deliberately spread negative information, rumors, or unverified news intended to create panic and uncertainty around a specific cryptocurrency, causing price drops that benefit those spreading the FUD.
I
ICO (Initial Coin Offering) DeFi & Tokens
A fundraising method where a project sells its tokens directly to the public — typically via a smart contract — before being listed on any exchange. No launchpad or intermediary…
Ideal Entry Point Trading
The most favorable price at which to buy an asset, offering a high probability of generating profit. Identifying the ideal entry point is a core goal of technical and fundamental…
IDO (Initial DEX Offering) DeFi & Tokens
A token launch conducted on a decentralized exchange (DEX) launchpad, open to all participants, with the token listing directly on a DEX following the sale.
IEO (Initial Exchange Offering) DeFi & Tokens
A token sale hosted on a centralized exchange's own launchpad. The exchange vets the project and facilitates the sale, with the token subsequently listed on that same exchange.
Issuer General
A legal entity that creates and sells securities or tokens to raise capital. In traditional finance: corporations and governments. In crypto: project teams or DAOs that issue tokens. Issuers are…
M
Market Capitalization General
The total market value of all circulating coins or tokens of a given cryptocurrency. Calculated as: current price × circulating supply. Used to rank and compare cryptocurrencies by size.
Market Making Trading
An automated process of continuously placing buy and sell orders on an exchange to increase trading volume and provide liquidity. Market makers profit from the bid-ask spread and are often…
Miner Blockchain
A person or entity that participates in cryptocurrency mining — dedicating computing power to validate transactions and secure a Proof-of-Work blockchain in exchange for block rewards.
Mining Blockchain
The process of producing new cryptocurrency units by using computing hardware to solve cryptographic puzzles, validate transactions, and add new blocks to a Proof-of-Work blockchain. Miners receive newly minted coins…
Multi-accounting Security
The practice of creating and managing multiple accounts across social networks, launchpads, or giveaway platforms to artificially increase one's chances of winning contests, securing whitelist spots, or earning NFT mint…
O
Oracle Blockchain
A service that allows blockchain smart contracts to access external real-world data. An oracle typically collects data from multiple sources, verifies its accuracy, and delivers standardized, trusted data to on-chain…
Order Book Trading
A real-time list of outstanding buy (bid) and sell (ask) orders for a specific asset on an exchange. The order book displays the quantity and price at which market participants…
Oscillators Trading
A class of technical analysis indicators that measure the momentum of price movements and identify overbought or oversold market conditions. Common oscillators include RSI, MACD, and Stochastic. Most effective in…
P
Peer-to-Peer Network (P2P) Blockchain
A network architecture in which participants interact and transact directly with each other without routing through a central authority. All nodes are functionally equal — there is no hierarchy.
Phishing Security
A type of cyber fraud where attackers impersonate legitimate websites, emails, or services to trick users into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, seed phrases, or private keys.
Profit Trading
The financial gain from a trade or investment — the difference between the amount received when selling an asset and the amount originally paid to acquire it.
Proof of Stake (PoS) Blockchain
A consensus mechanism that allows cryptocurrency holders to lock up (stake) their coins and run validator nodes, giving them the right to verify new transaction blocks, add them to the…
Proof of Work (PoW) Blockchain
A decentralized consensus mechanism that requires network participants (miners) to expend computational effort by solving complex mathematical puzzles in order to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain.
S
Satoshi Nakamoto Blockchain
The pseudonym of the unknown person or group who designed the Bitcoin protocol, authored the original Bitcoin whitepaper ("Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" in 2008), and created its first…
Scalability Blockchain
The ability of a blockchain network or system to handle a growing amount of transactions and users without compromising speed or security. Scalability is one of the three pillars of…
Scammer Security
A fraudster who uses deceptive tactics — fake projects, phishing, rug pulls, or social engineering — to steal cryptocurrency or personal information from victims.
Secret Recovery Phrase Security
Also called a seed phrase or mnemonic phrase — a sequence of 12 or 24 randomly generated words that serves as a master key to a crypto wallet. Anyone with…
Smart Contract Blockchain
A self-executing program stored on a blockchain that automatically carries out predefined actions when specific conditions are met. Smart contracts enable trustless transactions without intermediaries and are the foundation for…
Stablecoin DeFi & Tokens
A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a reserve asset such as the US dollar, euro, or gold. Examples: USDT, USDC, DAI. Stablecoins bridge crypto…
T
Token Sale DeFi & Tokens
A general term — often used interchangeably with ICO/IDO/IEO — referring to the initial public offering of a cryptocurrency token before it is listed on exchanges.
Tokenomics DeFi & Tokens
The economic model of a cryptocurrency token — encompassing total supply, circulating supply, distribution schedule, vesting periods, utility, and mechanisms for reducing supply (burning, staking locks, buybacks). Tokenomics determines how…
V
Volatility Trading
A statistical measure of how much an asset's price fluctuates over a given period of time. High volatility means large price swings; low volatility means relatively stable prices. Crypto markets…
VPN (Virtual Private Network) Security
A service that encrypts your internet connection and routes it through a server in a location of your choosing, masking your real IP address and enhancing online privacy. Widely used…
W
Whitelist Security
A pre-approved list of wallet addresses or individuals granted access to participate in a token sale, NFT mint, or other exclusive event. Projects whitelist a limited number of applicants from…
Whitepaper General
An authoritative document published by a crypto project that explains the technology, problem being solved, tokenomics, roadmap, and team. Reading the whitepaper is a key step in due diligence (DYOR).
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