Web3 lingo is confusing.
This list of 50+ terms will get you up to speed (fast):
First, the SLANG:
ALPHA - early investment advice or information that puts you ahead of the game
APEING IN - buying into an NFT project, perhaps without due diligence
BTFD - buy the f'ing dip, when a crypto price is dropping hard, that's the time to buy in
BUIDL - build useful stuff, when crypto is dipping, building useful stuff proves that it's still valuable.
DEGEN - degenerate/gambler, someone shooting at all chances, possibly taking extreme risks
DYOR - do your own research before you invest in cryptos, buy NFTs etc.
FOMO - fear of missing out
FREN - friend
FUD - fear, uncertainty and doubt
GM - good morning
GN - good night
GMI - gonna make it
NGMI - not gonna make it
WAGMI - we're all gonna make it
HODL - holding on for dear life when a crypto price tumbles
IRL - in real life
PROBABLY NOTHING - often used sarcastically to mean the opposite. It probably is something.
REKT - wrecked, refers to a crypto trader who is ruined due to losses from a price crash
RUGGED - when developers market a project to generate sales and then abandon it, taking existing profits and the project value (and buyer's NFT) goes to zero
SHILL â unsolicited endorsing in public, promoting an NFT you're dropping or a coin youâve invested in
SWEEP THE FLOOR - buying NFTs in bulk at the floor or base price
WEN - when
WHALE - individuals, institutions or exchanges that hold significant amounts of tokens of a particular cryptocurrency
Now Basic Terms:
ADDRESS - a string of characters that represents a wallet that can send and receive cryptocurrency
AIRDROP - a marketing campaign that distributes a specific cryptocurrency or token to an audience via wallets
BLOCK EXPLORER - interface that lets you see transactions on the blockchain eg. @etherscan
BLOCKCHAIN - a sequence of blocks, or units of digital information, stored consecutively in a public database. The basis for cryptocurrencies eg. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche
BURN - NFTs or coins are considered âburnedâ when they have been purposely and permanently removed from circulation
CRYPTO - cryptocurrency, a digital currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend
DAO - decentralized autonomous organization, a blockchain-based org where all involved can have ownership and engage in decision-making
DAPP - decentralized app, any practical application of blockchain and/or cryptocurrency, like mobile games or social sites eg. @CryptoKitties
DECENTRALIZATION - the transfer of control and decision-making from a centralized entity (individual or organization) to a distributed network
DEFI - decentralized finance, removes the control banks and institutions have on money, financial products and services
FIAT - a term for government issued currencies, like the US dollar or any currency controlled by a central authority
FLOOR - the lowest price available for an NFT in a collection, the minimum amount you need to buy one.
GAS - the fee required to conduct a transaction or execute a contract on the Ethereum blockchain
GWEI - denomination used to define the cost of gas in transactions on Ethereum
MAXI - maximalist, someone who believes that one particular crypto is the only viable one by far and predominantly invests in it
METAVERSE - a digital universe with all the aspects of the real worldâreal-time interactions and economies.
MINT - the creation of a new NFT token, turns a digital file into a crypto collectible or digital asset
NFT - non fungible token, a unique digital object that confers ownership of a virtual good, like a digital artwork or online collectible
PERMISSIONLESS - often used to describe blockchains, a system where no entity can regulate who can use it and how
P2E - play to earn, as in games like @AxieInfinity
PFP - profile pic, as in @worldofwomennft
SEED PHRASE - a series of words that unlocks your crypto wallet
It's like your bank account number, your social security number, date of birth, home address, and ATM pinâall in one.
If someone gets it, they can take all your Crypto assets.
SELF CUSTODY - only you have the possession of your digital assets because you control the private key, versus holding assets at an exchange like Coinbase
SMART CONTRACT - a piece of code that self-executes once certain conditions are met, like a vending machine but online
SOCIAL TOKEN - a type of cryptocurrency that a brand, community, or influencer can use to monetize themselves
TOKEN - a representation of an asset, can be held, traded, or staked to earn interest
TRUSTLESS - an environment where there is no centralized authority such as a bank
WALLET - a place to store crypto assets
COLD WALLET - stores digital assets off-line, making them secure from bad actors but more difficult to use @Ledger
HOT WALLET - is online and easily accessible but also more susceptible to hackers @MetaMask
WHITE/ALLOWLIST - a list of addresses that get early and guaranteed access to mint NFTs at a specific date and window of time
Level 2 Terms:
BLOCK - file with information on transactions completed during a given time period. Blocks are the constituent parts of a blockchain
ERC-20 - simple interface that allows for the creation of tokens on Ethereum that can be re-used by other applications, from wallets to decentralized exchanges
ERC-721 â defines non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum, allows anyone to create tokens that are completely unique
IMMUTABLE - data cannot be changed or modified by anyone after its creation, the core defining feature of blockchain
INTEROPERABILITY - the ability to see and share information across multiple blockchains
LAYER 2 - a scaling solution that promotes mass adoption of the Ethereum platform, provides tools to create scalable dapps that prioritize performance, user experience, and security eg. @0xPolygon
MINING - process where blocks are added to a blockchain, verifying transactions, also how new bitcoin or some altcoins are created
NODE - the most basic unit of blockchain infrastructure that stores data
PROOF OF STAKE - a crypto mining system that rewards mining power to miners based on how many tokens they have, is more energy efficient than đ
PROOF OF WORK - a mining system involving solving computationally intensive puzzles to validate transactions and create new blocks
STABLECOIN - a cryptocurrency with extremely low volatility, that has its market value pegged to some external reference such as the USD
STAKING - putting your tokens in to serve as a validator to the blockchain and receive a reward
That's it, folks. I hope this was useful.
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