Crypto Glossary
36 terms — everything you need to know about cryptocurrency.
A
Altcoin
An altcoin (alternative coin) is any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. The term was coined early in crypto history when Bitcoin was the only major cr...
ATH (All-Time High)
All-Time High (ATH) is the highest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached in its trading history. ATH is an important psychological level — breaking ...
B
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. It operates on a decentralized peer-to-...
Blockchain
A blockchain is a distributed, immutable digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers. Each block contains a cryptographic h...
Bull Market
A bull market is a period of sustained rising prices, typically 20% or more from recent lows, accompanied by widespread optimism and increased trading...
Bear Market
A bear market is a period of sustained declining prices, typically 20% or more from recent highs, accompanied by negative sentiment and reduced tradin...
C
Consensus Mechanism
A consensus mechanism is the method by which a blockchain network agrees on the current state of the ledger. It ensures all nodes maintain the same co...
Circulating Supply
Circulating supply is the number of cryptocurrency tokens that are currently available and circulating in the market. It differs from total supply (al...
D
DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
DeFi refers to financial services built on blockchain technology that operate without traditional intermediaries like banks. DeFi protocols enable len...
DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)
A DAO is an organization governed by smart contracts and token holder votes rather than a traditional management structure. Members use governance tok...
DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging)
Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) is an investment strategy where you invest a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, regardless of the asset's price. ...
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L
Liquidity Pool
A liquidity pool is a collection of cryptocurrency locked in a smart contract that facilitates decentralized trading. Instead of traditional order boo...
Layer 2
Layer 2 refers to scaling solutions built on top of existing blockchains (Layer 1) to improve transaction speed and reduce costs. They process transac...
M
Market Capitalization
Market capitalization (market cap) is the total value of a cryptocurrency, calculated by multiplying the current price by the circulating supply. It i...
Mining
Cryptocurrency mining is the process of using computational power to validate transactions and add new blocks to a proof-of-work blockchain. Miners co...
MVRV Ratio (Market Value to Realized Value)
The MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value) ratio compares a cryptocurrency's market cap with its realized cap — the aggregate value of all coins at the...
N
NFT (Non-Fungible Token)
A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a unique digital asset stored on a blockchain that represents ownership of a specific item — such as digital art, music,...
NVT Ratio (Network Value to Transactions)
The NVT (Network Value to Transactions) ratio, often called the 'crypto P/E ratio', compares a cryptocurrency's market cap to its on-chain transaction...
P
Proof of Work (PoW)
Proof of Work is a consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and create new blocks. The ...
Proof of Stake (PoS)
Proof of Stake is a consensus mechanism where validators are chosen to create new blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have 'staked' (loc...
Private Key
A private key is a secret cryptographic code that gives you full control over your cryptocurrency. It is used to sign transactions and prove ownership...
S
Smart Contract
A smart contract is a self-executing program stored on a blockchain that automatically enforces the terms of an agreement when predefined conditions a...
Staking
Staking is the process of locking up cryptocurrency to participate in validating transactions on a proof-of-stake blockchain. In return, stakers earn ...
Seed Phrase (Recovery Phrase)
A seed phrase (also called mnemonic or recovery phrase) is a sequence of 12 or 24 words that serves as a master backup for a cryptocurrency wallet. It...
Stablecoin
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value, usually pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Major stablecoins include USDT (Tether), US...
T
TVL (Total Value Locked)
Total Value Locked (TVL) measures the total amount of cryptocurrency deposited in a DeFi protocol. It is one of the most important metrics for evaluat...
Token
A token is a digital asset created on an existing blockchain, as opposed to a coin which has its own native blockchain. Tokens follow standards like E...
Trading Volume
Trading volume is the total amount of a cryptocurrency traded within a specific time period, typically measured in 24 hours. High volume indicates str...
V
W
Wallet
A crypto wallet is a tool that allows you to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. Wallets don't actually store coins — they hold the private key...
Whale
A whale is an entity (person or institution) that holds a very large amount of cryptocurrency — enough to potentially influence market prices. Bitcoin...