A
Address (of a wallet) - string of letters and numbers that is used as an address of your wallet where you store your digital assets.
All-Time High (ATH) - the historically highest price of an asset.
Altcoin - any alternative cryptocurrency to Bitcoin.
Anti Money Laundering (AML) - Laws, regulations and procedures intended to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate assets.
Application Programming Interface (API) - an application programming interface, or API, is a piece of code that allows two applications to connect and share information.
Ask Price - seller’s offered price for an asset, such as a cryptocurrency, commodity or security.
Asset - any resource of value owned by a business or a person. In trading it refers to any tradeable asset (currency, cryptocurrency, commodity, stocks, bonds etc).
Average-weighted price (or volume-weighted-average price) - a trading benchmark used by traders that gives the average price a security has traded at throughout the day, based on both volume and price.
B
Bear Market - downtrend in price of assets.
Benchmark - leading asset in a particular market by which all other assets are compared. For example, Bitcoin a benchmark in cryptocurrency market.
Bid Price - buyer’s offered price for an asset, such as a cryptocurrency, commodity or security.
Bitcoin (BTC) - the first peer-to-peer cryptocurrency founded in 2009 by an unknown person or group called Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin Pizza - the infamous Papa John’s Pizza that cost Laszlo Hanyecz 10 000 Bitcoin when he, in 2010, offered the sum to anyone who bought a pizza for him online and ordered it to his door.
Block - a historical database in a blockchain of all transactions made until the block is full. It’s a permanent record, can be opened and viewed at any time.
Block explorer - an online webpage which allows users to browse information about blocks, transactions, balances, and transaction histories related to blockchain.
Block height - is the sequence number of a block in the blockchain, which count starts from the very first block in the blockchain.
Blockchain - decentralized data storage technology that stores data in chronological order - in a chain of blocks that are linked to each other by using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash (unique identification number), hash of previous block, timestamp and transaction data.
Bull Market - uptrend in price of assets.
Buy Wall - a single huge buy order or the composition of multiple large buy orders at the same price in the order book of a particular market.
Buyer - customer that is submitting an offer to buy an asset through the service.
C
Cancelled Orders - an order that has been removed from the order book
Capitulation - synonym for “panic selling”- refers to a period of strong selling activity, where investors give up their positions and sell their holdings as quickly as possible.
Centralized asset - an asset controlled by a third party, i.e. bank, government, individuals or other.
Credentials - personal information which allows you to access your private account (username, password, email address, personal number, name and surname etc.)
Circulating Supply - the approximate number of digital assets/cryptocurrencies circulating in the market.
Cold wallet - a wallet that is not connected to the internet (an offline wallet). It can be compared to a vault in a bank.
Confirmation Time - in blockchain world it refers to the time it takes to confirm a transaction and add it to the blockchain.
Consensus mechanism - Protocols that make sure all nodes are synchronized with each other and agree on which transactions are legitimate and are added to the blockchain.
Correction of price - after hitting a high or low, price tends to retrace to opposite direction.
Cryptocurrency - a digital peer-to-peer currency that uses cryptography for security and serves as a medium of exchange.
Cryptojacking - a malware which secretly uses your computing device to mine cryptocurrency
Cryptography - encryption and decryption of information by use of mathematical theories and computation
Crypto trading - is a type of trading which involves exchanging one cryptocurrency for another, buying and selling coins, and exchanging fiat money into crypto.
Custodian (in financial markets) - a financial institution that holds customers' securities for safekeeping in order to minimize the risk of their theft or loss. A custodian holds securities and other assets in electronic or physical form. In cryptocurrency context, holding custody of a wallet and assets also means holding the private keys and the responsibility of keeping funds safe.
Customer - natural person or legal entity which uses, has used or intends to use a service, can be used in the text as “you”. Generally, buyers and sellers, as well as holders of an account.
D
dApp (Decentralized Application) - applications that run on a decentralized P2P network of computers rather than one central computer. This allows the software to run on the internet without being controlled by a single entity.
Decentralized asset - an asset based on a distributed ledger, not controlled by a single entity.
Decentralized Exchange (DEX) - a cryptocurrency exchange which operates in a decentralized way, i.e., without a central authority.
Delisting - removal of a listed security from an exchange platform. It can happen when a company ceases operations, merges, does not meet the listing requirements, or seeks to become private.
Digital asset - a digital representation of something of value (securities, currencies, other type of assets).
Distributed ledger - type of database that is stored on multiple devices simultaneously, instead of central servers. Blockchains also are known as type of distributed ledger.
Do Your Own Research (DYOR) - a common phrase used by cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It is commonly used throughout the internet due to how fast and easily misinformation can spread.
Dolphin - someone who owns a medium amount of cryptocurrency (usually 100-500 BTC)
Double Spending - when a given amount of coins are spent more than once. Use of Blockchain technology prevents double-spending problem.
Dump - the term used to describe selling all (or a lot) of cryptocurrencies.
Dumping - when a lot of people sell at once, causing a sharp downward movement in a cryptocurrency’s price.
E
Encryption - a conversion of data into a secure code using mathematical theories and computation in order to prevent unauthorised access to data.
ERC-20 - is a technical standard used to issue and implement tokens on the Ethereum blockchain
Ethereum - an open-source blockchain project which basically enables creation of additional cryptocurrencies and projects to be built and deployed without having the need for their own blockchain. Ethereum has their own tokens, abbreviated as ETH.
Exchange platform - a marketplace where you buy, sell or exchange assets.
F
Fiat - government-issued currency, such as the US dollar.
Fish - someone who owns a small amount of cryptocurrency (usually 50-100 BTC).
Fork - a change in an existing blockchain protocol, which can create a separate “path” or chain from the main one.
Full Node - a computer that keeps a full record of blockchain network and validates that consensus/rules are held.
Fundamental analysis - a method of evaluating the value of an asset and analysing the factors that could influence its price in the future. This form of analysis is based on external events and influences, as well as financial statements and industry trends.
G
Genesis Block - The first ever block recorded on its respective blockchain network, also referred to as Block 0 or Block 1.
H
Hash - value or values from a string of text using a mathematical function.
Hashing - generating a value or values from a string of text using a mathematical function.
Halving - when the block reward for mining a crypto asset, such as bitcoin, drops to one-half of what it was before.
HODL - an acronym in cryptocurrency community for “Hold on for Dear Life”, meaning to maintain ownership of coins and not sell them at any cost.
Hot wallet - a wallet that is connected to the internet. It can be compared to a checking or debit account, that is an account that you use for everyday purchases.
Hardware wallet - a special type of cryptocurrency wallet which stores the user's private keys in a secure hardware device.
I
Index - a way to measure and compare price value of a given asset or basket of assets.
Initial Coin Offering (ICO) - a way of raising funds for new projects through crowdfunding, by selling their cryptocurrency to investors.
Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) - a way of raising funds for new projects, by selling their cryptocurrency to investors on an exchange platform, usually possesses less scam risk than ICO because of an exchange involved who thoroughly check projects.
Initial bounty offering (IBO) - a limited-time process by which a cryptocurrency is made public and distributed to the people who invest time/skill/resources into the new cryptocurrency, for example doing translation or marketing. Usually requires more commitment and effort than ICO.
Input - received funds in the wallet OR receiving address of a transaction. Input is what you call an output when you're spending it in a transaction.
Issuance - generation of a new digital assets by developer.
Immutable - a property that defines the inability to be changed, particularly over time.
Intermediary - a “traditional middleman” similar to a bank, it is a central third party that no longer is required in a decentralised Blockchain system.
K
KYE (Know Your Exchange) - principle of an exchange platform which stands for providing reliable, objective and authoritative data that can be used to guide and inform users on good compliance and to identify potential risks that may indicate financial or reputation loss or disadvantage.
Keylogger - malicious software that records inputs on the targeted system, most often through the keyboard. Used to hack into accounts by recording information and passwords.
L
Ledger - a record-storing system of financial data.
Limit order - a buy or sell order that you set at a pre-specified price.
Lightning Network - payment protocol that operates on top of a blockchain-based cryptocurrency. It is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency micropayment system that is focused on instant payments.
Lock time - estimated time at which a particular transaction can be added to the blockchain.
Liquidity - ease to convert digital assets into fiat or other digital assets.
Listing - adding an asset to an exchange.
Litecoin - a cryptocurrency created in October 2011 by former Google engineer Charles Lee. The motivation behind its creation was to improve upon bitcoin. The key difference for end-users being the 2.5 minute time to generate a block, as opposed to bitcoin’s 10 minutes.
M
Maker - a trader who places a limit order and thereby adds liquidity to the order book.
Master public key - a key that can generate all of the addresses in a Bitcoin wallet, but none of the private keys.
Margin/Leverage Trading - trading with funds that are borrowed from trading platform provider, broker etc. in order to open a position which is larger than the balance of your account.
Market capitalization (MCAP) - value of the total amount of an asset currently in existence (number of Bitcoin coins emitted x value of one Bitcoin = Market cap).
Market Makers - the main parties involved in providing liquidity to the market.
Market Order - a buy or sell order to be executed immediately at the current market price.
Mining - a process of confirming transactions and adding them to public ledger by using computational power.
Moon - a term used to describe a major price movement upwards. For example, Bitcoin is mooning/going to the moon.
N
Node - a device which maintains the blockchain, as well as carries out a variety of tasks
O
Offline wallet - see Cold wallet.
Output or UTXO (unspent transaction output) - in a blockchain is a transaction that has not been spent, and should be considered as an input in a new transaction.
P
Paper Wallet - a type of cold storage where private and public keys (often QR code) is printed or written on a piece of paper.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) - direct interaction between two parties without an intermediary.
Peer - a member of a peer-to-peer network.
Phishing - a method of trying to steal personal information using deceptive e-mails, websites and phone calls.
Private Key - a string of numbers and letters that are used to access your wallet. While your wallet is represented by a public key, the private key is the password you should safeguard. You need your private key when selling or withdrawing cryptocurrencies, as it acts as your digital signature. Private key is used to sign transactions that allow the user to spend their funds.
Proof-of-work (PoW) - a consensus mechanism used first by Bitcoin, where nodes called "miners" are in competition to create blocks by solving complex mathematical puzzles which requires a lot of computational power.
Proof-of-stake (PoS) - a consensus mechanism where a randomised process is used to determine who gets to produce the next block. Validators are entitled to stake their token (lock their tokens up for a certain time) to be eligible to produce blocks.
Proof-of-liquidity - a cryptographically signed assertion by a trusted third-party. Proof-of-Liquidity is used for cryptocurrencies that are pegged to a real-world security or commodity.
Protocol (in blockchain) - underlying computer code that allows blockchain application to run and provides the security and access to a blockchain
Public ledger - a publically shared record keeping system of all activities on the blockchain executed between network participants (e.g. transactions, balances).
Public Key - a long string of numbers and letters . It is mathematically derived from the private key and is used to generate addresses.
Pump - term used to refer to an upward price movement, usually driven by traders investing large sums of money in an asset.
Pump and Dump - occurs when a cryptocurrency’s price shoots up and then quickly crashes. Pump and dumps are often coordinated manipulations of the market by groups or individuals for profit.
Q
QR Code - a two-dimensional bar code containing information that can be read by a device with a camera.
R
Ransomware - type of malware which either denies access to a computer system and data or threatens to publish the victim's data until a ransom is paid.
Receiving address - a unique string of letters and numbers which is used to receive funds into your digital wallet. Receiving address can be used either by copy-pasting it, or as a QR code.
Rekt - crypto trader slang for "wrecked.", means that a trader lost substantial amounts of money.
ROI - “return on investment”, the ratio between the net profit and the cost of investing. It is used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment.
Replicated ledger - a blockchain ledger with one main copy of the data (master ledger), connected to a set of sub-layers of the same data (slave ledgers)
Risk-Based Approach - the assessment of the varying risks associated with different types of businesses, clients, accounts and transactions in order to maximize the effectiveness of an anti-money laundering program.
S
Seller - customer who submits an offer to sell assets through the service.
Signature - the mathematical operation that lets someone prove their sole ownership over their wallet, coin, data or so.
Satoshi Nakamoto - the pseudonym of the creator (or creators) of the bitcoin protocol and whitepaper.
Sanctions - set of measures imposed by the competent authorities against the states, natural and legal persons, as well as other subjects which violate the human rights, commit ethnical, territorial and religious conflicts, support terrorism or violate other international norms and principles.
Seed - a series of words that can be used as a back-up to regenerate access to your wallet. It should be kept safe offline and not shared with anyone.
Shrimp - someone who owns a small amount of cryptocurrency (usually less than 1 cryptocurrency token)
Satoshis (SATS) - The smallest possible unit of Bitcoin with a value of 0.00000001 BTC.
Source of Funds - refers to the origin of the particular funds or assets which are the subject of the business relationship between the firm and its clients.
Smart Contract - automated contracts (digital protocols) that trigger a certain action when predetermined conditions are met.
SIM swap fraud - occurs when a criminal is able to convince mobile operator to issue them with a replacement SIM card, by claiming a false identity and pretending that their mobile phone has been lost or stolen.
Scam - a fraudulent endeavor. In the cryptocurrency world, this often refers to the practice of fooling investors and customers into sending the funds to the scammer.
Scammer - someone who tricks people into sending money, sharing private information, or transmitting something else of value.
Spread - the difference between the highest bid (buy) price and lowest ask (sell) price. Formula: ask price - (minus) bid price = (equals) spread.
Stablecoin - a type of cryptocurrency that is designed to maintain a stable value by pegging it to fiat money, commodities or other digital assets, in order to minimize volatility.
T
Third Party - an entity that is an indirect participant of a contract or a transaction between two parties (i.e. service provider, exchange platform etc.)
Taker - someone who places an order at the market price that gets filled immediately.
Technical Analysis - trading tool to look at historical data on an asset in order to forecasting its price
Token - can be referred to digital asset in general or its unit of value (i.e., I have x amount of Bitcoin tokens).
Tokenized metal - a tokenized metal is a share of a precious metal like Gold or Silver that has been put on the blockchain and therefore, turned into a cryptocurrency.
Transaction ID/Hash ID (TXID) - a transaction hash which consists of letters and numbers and is basically an identification number given for a blockchain transaction.
Transaction - any action which involves sending, receiving or exchanging fiat money and/or digital currency.
Transaction Fee - fees given to the entity which facilitates transactions.
Trading - the act of converting/exchanging one asset to another or cash.
Trading pair - describes a trade between one type of cryptocurrency against another or fiat, i.e., BTC/ETH, BTC/USD etc.
Total Supply/Max supply - the total possible amount of an asset.
U
Utility token - a token that grants owners access to Blockchain products or services. Not intended to be investments or to grant equity ownership in a project. Also known as utility coins, user tokens and app coins.
USDC - USDC is a stablecoin which was founded by Coinbase and Centre. USDC is pegged to USD using the erc-20 token standard.
V
Volatility - range and speed of price change.
Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) - is a trading benchmark used by traders that gives the average price a security has traded at throughout the day, based on both volume and price.
W
Wallet - in the cryptocurrency/digital asset world a wallet is used to store, send and receive cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Whale - someone who owns a huge amount of cryptocurrency and is able to manipulate the price on the market (usually 1000-5000 BTC).
“Weak hands” - state when an investor’s confidence is influenced emotionally to the point of selling part or all of their cryptocurrency portfolio.
White paper - informational document which is prepared before launching a new cryptocurrency in order to provide commercial, technical, financial or any other important details.
Z
Zero confirmation transaction - a payment that has been broadcasted but is pending the inclusion on a blockchain.