The Cryptocurrency Terms Guide
Do you feel lost when people are talking about cryptocurrencies ?
Here’s the ultimate guide you’ll ever need to understand crypto language and terms.
Learn the crypto Trading language:
Crypto Glossary for Traders and Investors
Here’s an easy-to-read guide for commonly used terms in the world of cryptocurrency. Bookmark this page to keep these handy definitions at your fingertips!
🔴 Altcoin/Alt
Any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin.
🔴 ATH (All-Time High)
The highest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached.
🔴 Bag
The quantity of a specific coin an investor holds. Example: “I’m holding a $SOL bag.”
🔴 Bear Market
A prolonged period where prices are in a consistent downtrend.
🔴 BOS (Break of Structure)
When the market breaks its current pattern, signaling a continuation of the existing trend.
🔴 Breakout
A price movement beyond the upper or lower boundaries of a range.
🔴 Bull Market
A sustained period of rising prices, often reaching new highs.
🔴 CABAL
A group conspiring to manipulate a coin’s price, often through pump-and-dump schemes.
🔴 Centralized Exchange (CEX)
A trading platform like Coinbase or Binance that acts as a custodian for user funds while enabling trades.
🔴 Chop
Sideways price movement with no clear trend, often leading to indecision and losses.
🔴 Consolidation
A phase where prices remain within a narrow range, often preceding a breakout.
🔴 Correction/Pullback
A temporary price reversal following a significant upward move.
🔴 CTO (Community Takeover)
When the community takes control of a project, often seen in meme coins.
🔴 Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
A platform like Uniswap or Sushiswap that facilitates peer-to-peer trades without a middleman.
🔴 Derivatives
- Financial instruments tied to the value of another asset, like BTC futures.
- Knock-off coins based on existing projects, such as $BABYDOGE from $DOGE.
🔴 DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging)
An investment strategy of regularly buying a fixed dollar amount of cryptocurrency regardless of price.
🔴 Downtrend
A market trend characterized by lower highs and lower lows.
🔴 Dump
A rapid drop in price, often caused by large-scale selling.
🔴 Dump on Someone/Get Dumped On
When early investors sell at a profit, causing prices to drop and leaving latecomers with losses.
🔴 DYOR (Do Your Own Research)
Always verify information independently before making investment decisions.
🔴 Exit Liquidity
Late buyers who drive up the price, enabling early investors to sell at a profit.
🔴 Fiat
Traditional government-issued currencies like USD, EUR, or GBP.
🔴 Flat/Being Flat
A position where a trader holds no active trades, though they may still hold assets.
🔴 FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
The emotional reaction to rising prices, prompting impulsive buying to avoid missing out.
🔴 FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
Negative news or rumors meant to create doubt about a coin or project.
🔴 Front Running
Taking a position based on insider knowledge of an upcoming trade or event.
🔴 High Time Frame (HTF)
Refers to longer-term charts, such as daily or weekly candlesticks.
🔴 KOL (Key Opinion Leader)
An influencer promoting a project, often for compensation. Be cautious of their advice.
🔴 KYC (Know Your Customer)
A verification process required by exchanges to comply with regulatory standards.
🔴 Leverage
Borrowed funds used to increase trade size, amplifying potential gains and losses.
🔴 Long
A trading position betting that the price will increase.
🔴 Liquidation
Forced closure of a leveraged position due to insufficient collateral.
🔴 Liquidity
- Monetary Liquidity: The availability of funds in the financial system.
- Transactional Liquidity: The ease of buying or selling an asset at stable prices.
🔴 Limit Order
An order to buy or sell at a specific price, executed only if that price is reached.
🔴 Low Time Frame (LTF)
Refers to shorter-term charts, such as 5-minute or 15-minute intervals.
🔴 Market Order
An order to buy or sell immediately at the current best price.
🔴 Market Structure (MS)
The sequence of highs and lows that define a trend, such as higher highs in an uptrend.
🔴 Moonbag
A small investment in a high-risk coin with the potential for substantial returns.
🔴 On-Ramp/Off-Ramp
Processes for converting fiat to crypto (on-ramp) or crypto back to fiat (off-ramp).
🔴 Open Interest (OI)
The total number of open derivative contracts for a specific asset.
🔴 Perps (Perpetual Futures)
Derivative contracts without an expiration date, allowing indefinite trading.
🔴 P&L (Profit & Loss)
The gains or losses from trading activities over a set period.
🔴 Price Action (PA)
The movement of an asset’s price over time on a chart.
🔴 Pump and Dump
A scheme where prices are artificially inflated (“pumped”) before being sold off (“dumped”) at a profit.
🔴 Range/Ranging
When prices fluctuate between a defined high and low without a clear trend.
🔴 Risk/Reward (RR)
A ratio comparing potential profit to potential loss in a trade.
🔴 Rugpull
A scam where developers abandon a project after raising funds, leaving investors with worthless tokens.
🔴 Scalping
A short-term trading strategy aiming to profit from small price movements.
🔴 Shitcoin
A coin with poor fundamentals, often associated with high risk and low success rates.
🔴 Slippage
The difference between the expected and actual execution price of a trade.
🔴 Spot
Owning or trading the actual asset, such as BTC.
🔴 Support
A price level where demand prevents further declines.
🔴 Stablecoin
A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset, usually the US dollar, to reduce volatility.
🔴 Swing Trade
A trading strategy that involves holding positions for several days or weeks.
🔴 Technical Analysis (TA)
The study of past price movements and patterns to predict future trends.
🔴 Trend
The general direction of the market, either upward (uptrend) or downward (downtrend).
🔴 VC (Venture Capital)
Early investors with significant stakes in a project, often creating sell pressure later.
🔴 Volatility
The degree of price fluctuation in a market over a specific time frame.
🔴 Volume
The total number of assets traded within a set period.
🔴 Whale
A large investor capable of influencing market prices with significant trades.
🔴 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
The time standard used for crypto trading and charting.
Use this guide as a quick reference for navigating the often complex language of cryptocurrency. Understanding these terms can give you an edge in making informed decisions. Happy trading!
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