Crypto glossary
73 crypto terms in plain English. Every entry links to live data on VaultX, so you can see the idea in the real market.
A
AirdropAn airdrop is a free distribution of tokens to wallets, often to reward early users of a project…AltcoinAn altcoin is any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. The term covers everything from Ethereum to…AltseasonAltseason is a stretch of time when altcoins rise much faster than Bitcoin, often after Bitcoin …APY and APRAPR is the simple yearly rate; APY includes compounding, so it is higher for the same rate.…Automated market maker (AMM)An AMM is a DEX design that prices tokens from a pool's balances instead of an order book.…
B
Bitcoin (BTC)Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, launched in 2009. It runs on a public ledger kept by thousa…Bitcoin dominanceBitcoin dominance is Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market value, shown as a percentage.…Bitcoin halvingThe halving cuts the reward for mining a Bitcoin block in half, roughly every four years.…BlockA block is a batch of transactions added to the blockchain together. Bitcoin adds one about ever…BlockchainA blockchain is a shared ledger copied across many computers, where records are grouped in block…BridgeA bridge moves tokens from one blockchain to another.…Buy and sell taxSome tokens take a percentage of every buy or sell. The contract owner can sometimes raise it at…
C
CEX (centralized exchange)A CEX is a company-run exchange such as Coinbase or Binance that holds your coins in an account.…Circulating supplyCirculating supply is the number of coins that are actually tradable right now, excluding locked…ConfirmationA confirmation is each new block added after your transaction. More confirmations mean the trans…Copy tradingCopy trading means mirroring the trades of another trader, by hand or automatically.…Cross-chain swapA cross-chain swap exchanges a coin on one chain for a coin on another, for example BTC for SOL,…Crypto whaleA whale is a wallet or trader holding or moving a very large amount of a coin, enough to move it…
D
DeFi (decentralized finance)DeFi is financial services such as trading, lending and saving run by smart contracts instead of…DepegA depeg is when a stablecoin or pegged token trades away from its target price.…DEX (decentralized exchange)A DEX lets you trade tokens straight from your wallet through smart contracts, with no account.…DEX aggregatorA DEX aggregator checks many exchanges at once and splits your trade to get the best price. Jupi…DYORDYOR stands for "do your own research": check the facts yourself before you buy anything.…
E
Ethereum (ETH)Ethereum is a blockchain that runs programs called smart contracts. ETH is its native coin and p…Exchange inflow and outflowInflow is crypto sent to exchanges; outflow is crypto withdrawn from them to private wallets.…
F
Fear & Greed IndexThe Crypto Fear & Greed Index scores market mood from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed) us…Fully diluted valuation (FDV)FDV is the price multiplied by the maximum supply that will ever exist, including coins not yet …Funding rateThe funding rate is a periodic payment between long and short traders on perps that keeps the pe…
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H
Holder concentrationHolder concentration shows how much of a token's supply sits in its largest wallets.…Honeypot tokenA honeypot is a token whose contract lets you buy but blocks or heavily taxes selling.…Hot and cold walletsA hot wallet is connected to the internet (an app or browser extension); a cold wallet keeps key…
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L
Layer 2A layer 2 is a network built on top of a blockchain (often Ethereum) that bundles transactions t…LeverageLeverage lets you trade with borrowed money, for example 10x means a 1% move changes your positi…Liquid stakingLiquid staking gives you a receipt token for staked coins (for example stETH for ETH) that you c…LiquidationA liquidation is when an exchange force-closes a leveraged position because its losses reached t…LiquidityLiquidity is how easily you can buy or sell without moving the price much.…Liquidity poolA liquidity pool is a pot of two tokens locked in a smart contract that traders swap against. De…Long and shortGoing long means betting a price will rise; going short means betting it will fall.…
M
MarginMargin is the collateral you put up to open a leveraged trade.…Market capitalizationMarket cap is a coin's price multiplied by the number of coins in circulation. It is the usual w…Market sentimentSentiment is the overall mood of traders: optimistic, fearful or undecided.…MemecoinA memecoin is a token driven by jokes, culture and community rather than a product.…MempoolThe mempool is the waiting room of unconfirmed transactions before they are added to a block.…MEV and sandwich attacksMEV is profit bots take by reordering transactions. In a sandwich attack a bot buys just before …MiningMining is the work of adding new blocks in a proof-of-work chain, rewarded with newly created co…
O
On-chain analysisOn-chain analysis studies public blockchain data such as transfers, wallet balances and exchange…Open interestOpen interest is the total value of futures or perp positions still open.…
P
Perpetual futures (perps)Perps are futures contracts with no expiry date that let traders bet on prices going up (long) o…PolymarketPolymarket is the largest crypto prediction market, where users trade shares on events in politi…Prediction marketA prediction market lets people trade on the outcome of real events. Prices act as crowd-estimat…Proof of stakeProof of stake secures a blockchain by having validators lock up coins as collateral. Misbehavin…Proof of workProof of work secures a blockchain by making computers solve costly puzzles to add blocks. Bitco…Pump and dumpA pump and dump is when a group hypes a coin to push its price up, then sells to latecomers.…
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SEC Form 4 insider buysA Form 4 is a filing US company insiders (executives, directors, big owners) must submit within …Seed phraseA seed phrase is the 12 or 24 words that can restore a crypto wallet. Whoever has it controls th…Self-custodySelf-custody means you hold your own keys and therefore your own coins, instead of trusting an e…SlippageSlippage is the difference between the price you expect and the price you get, caused by price m…Smart contractA smart contract is a program on a blockchain that runs exactly as written when its conditions a…Smart contract auditAn audit is a security review of a smart contract's code by specialists looking for bugs and bac…Smart moneySmart money is a nickname for traders and funds with a track record of profitable trades. Their …Solana (SOL)Solana is a fast, low-fee blockchain that confirms transactions in well under a second. SOL pays…StablecoinA stablecoin is a token designed to keep a steady price, usually 1 US dollar. USDT and USDC are …Stablecoin mint and burnA mint creates new stablecoins when dollars come in; a burn destroys them when dollars are taken…StakingStaking is locking coins to help secure a proof-of-stake network in return for rewards.…
T
Token unlockA token unlock is a scheduled release of previously locked coins, usually to early investors or …Total value locked (TVL)TVL is the value of crypto deposited in a DeFi protocol or chain.…
V
ValidatorA validator is a computer that checks transactions and proposes blocks in a proof-of-stake netwo…VestingVesting is a schedule that releases tokens to a team or investors gradually over months or years…VolatilityVolatility measures how much and how fast a price swings.…
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