Crypto Investor Lingo: Glossary of Slang and Key Crypto Terms

Introduction

Over the course of the digital asset market’s development, a host of slang and specialized terms have emerged online—many of which are rarely encountered outside the crypto industry. These terms have become a core component of the professional language used by traders, miners, and investors.

Unfortunately, not knowing crypto slang can seriously impede your understanding of information and your ability to operate effectively in the digital asset market. To address this challenge, crypto media professionals have created a comprehensive glossary of the most widely used terms and slang expressions, helping newcomers adapt more quickly to the crypto industry.

Miner Terms

What Is an ASIC

An ASIC is a specialized device designed for professional cryptocurrency mining. ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) refers to an integrated circuit built specifically for a single purpose—mining a particular cryptocurrency.

Unlike standard graphics cards, ASICs deliver much higher mining performance and energy efficiency. However, they are narrowly specialized and can only mine certain cryptocurrencies that use a specific hashing algorithm. For example, Bitcoin ASICs are not suitable for mining Ethereum.

What Is Mining

Mining is the process of generating cryptocurrency by solving complex mathematical problems. Miners use their computing power to validate blockchain transactions and create new blocks.

Miners are rewarded with new coins and transaction fees for successfully solving cryptographic problems and adding new blocks to the chain. Mining is the foundation of security for many blockchains that use the Proof-of-Work algorithm.

Trader Terms

What Is a Sideways Market

Sideways market describes an asset’s lateral movement within a set price range with minimal volatility. This market condition is often called a flat or a consolidation phase.

In trading, sideways markets are viewed as periods when assets build strength for a subsequent move. During this phase, buyers and sellers are typically in balance. Experienced traders use sideways movement to accumulate positions ahead of a potential price breakout in either direction.

What Is a Bullish Trend

Bullish trend refers to a sustained period of positive market movement, marked by a series of rising prices. Traders call buyers who drive prices higher “bulls.”

The name comes from the image of a bull lifting its opponent upward with its horns. Bullish trends are typically accompanied by optimistic sentiment, rising trading volumes, and an influx of new investments into crypto assets.

What Is a Dump

Dump refers to a deliberately triggered sharp drop in an asset’s price, often organized by large holders or trader groups. Dumps may be used to manipulate the market and profit from falling prices.

During a dump, large amounts of coins are sold, flooding the market, creating oversupply, and prompting panic sales among smaller investors. Large players may then buy the asset at a lower price.

What Is a Bottom in Trading

Bottom is a term traders use to refer to a local or global minimum in an asset’s price. Identifying the bottom is a key challenge in trading, as buying at the bottom can maximize potential profit.

However, predicting the exact bottom is extremely difficult, which is why the crypto community jokes that the bottom can have a basement. Traders rely on various technical indicators to identify potential bottom levels.

What Is a Green Market

Green market refers to a period of price growth for crypto assets. On charts, positive price movement and rising values are shown in green.

Saying “the market is green” means that most cryptocurrencies are showing upward momentum. These periods usually see higher trader activity and an influx of new participants into the digital asset market.

What Are X’s in Trading

X’s are a measurement unit for asset growth or profit. One X means 100% growth, two X’s—200%, three X’s—300%, and so on. The English letter “X” is commonly used to denote this.

Traders use “X’s” to quickly evaluate potential investment returns. For example, “the coin did 10 X’s” means its price increased tenfold, or by 1,000%. This is a convenient communication shorthand in the crypto community.

What Is a Red Market

Red market describes a period of declining prices for crypto assets. On charts, falling prices are shown in red, symbolizing losses and negative market movement.

Red markets often lead to panic among inexperienced investors, prompting them to sell assets en masse, which accelerates the decline. Savvy traders view these periods as opportunities to buy promising assets at reduced prices.

What Is a Crypto Portfolio

Crypto portfolio refers to an investor’s collection of digital assets, detailing each asset’s proportional share. Portfolios are typically built to diversify risk and reduce dependency on any single coin’s performance.

A well-constructed crypto portfolio may include Bitcoin as a core asset, altcoins of varying market caps, stablecoins for value preservation, and high-potential projects. Rebalancing the portfolio helps optimize the risk-return ratio.

What Is a Long Position

Long is the term traders use for holding an asset long-term or opening a position expecting price appreciation. The word comes from the English “long.”

Opening a long means the trader expects the asset’s price to rise and buys it to sell later at a higher price. Long positions are the main strategy for investors confident in the crypto market’s long-term potential.

What Is a Bearish Trend

Bearish trend refers to a prolonged period of market decline, characterized by a steady drop in prices. Sellers who drive prices down are called “bears.”

The term comes from the image of a bear pushing its opponent down with its paws. Bearish trends are normally marked by pessimistic sentiment, declining trading volumes, and capital outflows from crypto assets. These periods can last for months or even years.

What Does It Mean to Hit a New High

Hit a new high is slang for reaching a new all-time or local maximum in an asset’s price. The term is derived from the English “high.”

When a cryptocurrency hits a new high, it often draws media attention and new investors, which may foster further price appreciation. Setting new all-time highs is considered a strong bullish signal.

What Is a Pump

Pump refers to a deliberate artificial price spike, typically orchestrated by a group of traders or large holders. The term comes from the English “pump.”

Pumps are often used to manipulate the market for illiquid cryptocurrencies. Organizers buy coins at low prices, create artificial hype to attract new buyers, and then sell at the peak. Participating in these schemes is extremely risky for inexperienced investors.

What Is Overbought in Trading

Overbought describes a market or asset condition where buyer demand has been fully met and the price has reached a temporary peak. This often precedes a correction or sell-off as selling pressure takes over.

Traders use technical indicators like the RSI (Relative Strength Index) or Stochastic to spot overbought conditions. An RSI reading above 70 typically signals an overbought asset and a likely price decline.

What Is Support in Trading

Support is a robust price level where an asset frequently rebounds upward due to heightened buying interest. Support levels form when buy orders accumulate within a specific price range.

Traders leverage support levels to identify market entry points and set stop-losses. Breaking below support may signal the start of a downtrend and is often accompanied by accelerated price drops.

What Is Profit

Profit is the gain from trading or investing. Crypto traders commonly use this term to quantify the returns from their digital asset activities.

The phrase “lock in profit” means closing a winning position and realizing gains. Effective profit management is essential for successful traders—it’s not just about making money but also knowing when to secure it.

What Is Resistance in Trading

Resistance is a strong price level where an asset frequently reverses downward due to increased selling interest. Resistance levels are established as sell orders accumulate in a specific price range.

A breakout above resistance is a strong bullish signal and is often accompanied by a rapid price surge. Traders use resistance levels to set profit targets and identify potential exit points.

What Is a Sell-Off in Trading

Sell-off is the intentional mass sale of coins, often engineered to spark market panic. The term can also refer to selling after negative news about an asset’s issuer or project.

Large holders sometimes “dump” coins to trigger panic selling among small investors. This environment allows them to profit from short positions or buy assets at lower prices. Sell-offs can also be natural reactions to negative fundamentals.

What Is Shorting in Trading

Short is a short position in trading, opened to profit from a price decline. This term describes trades that make money when crypto prices fall.

The shorting process works like this: a trader borrows an asset, sells it at the current price, buys it back cheaper, and returns the loan—keeping the difference. Short sellers are called “shortists.” Shorting is risky because potential losses are theoretically unlimited.

Slang

What Is an Airdrop

Airdrop is the free distribution of tokens or coins to members of the crypto community. The term is borrowed from the English “airdrop.” Sometimes the process is also called “airdrops.”

Airdrops are used to promote new projects, attract attention to a platform, or reward early users. Participants can receive tokens simply by registering a wallet, subscribing to a project’s social media, or completing simple tasks. Airdrops have become a popular marketing tool in crypto.

What Is a Whale in Crypto

Whale refers to a large investor or holder of a significant amount of cryptocurrency. This term usually describes people who own over 1,000 bitcoins or an equivalent in other cryptocurrencies.

Whales can have a major market impact with their moves. A large whale buy or sale can cause significant price swings. Traders track whale activity using blockchain analytics to anticipate possible market shifts.

What Is a Bounty

Bounty is a reward program for completing specific tasks related to promoting a crypto project. The term is borrowed from the English “bounty.”

Unlike airdrops, bounty campaigns require community members to complete specific tasks to earn tokens. Examples include reposting startup ads on social media, writing articles, translating project documentation, finding bugs, or creating content.

Someone who regularly participates in bounties is called a “bountist.” A professional bounty hunter is known as a “bounty hunter.”

What Is a Faucet in Crypto

Faucet (from the English “faucet”) is a platform or service where users can get small amounts of cryptocurrency for free or by completing simple tasks. The name refers to a faucet dripping water.

Faucets typically offer simple actions: viewing ads, solving captchas, playing mini-games, or visiting certain sites. Users receive symbolic crypto rewards for these actions. Faucets were especially popular in Bitcoin’s early days as an introduction for newcomers.

What Is To the Moon

To the moon is a slang phrase for a rapid or anticipated major price surge in an asset. The term comes from the English “to the moon.”

The phrase “to the moon” is a symbol of optimism in crypto and is often used in memes and discussions about a coin’s prospects. When traders say a coin is “going to the moon,” they expect its price to multiply. The phrase expresses investors’ dreams of explosive gains.

What Is To the Bottom

To the bottom is slang for the opposite of “to the moon,” describing a catastrophic or expected crash in an asset’s price to its lowest levels—the bottom. The term plays on “to the bottom.”

In crypto, saying a coin is “going to the bottom” signals a bleak outlook for its future price. The phrase is often used ironically or as a risk warning about an asset.

What Is HODL

HODL describes a long-term holding strategy for crypto assets, regardless of short-term volatility or market downturns. The word originated from a typo of “hold” and became a cult meme.

In crypto, HODL is more than an investment strategy—it’s a belief in blockchain and crypto’s long-term potential. People who “HODL” are called “HODLers.” These market participants, who don’t panic or join mass sell-offs, help stabilize coin prices and reduce volatility.

What Is a Hamster in Crypto

Hamster is a derogatory term for an inexperienced investor who lacks the knowledge and skills to operate effectively in the digital asset market. It describes naive, vulnerable market participants who are easily influenced and manipulated.

Hamsters tend to make emotional, rumor-driven investment decisions or take advice from strangers online. They often buy at market peaks due to FOMO and sell at lows in panic. Large players frequently use hamsters to manipulate illiquid markets.

What Is a Shitcoin

Shitcoin is a derogatory term for a low-quality or questionable cryptocurrency. Seasoned investors use it to express a negative view of a coin or project. “Shitcoin” is derived from the English phrase “shit coin.”

Shitcoins usually refer to projects without genuine technical backing, a credible team, clear use cases, or with scam characteristics. Investing in shitcoins is highly risky and often results in total losses.

General Terms

What Is Blockchain

Blockchain is an innovative technology for data storage and transmission based on a distributed ledger, where information is recorded as sequential, cryptographically linked blocks.

Each block contains transaction data, a timestamp, and a link to the previous block, making the data nearly immutable. Blockchain offers transparency, security, and decentralization, eliminating the need for intermediaries. This technology is used in cryptocurrency as well as in logistics, healthcare, finance, and beyond.

What Is Listing

Listing is the process of adding a cryptocurrency to the list of assets available for trading on a specific exchange or platform. Getting listed on a major exchange is a key milestone for any crypto project.

Listing is typically accompanied by increased liquidity and price growth as new traders and investors join. Exchanges set different requirements for listing, including technical integration, legal checks, and fee payments. Listing on major platforms boosts project trust and visibility.

What Is Mainnet

Mainnet is the primary, live network of a blockchain project, where real transactions using native cryptocurrency occur. The term is a literal borrowing from the English “mainnet.”

Mainnet launch marks a project’s transition from testing and development to full-scale operation. Before mainnet launch, projects typically run on testnets using valueless test tokens. A successful mainnet launch is a clear sign of a project’s maturity and readiness.

What Are Mixers

Mixers (or tumblers) are platforms and services that boost the anonymity of crypto transactions by mixing coins from different users. Here’s how mixing works:

• User #1 sends funds to a mixer and specifies a recipient address.
• The platform combines those funds with assets from other users in a shared pool.
• The mixer then sends the requested amount from the mixed coins to the recipient address.

By using a mixer, the sender breaks the link between their address and the recipient’s, preserving transaction anonymity. However, mixers may draw regulatory scrutiny, as they are sometimes used for money laundering.

What Is a Node

Node refers to any computer or server connected to a blockchain network and participating in its operation. The term comes from the English “node.”

Nodes share data about new blocks and transactions throughout the network. A node may be full (holding the entire blockchain history) or light (holding only part of the data). Full nodes maximize network security and decentralization by independently verifying all transactions and blocks.

What Is a Sidechain

Sidechain is an independent parallel blockchain that runs alongside the main network and is linked by a two-way peg. The term is borrowed from the English “sidechain.”

Sidechains are used to expand the main blockchain’s capabilities, improve scalability, or test new features without risking the main network. Assets can move between the main chain and sidechain, letting users leverage the strengths of both.

What Is Coin Burning

Coin burning refers to intentionally and irreversibly destroying a certain amount of cryptocurrency by sending tokens to a special address from which they can’t be withdrawn. Projects use burning to help support a digital asset’s price by reducing its circulating supply.

The burning mechanism is based on the law of supply and demand: reducing supply (while demand stays the same or rises) drives up the asset’s value. Some projects regularly burn a portion of transaction fees, creating a deflationary token model.

What Is a Scam

Scam is a fraudulent project or scheme that aims to deceive investors and steal their funds. The term is borrowed from the English “scam.”

This label is applied to risky investments where the organizers never intended to deliver a real product, focusing instead on collecting funds and vanishing. A person who organizes or joins a scam is called a scammer. Signs of a scam include an anonymous team, unrealistic profit promises, no technical documentation, and aggressive marketing.

What Is a Soft Fork

Soft fork is a backward-compatible blockchain protocol update that lets older network nodes keep operating under new rules. The term is borrowed from the English “soft fork.”

This describes moderate protocol changes that don’t require every node to upgrade. The slang term “fork” helps illustrate the process—a branching of rules into “before” and “after” the update, with both branches staying compatible.

What Is a Fork

Fork is a change to a blockchain’s base code that creates an alternative version of the network. The term is borrowed from the English “fork.”

A fork splits a blockchain into two or more independent chains. The term “fork” visually represents the process—a branching into distinct “prongs”: a “before” and “after” version. Forks may be planned (for upgrades) or result from community disputes.

What Is FOMO

FOMO is the fear of missing out—a psychological state that often drives investment decisions. The term is a direct translation of the English acronym FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

“FOMO” describes situations where investors, driven by emotion and without sound reasons, rush to buy assets out of fear of missing potential gains. This is especially common during sharp price moves and often leads to buying at the top—and losses.

What Is a Hard Fork

Hard fork is a major protocol change in a blockchain that is incompatible with previous versions and requires all network nodes to upgrade. A hard fork can alter the consensus mechanism, transaction validation rules, or other core network parameters.

To implement a hard fork, a new, independent branch is separated from the original blockchain and runs on updated rules. Nodes that don’t upgrade continue on the old chain. The term is borrowed from “hard fork.” The slang “fork” helps illustrate the process—a hard split into incompatible “prongs”: old and new blockchain versions.

FAQ

What is HODL? Why do crypto investors use this term so often?

HODL stands for “Hold On for Dear Life” and comes from a 2013 typo on a Bitcoin forum. Crypto investors use it to describe a long-term holding strategy—regardless of market swings, they believe the asset’s value will grow over time. It’s a buy-and-hold investment philosophy.

What do ‘FUD’, ‘FOMO’, and ‘DYOR’ mean in crypto investing?

FUD refers to panic-inducing rumors and market misinformation. FOMO is the fear of missing out during price surges. DYOR stands for “do your own research” before investing.

What are a ‘wallet’, ‘private key’, and ‘public key’? How should a crypto investor understand these concepts?

A wallet is a tool for holding cryptocurrencies. The private key is the password protecting your wallet and must be kept secure. The public key is shared for address verification. Investors should never share their private key.

How do ‘Airdrop’, ‘IEO’, and ‘IDO’ differ in the crypto market?

An airdrop is a free token giveaway. IEO (Initial Exchange Offering) means launching tokens via a centralized exchange. IDO (Initial DEX Offering) means launching tokens via a decentralized exchange. The main difference is in the distribution channel and how investors access the offering.

What are “whales” and “paper hands”? What do these terms mean in trading?

Whales are large investors holding substantial crypto and able to move the market with big trades. Paper hands are traders who sell quickly at the first sign of losses due to fear. Whales often exploit this fear for price manipulation and profit.

What are technical analysis terms in crypto investing, such as ‘support level’, ‘resistance level’, and ‘breakout’?

Support level is a price where buyers step in and prices may bounce. Resistance level is where sellers are active and prices may fall. A breakout is when the price moves beyond these levels.

What are “Stablecoin” and “Token”? What roles do they play in crypto investing?

A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to fiat or other assets to keep prices stable. A token is a digital asset representing rights or utility. In investing, stablecoins are used to reduce volatility, while tokens are used for trading and rewards.