Going through my twitter feed, I see more and more crypto slang being used – mainly to make things short and easy, but also, people like to show that they’re OG’s (we’ll get to this in a few seconds).
So, to make it easier for you to decipher some of that hardcore slang on CT (crypto twitter) I compiled here a few of the most used crypto terminology. For a complete list of all crypto related terms, acronyms and other slang, please refer to my A-Z guide “Crypto Jargon” which I published two years ago. It’s now in its third update and can be found on my website here.
Altcoin – any coin other than Bitcoin (alternative coin)
CT – as mentioned above this stands for Crypto Twitter.
OG – coming from Original Gangsta, it has a more broad meaning these days, referring to someone being Old School, in other words, someone with vast experience and knowledge in the field that it’s being used for.
DYOR – stands for Do Your Own Research
WTFDIK or WDIK – What Do I Know (What The F%&^ Do I Know)
Mcap – Market Capitalization is the total evaluation of a coin (circulating supply x price)
Lowcap – a coin with a small marketcap
Noob – someone who is new to crypto
BTFD – Buy The F*%king Dip
TA – Technical Analysis
FA – Fundamental Analysis
ETF – Exchange Traded Fund
Addy – Wallet Address
PK – Private Key (safeguarding your coins/tokens)
PubKey – Public Key (your public wallet address)
ATH – All Time High
ATL – All Time Low
FUD – Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt (negative news or other bad content about a coin)
FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out (when people rush into buying a coin that is being hyped)
KYC – Know Your Customer (most exchanges require ID verification known by this acronym)
HODL – a misspelling of “Hold” that became a legit crypto term and means holding your crypto instead of selling it. Originally used for Bitcoin, later for altcoins too.
SL – (trading acronym) this stands for Stop Loss
TL – (trading acronym) Trend Line
TF – (trading acronym) Time Frame
POW – Proof Of Work (mining)
POS – Proof Of Stake (mining)
Pump’N’Dump – when a coin suddenly shoots up only to drop heavily back down soon after
Rekt – slang for Wrecked or in other words, losing loads of money in a bad trade
ROI – Return On Investment
APY – Annual Percentage Yield (similar to ROI but includes compounded earnings)
Long – buying
Short – selling
Whale – someone with a huge buying or selling power (capital)
ELI5 – Explain Like I’m 5 (years old)
Want more…?
Get my “Crypto Jargon” eBook. It consists of more than 800 terms, acronyms and trading slang explained in greater detail and easy to understand.
It’s now in its third update and can be found on my website here.
Crypto-Corner 