Crypto Glossary

Learn cryptocurrency terminology with our comprehensive glossary of 1575+ terms, organized alphabetically.

0x Protocol
0x is a platform built on Ethereum that helps people trade cryptocurrencies in a decentralized way. It allows developers to create features for decentralized exchanges (DEXs), wallets, and marketplaces.
1hr
Refers to data that shows price movements and trading activity over the last hour.
24hr
Refers to information or data collected over the last 24 hours.
30d
Refers to information or statistics collected over the last 30 days.
401(k) Plan
A 401(k) plan is a retirement savings account offered by many US companies. Employees put in some of their earnings, and the company often adds extra money to help grow those savings for the future.
51% Attack
A 51% attack happens when one person or group controls more than half of the computing power on a cryptocurrency network, allowing them to manipulate transactions and potentially double-spend coins.
51% Attack An attack on blockchain by a group of miners controlling more than 50% of network hash rate
A 51% attack happens when a group of miners controls more than half of the computing power in a blockchain network, allowing them to manipulate transactions and potentially double-spend coins.
52-Week High/Low
A 52-week high is the highest price an asset has reached in the past year, while a 52-week low is the lowest price during the same time period.
52-Week Range
The 52-week range shows the highest and lowest prices of an asset over the last year.
7d
Refers to information or statistics collected over the last 7 days.
80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle)
The 80/20 rule, or Pareto Principle, means that a small portion of your efforts (20%) often leads to most of your results (80%). In cryptocurrency, this might mean that a few key trades or investments can give you the majority of your gains.
AI Agents
An AI agent is a computer program that can observe its surroundings, make choices, and act on its own to reach a specific goal.
AI Coins
AI coins are cryptocurrencies that help with transactions and activities related to artificial intelligence, ensuring that these processes are secure and transparent using blockchain technology.
AMLD5
AMLD5 is a new set of rules from the European Union aimed at preventing money laundering. It updates the existing laws to cover more areas, including cryptocurrencies, to ensure that financial transactions are safe and transparent.
API
API, or Application Programming Interface, is a set of rules that allows different software programs to communicate with each other. It tells them how to share data and what actions to perform, making it easier for developers to build applications.
AR Token (Arweave)
AR is the main digital currency used on the Arweave network.
ASIC
ASIC stands for application-specific integrated circuit. It is a special type of computer chip made specifically for mining cryptocurrencies, making it more efficient than regular computers for this task.
ASIC Resistant A term used to describe cryptocurrency proof-of-work protocols that are resistant to Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), by packing in various parameters that make it difficult for ASICs to have a competitive edge against consumer hardwares.
ASIC Resistant refers to cryptocurrency systems designed to make it hard for specialized machines (ASICs) to mine coins more easily than regular computers. This helps keep mining accessible to more people.
ASIC-Resistant
ASIC-resistant refers to blockchains and mining methods that are designed so that specialized mining machines (ASICs) do not have an advantage over regular computers. This helps keep mining accessible to more people.
Abenomics
Abenomics is Japan's economic plan created by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It focuses on three main strategies: increasing money supply, boosting government spending, and making changes to improve the economy.
Abnormal Return
Abnormal return is the extra profit that an investment makes compared to what is expected over a certain period of time.
Absolute Advantage
Absolute advantage is when a company can make a product using less time, money, or materials than its competitors.
Absolute Return
Absolute return is the total profit or loss from an investment over a certain period, without comparing it to any other investments or benchmarks.
Abstract
Abstract refers to an idea or concept that is not tied to a physical object or specific example.
Abstraction Scalability
Abstraction scalability refers to the ability of a system to grow by using existing programming parts as building blocks to create new applications or features more easily.
Accepting Risk (Acceptance)
Accepting risk means a company decides to go ahead with certain risks instead of spending time and money to avoid them.
Account
An account is a digital space where you can keep track of all your transactions and activities related to a specific cryptocurrency or asset.
Account Abstraction
Account abstraction is a way to simplify how people use blockchains by allowing them to personalize features of their smart contract accounts.
Account Balance
Account balance is the total amount of money you have in your bank or cryptocurrency account that you can use right away. In accounting, it is the result of subtracting all the money going out (debits) from all the money coming in (credits) in a company's account.
Account Number
An account number is a unique combination of numbers and letters that identifies a specific bank account and its owner.
Accountability
Accountability means being responsible for what you do, especially when it comes to handling money or transactions in cryptocurrency.
Accounting Conservatism
Accounting conservatism means that when things are uncertain, you should acknowledge potential future costs and debts right away, instead of waiting to recognize future profits or assets.
Accounting Method
An accounting method is a set of rules that decides when and how a business records its income and expenses.
Accounting Token
Accounting tokens are digital versions of credit or debit entries, similar to how you track money in a spreadsheet. They represent what you owe or what is owed to you.
Accredited Investors
An accredited investor is someone or a company that meets certain financial criteria, allowing them to invest in exclusive investment opportunities that are not available to regular investors.
Accretion (of a Discount)
Accretion of a discount is the profit you make when you buy an asset for less than its face value and then sell it for that higher value.
Accrual Accounting
Accrual accounting is a way of recording income and expenses when they happen, not when money is actually received or paid.
Accrue
Accrue means the interest, income, or expenses that build up over time.
Accrued Income
Accrued income is money that you have earned but haven't received yet, based on the way accounting works.
Accrued Interest
Accrued interest is the interest that has built up on a loan or investment but hasn't been paid yet. It shows how much money is owed or will be received at a certain date.
Accrued Liabilities
Accrued liabilities are amounts a company owes for expenses that have happened but haven't been paid yet because they haven't received the bills for them.
Accrued Revenue
Accrued revenue is the money a business earns from sales even if it hasn't been paid yet, usually because it hasn't sent an invoice to the customer right away.
Accumulation Phase
The accumulation phase is a period in the market that comes after prices have fallen. During this time, big investors begin to buy up assets gradually, which often indicates that prices may start to rise again soon.
Accumulation/Distribution Indicator
The accumulation/distribution indicator helps show whether a cryptocurrency is being bought (accumulated) or sold (distributed) by combining its closing price with the trading volume over a certain period.
Acid Test Ratio
The acid test ratio measures how easily a company can pay its short-term debts using its most liquid assets, like cash and accounts receivable.
Acquisition
An acquisition is when one company buys a large part of another company to take control of it.
Acquisition Cost
Acquisition cost is the total amount you spend to buy an asset, like property or equipment, after accounting for any discounts, incentives, and additional expenses, but before adding sales tax.
Acquisition Premium
Acquisition premium is the extra amount paid for a company above its market value when someone buys it.
Active Management
Active management means having a person or a team who regularly makes decisions to buy or sell assets in a portfolio to try to improve returns.
Activist Investor
An activist investor is someone who buys a significant amount of a company's shares to influence its decisions and push for changes.
Adam Back
Adam Back is a famous British expert in cryptography and a key figure in the cryptocurrency world.
Adaptive State Sharding
Adaptive State Sharding is a method used by Elrond that merges different sharding techniques to enhance how the network communicates and performs.
Address
An address is a unique string of letters and numbers that you use to send and receive cryptocurrency.
Address Delegation Delegation of a wallet's stake to a Super Staker
Address Delegation is when a wallet owner allows a trusted party, called a Super Staker, to use their cryptocurrency stake to help earn rewards on their behalf.
Administrative Expenses
Administrative expenses are the costs a company has to pay for things like salaries of office workers, rent for office space, and pay for managers.
Adoption Curve
The adoption curve shows how quickly people start using a new technology, like cryptocurrency. It helps identify different groups of users and their willingness to adopt the technology.
Advance/Decline Line (A/D Line)
The Advance/Decline Line (A/D Line) is a tool that shows the difference between the number of cryptocurrencies that are increasing in value and those that are decreasing, helping traders understand market trends.
Aeternity Blockchain
Aeternity Blockchain is a type of cryptocurrency network that uses a combination of two methods, Proof of Work and Proof of Stake, to secure transactions and maintain the system.
Affiliate
An affiliate is a relationship between two companies where one has a small ownership in the other, or both are part of the same larger company.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a way for businesses to pay people or companies a fee for helping to sell their products or services. When someone promotes these products and makes a sale, they earn a commission.
Agency Problem
The agency problem is the difficulty of getting one person (the agent) to act in the best interest of another person (the principal) instead of looking out for their own interests.
Agency Theory
Agency theory explains how to create relationships between two parties, where one (the agent) acts on behalf of the other (the principal), in a way that reduces conflicts and issues between them.
Agent
An agent is a person or company that has the authority to act on behalf of another business, making decisions and signing contracts for them.
Agentic applications (aApp)
Agentic applications (aApp) are software programs that use AI agents to combine different app experiences into one easy-to-use application.
Aggregate Demand
Aggregate demand is the total amount of goods and services that people want to buy in an economy.
Aggressive Investment Strategy
An aggressive investment strategy is a high-risk approach where investors seek to earn the highest returns possible in financial markets.
Air Gap
An air gap is a security measure where a device or system is completely isolated from the internet and other networks, making it impossible for malware or hackers to access it.
Airdrop
Airdrop is a way to give away free cryptocurrency or tokens to people, often to promote a new project or increase awareness.
Airdrop A way to promote cryptocurrencies by sending some free tokens to traders
Airdrop is a method used to promote cryptocurrencies by giving away free tokens to users.
Airnode
Airnode is a type of technology that helps connect real-world data from APIs to blockchain networks. It allows API providers to easily share their data on the blockchain, making it accessible for various applications in the crypto space.
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan was the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, from 1987 to 2006, overseeing the country's monetary policy during that time.
Algo-Trading (Algorithmic Trading)
Algo-trading is a way of buying and selling cryptocurrencies automatically using a computer program that follows specific rules.
Algorithm
A method or set of steps that a computer follows to solve problems or perform calculations.
Algorithm Algorithm is a set of rules to follow to solve a problem or conduct a task.
An algorithm is a step-by-step process or set of instructions used to solve a problem or complete a task.
Algorithmic Market Operations (AMOs)
Algorithmic Market Operations (AMOs) are systems that automatically manage the supply of algorithmic stablecoins. They help make these coins more scalable, decentralized, and transparent.
Algorithmic Stablecoin
An algorithmic stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that uses a computer program to manage its supply. When its price goes up, the program creates more coins to lower the price. When the price drops, it buys back coins from the market to help raise the price.
Algorithmic Stablecoin Algorithmic stablecoins are tokens pegged to a fiat currency which is usually the US dollar, purely through software and specific conditions.
Algorithmic stablecoins are digital tokens that aim to keep their value stable, usually at one US dollar, by using computer programs and specific rules instead of being backed by physical assets.
All Risks Coverage
All Risks Coverage is a type of insurance that protects against any losses or damages unless specifically excluded in the policy.
All-Time-High (ATH)
The highest price or market value that a cryptocurrency has ever reached.
All-Time-Low (ATL)
An all-time low (ATL) is the lowest price that a cryptocurrency has ever reached since it started being traded.
All-Time-Low (ATL) The lowest point (in price, in market capitalization) that a cryptocurrency has been in history.
All-Time-Low (ATL) is the lowest price or market value that a cryptocurrency has ever reached in its history.
Allocated Gold
Allocated gold is when you own a specific amount of gold that is stored in a safe place just for you.
Allocation
Allocation refers to the distribution of tokens or shares that can be earned, purchased, or set aside for a specific team, group, investor, or organization.
Allocation Efficiency
Allocation efficiency means using resources in the best way possible to make an organization run smoothly and effectively.
Allotment
Allotment is the process of distributing or assigning resources, like tokens or funds, to different people or projects over time in a business or investment context.
Alpha
Alpha measures how well an investment performs compared to a standard market index, showing whether it's doing better or worse than expected.
Alpha Version
An alpha version is an early test version of software that is released to check how easy it is to use and how it looks.
Alphanumeric
Alphanumeric phrases include both letters and numbers.
Altcoin
Altcoins are any cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. The name comes from "alternative coins," since they offer different features or purposes compared to Bitcoin.
Altcoin Coins althernative to Bitcoin
Altcoins are any cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.
Altcoin Trader
An altcoin trader is someone who buys and sells cryptocurrencies that are not Bitcoin.
Alternative Investments
Alternative investments are types of assets that don't usually move in the same way as stocks and bonds. They can offer different levels of risk and potential returns, making them a unique option for investors.
Amalgamation
Amalgamation is when two or more companies combine to form one new company, while still being seen as separate legal entities by the law.
Amazon S3
Amazon S3 is a cloud storage service that allows you to save and access your data quickly and affordably from anywhere at any time.
Amended Return
An amended return is a corrected version of your original tax return, used to fix mistakes or update information.
Anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism is a political idea started by economist Murray Rothbard that promotes a society without government, where all services, including law and security, are provided by private businesses and individuals. Many people in the cryptocurrency community support this philosophy because it aligns with their beliefs in personal freedom and voluntary trade.
Anchoring and Adjustment
Anchoring is when you have a fixed idea about something, and it affects how you make decisions. In cryptocurrency, this means your initial thoughts about a coin or market can influence your future choices, even if new information comes along.
Angel Investor
An angel investor is someone who gives money to support a new business or startup, often in exchange for a share of the company.
Animal Spirits
Animal spirits refer to the emotions and instincts that influence people's economic decisions, like their confidence or fear, rather than just logical factors.

About Crypto Glossary

Our cryptocurrency glossary provides clear definitions of key terms and concepts in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. Whether you're new to crypto or an experienced trader, this glossary helps you understand the terminology used in the industry.

Terms are organized alphabetically for easy navigation. Each definition is written in plain language to make complex concepts accessible to everyone.