If you’re fairly new to the world of cryptocurrency, you’ve likely noticed that there’s a lot of jargon that can be confusing. Here’s a list of the most common cryptocurrency terms that you should know when you’re starting out.
Altcoins
Short for alternative coins, altcoins are coins that came after the launch of Bitcoin and is used to describe any coin that is not Bitcoin.
Bagholder
An informal term that characterizes a person who holds a position that decreases in value until it holds less worth. They often times hold positions for extended periods of time until a lot of the initial investment is lost.
Bears/Bearish
Typically pessimistic in nature, this is a type of investor that believes that the market will go down and will aim to profit from it.
Bull / Bullish
A ‘bull’ is a trader or investor that has a positive outlook towards the market. Bullish is a trend where the prices are going upwards.
Bull Trap
An price formation where the bullish investors lock-in their positions in hopes that the market will go up but the trend follows a momentary upward movement then goes down even further.
Bear Trap
Opposite to ‘bull trap’, the bear trap is a situation where bearish investors position at a higher price in anticipation of a downward trend, but then the rallies or trend tends to go higher. In this case, the bears lose money.
BTD / Buy the Dip
This is a technique that traders and investors use when a coin’s value goes down from a recent high. They’ll buy as the price is going down and get a lower average buying price.
Moon
Used to describe a high price for a coin. If a coin is said to be going to the moon, it means the author anticipates the price will be going significantly higher.
Pump
This is an event where a specific coin is marketed profusely through a variety of communication channels like twitter or community groups so that prices go upwards.
Dump / Dumping
Dump is when you sell away your coins due to fear that you may not be able to sell your coins at a good value. Dumping is an event where the bears heavily sell a coin thus invoking a downward trend.
Pump and Dump
This is a fraudulent practice wherein investors are marketed to buy a certain coin. Once the prices have artificially gone up, the investors who hyped the coin will sell off their shares at the highest price possible leaving those who chased after the coin (at a higher price) at a loss. Those that have bought high, are often referred to as bagholders.
FA / Fundamental Analysis
An investment analysis method wherein investors evaluate a market based on economic, financial and other qualitative factors. For example, investigating the team behind a project, the circulating supply, upcoming announcements or releases, would all be considered part of fundamental analysis.
TA / Technical Analysis
This is a tool used by most traders to evaluate the market movements of tokens and coins with the intention of timing when to buy and sell. A variety of technical indicators such as RSI, MACD, trend lines, Fibonnaci retracements and more are employed to help make a prediction.
FOMO / Fear of Missing Out
The term for when a trader/investor chases after a coin that looks like it’s going up further in value. This is a rookie mistake where emotions can overwhelm their ability to think wisely and logically about a certain trade.
Shitcoin
A term used to describe coins that have failed to materialize in value because of loss of interest or speculation.
Know of any terms we missed? Let us know on the comments below and we'll add that to our infographics.
