The crypto enthusiast's glossary 2025: 50 Terms you need to know

1. Altcoin – Any cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin

2. Airdrop – Free distribution of tokens to promote a project or reward users

3. ATH (All-Time High) – The highest price ever reached by a cryptocurrency

4. Bagholder – Someone holding a token after its price has crashed

5. Bear Market – A prolonged period of falling prices

6. Bull Market – A period of rising prices and investor optimism

7. Bridge – A protocol connecting different blockchains for token transfer

8. Burn – The process of removing tokens from circulation permanently

9. DEX (Decentralized Exchange) – A peer-to-peer marketplace with no central authority

10. DYOR (Do Your Own Research) – A reminder to investigate before investing

11. ERC-20 – A standard for tokens on the Ethereum blockchain

12. Fiat – Traditional government-issued currency like USD or EUR

13. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) – The urge to buy when prices surge

14. FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) – Negative sentiment that spreads panic

15. Gas Fee – Transaction fee paid to miners or validators

16. Genesis Block – The first block in a blockchain

17. Gwei – A small denomination of ETH, used for paying gas fees

18. HODL – A misspelling of “hold” that became slang for not selling

19. ICO (Initial Coin Offering) – A fundraising method using token sales

20. IDO (Initial DEX Offering) – A decentralized form of ICO on a DEX

21. KYC (Know Your Customer) – A verification process for users’ identity

22. Layer 1 – The base blockchain (e.g., Ethereum, Solana)

23. Layer 2 – A scaling solution built on top of a Layer 1 blockchain

24. Liquidity – How easily a token can be bought or sold

25. Liquidity Pool – A pool of tokens locked in a smart contract to enable trading

26. Market Cap – The total value of all tokens in circulation

27. MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) – Profits miners/validators extract by reordering transactions

28. Metaverse – A digital universe powered by blockchain, NFTs, and virtual reality

29. Minting – Creating new tokens or NFTs

30. Multisig – A wallet that requires multiple private keys to approve a transaction

31. NFT (Non-Fungible Token) – A unique digital asset verified on the blockchain

32. Node – A computer that participates in a blockchain network

33. On-chain – Activity or data recorded directly on the blockchain

34. Off-chain – Activity or data that exists outside the blockchain

35. Oracle – A service that brings off-chain data onto the blockchain

36. Private Key – A secret code used to access and manage your crypto

37. Public Key – The address used to receive crypto

38. Pump and Dump – Artificially inflating a token’s price and then selling it off

39. Rug Pull – When a project’s team disappears with investor funds

40. Seed Phrase – A 12–24 word recovery phrase that backs up your wallet

41. Sharding – A method of splitting a blockchain to increase scalability

42. Smart Contract – A self-executing program on the blockchain

43. Stablecoin – A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset like the US dollar

44. Staking – Locking up tokens to earn rewards and secure the network

45. TVL (Total Value Locked) – The amount of capital locked in DeFi protocols

46. Tokenomics – The economic model and utility behind a token

47. TGE (Token Generation Event) – The launch moment of a project’s token

48. Validator – A node that confirms blockchain transactions (especially in PoS)

49. Wallet – A tool to store and manage crypto assets (software or hardware)

50. Web3 – The next phase of the internet, built on decentralization and blockchain