Crypto Glossary: all the definitions to understand crypto

The crypto glossary to understand the terms related to blockchains

In this lexicon, we’re going to give you all the important definitions related to the world of crypto-currency and blockchains.

You will find terms such as “blockchain”, “mining”, “wallet” and many more, with clear explanations to help you better understand this ever-changing market.

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, this lexicon will be a valuable tool for you to understand the terms used in the world of crypto-currencies.

Address

A string of characters used to identify a destination on a blockchain, such as an email address or a Bitcoin address.

Airdrop

A free distribution of tokens or crypto-currencies to a selected list of project holders.

Altcoin

Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

APY

Effective annual rate of return.

ASIC

Application-specific integrated circuit used for crypto-currency mining.

Ask

The price at which a seller is willing to sell an asset.

ATH

Maximum (ATH) and minimum (ATL) historical record of an asset price.

Atomic Swaps

A mechanism that allows two parties to trade assets without requiring a counterparty or trusted third party.

Bear Market

A market where asset prices are declining over an extended period.

Bid

The price at which a buyer is willing to purchase an asset.

Bitcoin

The first and most popular crypto-currency, based on blockchain technology.

Bitcoin ATM

An ATM that allows you to buy or sell Bitcoins using fiat money.

Block

A set of cryptographically linked transactions in the blockchain.

Genesis Block

The first block in a blockchain.

Block Reward

The reward received by miners for adding a block to the blockchain.

Blockchain

A distributed ledger technology used to record transactions in a secure and transparent manner.

Bottom

The lowest point in a bear market.

Bull Market

A market where asset prices are rising over an extended period.

Burn

The intentional destruction of a token or crypto-currency to reduce the overall supply and increase the value of the remaining tokens.

CEX

A centralized exchange platform, where users deposit their funds and exchange them for other crypto-currencies.

CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency)

A crypto-currency issued and managed by a central bank.

CFD (Contract For Difference)

Contract for difference, a financial derivative that allows one to speculate on asset prices without physically owning them.

Chart

A chart used to view price data for an asset over a period of time.

Private Key

A string of characters used to sign transactions and access funds in a crypto wallet.

Public key

A string used to receive funds and verify the signature of a transaction.

Cold storage

The storage of crypto-currencies offline.

Consensus

Agreement on the rules and transactions of the blockchain by the nodes of the network.

CPU

Central processing unit, used for computer calculations.

Crypto-currency

A digital currency using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new tokens.

Cryptography

Technique used to protect the integrity and confidentiality of data.

dApps

Decentralized applications, which run on a blockchain rather than a centralized server.

DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)

An organization that operates on a blockchain, where decisions are made by the token holders rather than by centralized administrators.

Day Trading

A trading strategy that involves opening and closing positions in the same day.

DEX

A decentralized exchange platform, where users can exchange directly with each other without going through a trusted third party.

Exit Scam

A scam where the owners of an exchange platform or crypto-currency project take money from users and disappear.

Fees

Fees paid for transactions or withdrawals on an exchange platform or blockchain.

Mining Farm

A facility dedicated to mining crypto-currencies.

Fiat

A national currency issued and managed by a central bank, like the euro or the US dollar.

FOMO

Fear of Missing Out, the pressure not to miss an investment opportunity.

Fungibility

The ability for an asset to be exchanged for another asset of equal value.

FUD

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, a strategy used to sow confusion and misinformation to drive down asset prices.

Gas

La mesure de l’utilisation de la puissance de calcul sur une blockchain, utilisée pour payer les frais de transaction.

Gossip protocol

A communication protocol used to transmit information on a blockchain in an efficient and secure manner.

GPU

Graphics processing unit, used for crypto-currency mining and complex computer calculations.

Halving

A scheduled event on some blockchains where the block reward is halved, aimed at regulating the supply of tokens.

Hardware wallet

A physical device used to store crypto-currencies securely, disconnected from the Internet.

Hachage

A computer process that transforms data into a fixed-length string of characters, used to secure transactions on a blockchain.

Hashrate

The total computing power of a crypto-currency network used to solve the calculations needed to add blocks to the blockchain.

Hodl

A popular term used to describe an investment strategy of holding an asset over a long period of time rather than selling it.

ICO – Initial Coin Offering

A fundraiser for a crypto project where investors exchange fiat money or crypto-currencies for tokens of the new crypto-currency.

IDO – Initial DEX Offering

A fundraiser for a crypto-currency project on a decentralized exchange platform.

IEO – Initial Exchange Offering

A fundraiser for a crypto-currency project on a centralized exchange platform.

Last

The last price of an asset in a market.

Laszlo Hanyecz

A computer developer who made the first Bitcoin transaction for real goods by buying pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins in 2010.

Layer 1

The base layer of a blockchain, where transactions are permanently recorded.

Layer 2

An additional layer on a blockchain that increases scalability by moving some of the functionality out of layer 1.

Lending

Lending or borrowing crypto-currencies for interest.

Leverage

The use of leverage to increase the potential gains of an investment, but with an increased risk of losses.

Limit Buy / Limit Sell

An order to buy or sell at a specified price or better.

Long

A buy position in which an investor hopes the price of the asset will rise.

Margin Trading

The use of leverage to increase the potential gains from an investment using borrowed money.

Market Buy / Market Sell

An order to buy or sell at the best price available on the market.

Market Cap

The market capitalization of a crypto-currency, calculated by multiplying the price of a token by the total number of tokens in circulation.

Metaverse

A virtual world in augmented or virtual reality, often associated with crypto-currency projects like Decentraland.

Miner

A person or company that uses computing power to solve the puzzles required to add blocks to a blockchain.

Mining

Mining crypto-currencies using computing power to solve puzzles.

Minting

The creation of new tokens, often used to describe the processes of creating tokens on a blockchain.

Pool mining

Mining crypto-currencies by being a member of a group of miners who share the earnings.

NGMI – « Not Giving My Identity »

A culture in crypto communities, which invites users not to reveal their real identity.

Node

A computer connected to a blockchain that verifies transactions and maintains synchronization with the network.

NFT – Non Fungible Token

A unique digital token that cannot be replaced by another identical token.

OTC – Over The Counter

A transaction made directly between two parties, often used for transactions of large amounts of crypto-currencies that cannot be made on an exchange platform.

P2P – Peer-to-Peer

Direct communication between two computers without going through a third party.

Panic Buy / Panic Sell

A buying or selling decision made under the influence of emotion and not rational analysis.

Pool

A group of miners who share the gains from mining crypto-currencies.

Liquidity pool

A group of traders who pool their funds to increase liquidity on a trading platform.

Proof-of-Stake

A transaction validation system where users pledge tokens to validate transactions and receive rewards.

Proof-of-Work

A transaction validation system where users solve computer puzzles to validate transactions and receive rewards.

Pre-mining

Mining crypto-currencies before the official launch of a blockchain.

Pump

An artificial rise in the price of a crypto-currency caused by market manipulation.

Rig de Minage

A hardware configuration specifically designed for crypto-currency mining.

ROI – Return on Investment

The percentage of gain or loss on an investment.

Satoshi

The basic unit of a crypto-currency, equivalent to 0.00000001 of that crypto-currency.

Satoshi Nakamoto

The pseudonym used by the person or group who created Bitcoin.

Scalability

The ability of a blockchain to process a large number of transactions without slowing down.

Scalping

An investment strategy of buying and selling assets quickly for short-term gains.

Scam

A scam where users are enticed to invest in a fictitious or unprofitable crypto-currency project.

SHA-256

The hash algorithm used to solve Bitcoin’s mining calculations.

Sharding

A technique to increase the scalability of a blockchain by dividing the data into several parts managed by different nodes.

Shitcoin

A crypto-currency considered to be of little value or a scam.

Short

A crypto-currency considered to be of little value or a scam.

Sidechain

A blockchain linked to a master blockchain that allows assets to be moved between the two chains in a secure manner.

Slippage

The difference between the price of an order and the final price of the execution of that order.

Smart Contract

An automated digital contract that automatically executes when predefined conditions are met.

Solidity

A programming language used to create smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.

Spread

The difference between the purchase price and the selling price of an asset in a market.

Staking

Pledge tokens to validate transactions and receive rewards on a blockchain using a proof-of-stake system.

Stop Loss

An automatic sell order to limit potential losses on an investment.

Support

A price level often used to describe a time when prices tend to stabilize or increase.

Swap

An exchange of crypto-currencies or fiat currencies between two parties.

Take Profit

An automatic sell order to realize potential gains on an investment.

Testnet

A test version of a blockchain used for developers to test applications or updates before deploying them on the main blockchain.

To the moon

A term used to describe a rapid and significant rise in the price of a crypto-currency.

Tokens

Digital tokens that represent a value or asset on a blockchain.

Top

The highest level reached by the prices of an asset.

Trading Bot

An automated computer program that trades in the financial markets.

Vanity Adress

A personalized Bitcoin address containing a specific word or phrase.

Vitalik Buterin

The founder of the Ethereum blockchain.

Volatility

The speed at which prices of an asset can change.

WAGMI – « Why Am I Giving My Identity »

An expression used to express a reluctance to reveal one’s real identity in the cryptographic communities.

Wall

A large quantity of buy or sell orders that can influence prices in a market.

Wallet

A software or hardware that allows for the storage and management of crypto-currencies.

Web 1.0

The first version of the Internet based on static websites.

Web 2.0

The second version of the Internet based on social interactions and content creation by users.

Web 3.0

The third version of the Internet based on artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Whale

An investor who holds a large amount of assets and can influence prices in a market.

White Paper

A technical document describing the details of a crypto-currency project, often used in ICO fundraisers.