Since the overhyped attention during the last quarter of 2017 when bitcoin price skyrocketed, cryptocurrencies have become a huge buzzword in the world of mainstream media. If you are new to the crypto space, you may be confused at some of the terms being thrown around by crypto enthusiasts and traders. Here’s a list of the most commonly used cryptocurrency terms, slangs, and jargons that you need to know:
• HODL – Hold on for dear life. HODL is a term commonly used by long-term investors and traders. Since the cryptocurrency market is very volatile, downward price action with 10-20% losses is very common. Traders and players use the term HODL to encourage others to hold on to their coins until the upward trend resumes.“Keep calm and HODL!”
• Whale – A whale is a huge investor in any cryptocurrency. There are instances where whales own up to 5% of a single cryptocurrency, which makes a whale’s trading movement cause very huge impacts to price action. “He’s been buying Bitcoin since 2012. That’s why he is such a whale right now.”
• FUD – Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. FUDs are negative rumors being spread around in the crypto community. Most of the time, FUDs cause huge downward impacts to price action. “The SEC crackdown caused so much FUD, which caused Bitcoin price to go down.”
• FOMO – Fear of missing out. FOMO is very common with newbie traders. When price action aggressively goes up, some traders fear that they are missing out on gains, which is why they decide to buy in on insanely high prices. “Bitcoin price suddenly shot up because a lot of traders got FOMO and bought in during the all-time high.”
• To the moon! – “To the moon” is a term used to refer to aggressive upward price action. Cryptocurrencies that suddenly shoot up to all-time highs are said to be going to the moon. “I will be very rich when Bitcoin goes to the moon by the end of 2018!”
• Bear and Bull – The bear and bull refer to market sentiments and price action. A trend is known as a bear when it the trend is sloping downward, and the market is at a loss. On the other hand, a trend is known to be a bull when the price action is going up, and market is recording gains. “The market is currently bearish because of so much FUD!”
• Lambo – Lamborghini. The term lambo is often used by traders to refer to insane gains in crypto trading. This term comes from real life news of early Bitcoin investors that are now millionaires. “Bitcoin just reached all-time high again. This is lambo!”
• Altcoins – Altcoins are alternative coins to Bitcoin. Since Bitcoin’s launch, many other cryptocurrencies have surfaced aiming to improve or compete with Bitcoin’s application. Some of the more popular altcoins are Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash. “Bitcoin is currently going down, so I’m shifting investments to altcoins.”
• Pump and Dump – Pump and dump is a scenario where a group of people or even a single entity, aggressively buys huge amounts of a cryptocurrency (which pumps up the price, creating a false demand), and then immediately sells the coin back to the open market (which dumps the price back down again). Pump and dump is a huge concern for real investors and is considered as an unethical trading practice. “The rapid increase in trading volume is just caused by a pump and dump.”
• DYOR – Do your own research. In the crypto space, there are many analysts. However, there are very few professional analysts. Some analysts are just basically huge enthusiasts who enjoy sharing insights about the market but are admittedly not professional advisers. This is why most of those enthusiasts often end their analysis with cautions to do own research regarding crypto. “This is not financial advice. DYOR!”
• Bagholders – This is a term borrowed from Wall Street. Some crypto traders buy a lot of less known altcoins and wait too long. When the value goes to zero, these altcoin traders are left holding nothing but the bag. “I’m investing only on the top 10 crypto because I don’t want to be a bagholder.”
• Rekt – Wrecked. This is a term for investors who have made really bad trades that caused them to lose lots of money. Getting rekt means buying at all-time highs, and seeing prices plummet to several month lows or even zero. “I bought Bitcoin last December 2017, and now I’m getting rekt.”
For the upcoming cryptocurrency enthusiast, this list will help you muddle crypto space. The recent developments in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are getting more and more interesting, all the more reason not to delay familiarizing yourself with these terms as early as possible.