NFTs & Web3
Airdrop
A free distribution of tokens to qualifying wallets.
Also called airdrops, airdropped
Crypto Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the terms used across our market reports, price analysis and news desk.
89 terms defined
Stablecoins & Payments
Algorithmic Stablecoin
A stablecoin that holds its peg through supply mechanics rather than reserves.
Also called algo stablecoin
Trading & Markets
All-Time High
The highest price an asset has ever traded at.
Also called ATH, all time high
Trading & Markets
Altcoin Season
A stretch where most altcoins outperform Bitcoin.
Also called altseason, alt season
Trading & Markets
Arbitrage
Profiting from the same asset trading at different prices in different venues.
Also called arb, arbitrageur
Trading & Markets
Bear Market
A sustained decline in prices, commonly counted from a 20 per cent fall.
Also called bearish, crypto winter
Crypto Basics
Bitcoin
The first decentralised cryptocurrency, launched in 2009 and capped at 21 million coins.
Also called BTC
Blockchain Technology
Block
A batch of confirmed transactions added to the chain as a single unit.
Also called blocks
Mining & Consensus
Block Reward
The newly issued coins plus fees paid to whoever produces a block.
Also called coinbase reward, block subsidy
Blockchain Technology
Blockchain
A shared, append-only ledger where transactions are grouped into cryptographically linked blocks.
Also called block chain, distributed ledger
Blockchain Technology
Bridge
Infrastructure that moves assets or messages between two blockchains.
Also called cross-chain bridge, bridging
Security & Custody
Bug Bounty
A standing reward for researchers who responsibly disclose vulnerabilities.
Also called whitehat, white hat
Trading & Markets
Bull Market
An extended period of rising prices and improving sentiment.
Also called bullish, bull run
Stablecoins & Payments
CBDC
A digital form of national currency issued directly by a central bank.
Also called central bank digital currency, digital rupee, e-rupee
Trading & Markets
CEX
A company-operated exchange that holds customer funds and matches orders internally.
Also called centralized exchange, centralised exchange, exchange
Metrics & Analysis
Circulating Supply
The number of coins currently available and trading in public hands.
Also called circulating, float
Security & Custody
Cold Wallet
A wallet that keeps private keys permanently offline.
Also called cold storage, hardware wallet
DeFi
Collateral
Assets pledged to secure a loan or a minted position.
Also called collateralised, overcollateralised, collateralization ratio
Crypto Basics
Confirmation
Each new block built on top of the one containing your transaction.
Also called confirmations, confirmed
Mining & Consensus
Consensus Mechanism
The rulebook a decentralised network uses to agree on one shared version of history.
Also called consensus algorithm, consensus
Regulation & Tax
Crypto Regulation
The legal rules governing how crypto assets may be issued, traded and held.
Also called regulatory framework, MiCA
Regulation & Tax
Crypto Tax
How gains and transfers of crypto assets are taxed in a given country.
Also called VDA tax, capital gains tax, TDS
Security & Custody
Custody
A third party holding crypto assets on a client's behalf.
Also called custodian, custodial
NFTs & Web3
DAO
An organisation run by token-holder votes executed through smart contracts.
Also called decentralized autonomous organization, DAOs
Crypto Basics
Decentralisation
Spreading control of a network across many independent participants.
Also called decentralization, decentralized, decentralised
Crypto Basics
Ethereum
A programmable blockchain that runs smart contracts, with ETH as its native asset.
Also called ETH, Ether
Metrics & Analysis
Exchange Reserves
The amount of an asset held in known exchange wallets.
Also called exchange balance, exchange outflows, exchange inflows
Security & Custody
Exploit
An attack that abuses a flaw in contract logic to drain funds.
Also called hack, protocol exploit
Metrics & Analysis
Fear and Greed Index
A 0-100 sentiment gauge built from volatility, volume, social and dominance data.
Also called crypto fear and greed
Crypto Basics
Fiat Currency
Government-issued money that is not backed by a physical commodity.
Also called fiat
NFTs & Web3
Floor Price
The lowest asking price for any item in an NFT collection.
Also called floor
Blockchain Technology
Fork
A change to protocol rules that splits or upgrades a chain.
Also called hard fork, soft fork, forked
Trading & Markets
Funding Rate
A periodic payment between long and short traders that keeps perpetuals near spot.
Also called funding
Trading & Markets
Futures
Contracts to trade an asset at a future price, often with no expiry in crypto.
Also called perpetual, perps, perpetual swap, futures contract
Blockchain Technology
Gas Fee
The cost of executing an operation on Ethereum, priced in gwei.
Also called gas, gwei
Mining & Consensus
Halving
The scheduled 50 per cent cut to Bitcoin's block reward every 210,000 blocks.
Also called halvening, bitcoin halving
Blockchain Technology
Hash
A fixed-length fingerprint produced from any input by a one-way cryptographic function.
Also called hashing, hash function
Crypto Basics
HODL
Holding through volatility rather than trading in and out.
Also called hodling, hodler
DeFi
Impermanent Loss
The shortfall a liquidity provider suffers when pooled asset prices diverge.
Also called IL, divergence loss
Metrics & Analysis
Institutional Adoption
The entry of funds, corporates and banks into crypto markets.
Also called institutional investors
Blockchain Technology
Interoperability
The ability of separate blockchains to exchange assets and data.
Also called cross-chain, interoperable
Regulation & Tax
KYC
Identity verification required of customers by regulated financial services.
Also called know your customer, AML
Blockchain Technology
Layer 2
A network built on top of a base chain that processes transactions cheaply and settles back to it.
Also called L2, layer-2, rollup
DeFi
Lending Protocol
A contract-based market where users supply assets to earn interest and borrow against collateral.
Also called money market, crypto lending
Trading & Markets
Leverage
Borrowing to trade a position larger than your own capital.
Also called margin, leveraged, margin trading
Trading & Markets
Limit Order
An instruction to trade only at a specified price or better.
Also called limit orders
Trading & Markets
Liquidation
Forced closure of a leveraged position when margin no longer covers losses.
Also called liquidated, liquidation cascade
Trading & Markets
Liquidity
How easily an asset can be traded without moving its price.
Also called liquid, illiquid, order book depth
Metrics & Analysis
Market Capitalisation
Circulating supply multiplied by current price.
Also called market cap, marketcap, mcap
Trading & Markets
Market Cycle
The repeating pattern of accumulation, expansion, distribution and decline.
Also called four-year cycle, crypto cycle
Trading & Markets
Market Order
An instruction to trade immediately at whatever price is available.
Also called market orders
Metrics & Analysis
Max Supply
The hard ceiling on how many coins can ever exist.
Also called total supply, supply cap
Blockchain Technology
MEV
Profit extracted by reordering, inserting or censoring transactions in a block.
Also called maximal extractable value, miner extractable value
Mining & Consensus
Mining
Competing to add the next block to a proof-of-work chain in exchange for newly issued coins.
Also called miner, miners, crypto mining
Mining & Consensus
Mining Pool
A group of miners combining hash power and splitting rewards proportionally.
Also called pool mining
NFTs & Web3
Minting
Creating a new token and writing it onto the blockchain.
Also called mint, minted
Blockchain Technology
Node
A computer running blockchain software that stores and verifies the ledger.
Also called nodes, full node
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