Picture this.
It’s a large cocktail party in your city. You’re a new investor in crypto, and this party allows you to meet the bigwigs of the blockchain industry.
You stumble into the middle of a heated discussion by a group of Ethereum investors, and it’s flowing well. Only not for you, because you have no idea what they’re saying.
“What is HODL,” you think? “What does he mean by FUD?” “Fudge cake?”
The answers are within your reach, but because you’re not familiar with crypto slang, you feel lost.
Thankfully, there’s no need to worry about this scenario, as you’ll be learning some of the popular crypto slangs you need to know.
Let’s begin.
- HODL!
Perhaps the most popular crypto slang, the origins of HODL is actually comical. The term which means ‘’hold on for dear life’’ first popped up in an early Bitcoin forum as a typo for hold.
The term eventually became popular and is the rallying cry whenever the price of bitcoin becomes very volatile. That is when the price of Bitcoin goes either up or down.
For example, in 2018 when the price of Bitcoin dropped from $20,000 to $3000, investors were advised to HODL.
2. REKT
The dreaded word no investor wants to hear. Rekt (short form of wrecked), is used to describe a portfolio that has basically hit rock bottom. You do not want to get rekt in the crypto space as it depicts heavy financial losses.
3. Whale
Whales are big timers in the crypto bases who usually own large portfolios. These entities have huge amounts of cryptocurrency and a single trade from them can move the market either positively or negatively.
4. Pump and Dump
As the name suggests, a pump and dump is a process where the price of a token or cryptocurrency is inflated. After this, the original investors sell their stash while the prices are still high. Although an illegal process, pumping and dumping still occurs in the crypto space so be careful not to fall for it.
You can read more on common mistakes beginners make in crypto
5. Shitcoin
A shitcoin is a cryptocurrency without much value or purpose. This derogatory term can also be used to describe tokens without a big fan base or stakeholders.
For example, Memecoins are usually called shitcoins due to their lack of value and purpose beyond social media hype. Tokens that have also failed to grow beyond their initial hype are also referred to as shitcoins.
6. FOMO
“Fear of Missing Out” is a term used to describe a situation of envy. FOMO occurs a lot in the crypto space especially when investors spot a bullish spike (increase in the price of a token) in the market.
This causes anxiety for the investors on whether to invest in the belief that the price will go higher or stay away from the token in the fear that it would drop in value.
The anxiety and debate on whether to invest or not is defined as FOMO.
7. No-Coiner
A no-coiner is someone who doesn’t believe in cryptocurrency. They are usually pessimistic about blockchain and its uses or purpose. As such, they do not invest or own coins. Hence the term, no coiner.
8. Cryptosis
Cryptosis is defined as a state in which a person cannot stop talking about crypto. Laugh all you want but cryptosis is a huge bug especially among newcomers.
There are still a lot of popular slangs in the crypto space and more keep getting created as the industry moves forward.
However, the above listed should be enough to get you through any crypto party.
Don’t forget to get updated by joining the Breach community as you continue your journey through the blockchain space. Knowledge is power.
