Slang
Last updated
Last updated
Airdrop - When coins or tokens are distributed en masse to a group of wallets
Alpha - Insider information.
Altcoin - Pretty much any crypto that isn't Bitcoin.
Anon - You, anonymous community member.
ATH - All-time high, in reference to price.
Bag - A cryptocurrency you own. "I've got a bag of Polkadot and a bag of Kusama."
BTD / Buy the dip - when prices plummet and others panic, buying the dip is the act of buying despite the prevailing fear to take advantage of the low prices.
Bearish - Pessimistic about the future of something. The market can be bearish when tanking, and you may be bearish on the future of a specific project.
Bullish - Confident about the future of something. The market can be bullish when performing well, but you may also be bullish on the concept of decentralization.
CT - Shorthand for Crypto Twitter
DeFi - Decentralized Finance, a general term for a number of financial services based around cryptocurrency and the lack of a centralized authority that controls your funds.
Degen - Degenerate gambler, someone that invests heavily in DeFi, taking large risks for the potential of even larger rewards.
Diamond Hands - Someone that holds their coins through thick and thin, market conditions be damned.
Dotsama - The collective Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems, created by combining the two words. PolkaDOT+KuSAMA. See also: Paraverse.
Dust - Tiny amounts of crypto
DYOR - Do your own research. Crypto's version of "buyer beware." There are a lot of scams out there, unfortunately you've got no one to blame but yourself if you fall for one.
FOMO - Fear of missing out. Often causes people to buy a coin that has already gone up, wanting to be a part of all the profits being made. Alas, by this point, it's too late, and FOMO buys often result in losses.
FUD - Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Can refer to baseless trash talking projects or coins, or can be used to dismiss legitimate criticism by evangelists.
GM - Good Morning. Standard greeting, say it back.
GN - Good Night. See above.
HODL - Hold On for Dear Life. See: Diamond Hands. Can also describe crypto holders that don't do anything with their coins, eschewing defi, staking, and trading in favor of simply putting them into storage and waiting.
Lambo - Lamborghini, an expensive car. As in "wen lambo?" aka when will this make me rich enough to buy an extravagant car.
Moon - Rapid price increase, "to the moon."
NGMI - Not gonna make it. If you've made a poor choice or support a bad project, you're NGMI. (see WAGMI)
Not your keys, not your coins - The sentiment that when you are not the custodian of your crypto, anything can happen to it. Sharing your keys (your private key / seed phrase) will grant the user access to your funds, and they can take them at will. Also applies to keeping your assets on exchanges, in custodial DeFi protocols, etc. – anywhere someone else has the ability to not return your coins to you.
Paper Hands - Someone who can't hold their coins and sells at the slightest sign of panic.
Paraverse - The entire universe of parachains; a way to collectively reference all of Polkadot and Kusama. See also: Dotsama.
Ponzi - A type of pyramid scam where profitability is dependent on constant new influx of funds. As soon as the influx slows or stops, the whole system collapses.
Reaping - When the dust in your wallet is automatically destroyed for falling below the Existential Deposit.
Rug - As in "pull the rug out from under you." A project that gets you to invest, then disappears with your money. People are too quick to call anything they don't like a rug, but they do happen often.
Seed / Seed Phrase - a 12 or 24 word unique phrase used to access your crypto wallet. Anyone with this phrase can access it, and there's nothing you can do to stop them.
Shill - Hard-sell a particular coin. Often can't be trusted, because the shiller is paid and acting only in their own interest.
WAGMI - We're all gonna make it. Confidence builder, sentiment shared by compatriots in specific projects, or within crypto at large.
Whale - Big fish, large crypto holder.
ED - Existential Deposit. This is the minimum required to keep your wallet "alive." When your balance drops below the ED, the remaining balance is automatically. (1 DOT, 0.00003333 KSM)