Every bit of jargon, defined simply. Bigger concepts link out to a full guide — so you can go as deep as you like.
A string of characters (like an account number) that you share to receive crypto. Derived from your public key. Always double-check it before sending.
A distribution of free tokens to wallet holders, usually to bootstrap a community or reward early users. Beware scam airdrops that ask for your keys.
Read the full guide →Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Short for 'alternative coin'. Quality varies enormously and most lose value over time.
Anti-Money-Laundering — the rules exchanges follow to verify identities and prevent illicit funds moving through their platform.
Annual Percentage Yield — the yearly return on a savings or staking product, including compounding. High APYs usually mean high risk.
A sustained period of falling prices and pessimistic sentiment.
The first and largest cryptocurrency — decentralised digital money with a fixed supply of 21 million coins.
Read the full guide →The new coins paid to a miner or validator for adding a block of transactions to the chain.
A shared, tamper-resistant public ledger that records every transaction across a network of computers. The foundational technology behind crypto.
Read the full guide →A tool that moves tokens from one blockchain to another. Bridges are powerful but have been a frequent target of large hacks.
A sustained period of rising prices and optimistic sentiment.
Centralised Exchange — a company-run platform (e.g. Coinbase, Binance) for buying and selling crypto. Convenient, but it holds your keys.
Read the full guide →Keeping crypto keys completely offline — e.g. on a hardware wallet — to protect them from online attacks.
Read the full guide →A wallet that stores keys offline. The safest way to hold significant amounts of crypto.
The method a blockchain uses to agree on the valid state of the ledger — e.g. Proof of Work or Proof of Stake.
When a third party (like an exchange) holds your keys for you. Convenient, but 'not your keys, not your coins'.
Decentralised Autonomous Organisation — a community-run entity governed by token-holder votes rather than executives.
Decentralised Finance — lending, trading and earning yield through smart contracts instead of banks. Powerful but higher-risk.
Read the full guide →Decentralised Exchange — a platform that lets you swap tokens directly from your own wallet via smart contracts, with no company holding your funds.
Slang for holding an asset through volatility rather than selling. The opposite of 'paper hands'.
Spending the same coin twice. Preventing this is the core problem blockchains were invented to solve.
The technical standard most tokens on Ethereum follow, so wallets and apps can support them automatically.
A blockchain that runs smart contracts, not just payments. Its coin is ether (ETH), and it underpins most DeFi and NFTs.
Read the full guide →Ethereum Virtual Machine — the environment that runs smart contracts. Many other chains are 'EVM-compatible' so they can reuse Ethereum tooling.
A platform for buying, selling and trading crypto. Holding coins on an exchange means it controls the keys.
Government-issued money like pounds, dollars or euros — as opposed to cryptocurrency.
Fear Of Missing Out — the emotional urge to buy because a price is rising. A classic way to buy the top.
A change to a blockchain's rules. A 'hard fork' can split one chain into two with separate coins.
Read the full guide →Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt — negative information, sometimes spread deliberately to push a price down.
The fee you pay to make a transaction on a blockchain like Ethereum. It rises when the network is busy.
Read the full guide →The very first block of a blockchain.
A token that gives holders a vote over how a protocol or DAO is run.
A scheduled event (every 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years for Bitcoin) where the block reward is cut in half, slowing new supply.
A physical device that stores your keys offline and signs transactions without exposing them. The gold standard for securing larger holdings.
Read the full guide →The total computing power securing a Proof-of-Work network like Bitcoin. Higher is generally more secure.
To hold crypto long-term rather than trade it. Originally a typo of 'hold', now a community motto.
A wallet connected to the internet (a phone or browser app). Convenient for small, everyday amounts; less safe for large ones.
Initial Coin Offering — an early fundraising method where a project sells new tokens. Many were scams or failures; treat with caution.
Unable to be changed. Once data is confirmed on a blockchain, it's extremely hard to alter.
A loss liquidity providers can suffer when the prices of pooled tokens diverge. A key risk of providing liquidity in DeFi.
Know Your Customer — identity checks regulated exchanges must perform before you can trade.
A base blockchain like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana or Avalanche that settles its own transactions.
Read the full guide →A network built on top of a Layer 1 to make transactions faster and cheaper, settling back to the base chain for security.
Read the full guide →(1) The record of all transactions on a blockchain. (2) A popular brand of hardware wallet.
A Layer 2 on top of Bitcoin that enables instant, low-cost payments.
A pool of tokens locked in a smart contract that lets a DEX offer trading. Providers earn fees but take on impermanent-loss risk.
The live, real-value version of a blockchain — as opposed to a testnet used for development.
The total value of a coin's circulating supply (price × coins in circulation). A rough measure of size, not safety.
A token built around a joke, community or trend rather than a clear use. Extremely volatile and high-risk.
Read the full guide →Using computing power to confirm transactions and secure a Proof-of-Work network, earning new coins as a reward.
Another name for a seed phrase — the list of words that backs up your wallet.
Non-Fungible Token — a blockchain record proving ownership of a specific, unique digital (or physical) item.
Read the full guide →A computer running a blockchain's software, helping store and validate the ledger.
When you alone hold the keys to your crypto. More responsibility, but true ownership.
A service that feeds real-world data (like prices) into smart contracts.
The secret that proves you own a wallet and lets you spend from it. Never share it with anyone.
Read the full guide →A consensus method where validators lock up coins to secure the network, instead of using computing power.
Read the full guide →A consensus method where miners spend computing power to secure the network. Used by Bitcoin.
The shareable counterpart to your private key, used to derive your receiving address.
A scam where a project's team abandons it and runs off with investors' money, often by draining liquidity.
Read the full guide →The smallest unit of Bitcoin — one hundred-millionth (0.00000001) of a BTC.
A list of 12–24 words that can restore your wallet. Whoever has it controls the funds — keep it offline and private.
Read the full guide →Holding your own keys rather than trusting an exchange. The core principle of crypto ownership.
Read the full guide →The difference between the expected and actual price of a trade, common in fast-moving or low-liquidity markets.
A program that runs on a blockchain and executes automatically when its conditions are met. The basis of DeFi and NFTs.
A fast, low-cost Layer 1 blockchain popular for DeFi, NFTs and meme coins. Its coin is SOL.
Read the full guide →A token designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to a currency like the US dollar (e.g. USDT, USDC).
Read the full guide →Locking up coins to help secure a Proof-of-Stake network, earning rewards in return. Rewards aren't guaranteed.
Read the full guide →A practice version of a blockchain using valueless coins, used by developers to test before going live.
The economics of a token — its supply, distribution, inflation and incentives. Crucial for judging a project.
Total Value Locked — the amount of money deposited in a DeFi protocol. A rough gauge of usage and trust.
A participant in a Proof-of-Stake network who confirms transactions and produces blocks, earning rewards for honest work.
How sharply a price moves up and down. Crypto is highly volatile — large swings are normal.
An app or device that stores the keys controlling your crypto. Hot wallets are online; cold wallets stay offline.
Read the full guide →A vision of the internet built on blockchains, where users own their data and assets rather than platforms.
An individual or entity holding a very large amount of a coin, big enough to move the market.
A document a project publishes to explain its technology and goals. Read it critically — anyone can write one.
Moving crypto between DeFi protocols to chase the highest returns. High potential reward, high risk and complexity.
A way to prove something is true without revealing the underlying data. Increasingly used for privacy and scaling.
A Layer 2 scaling method that bundles many transactions into one proof, using zero-knowledge cryptography for security and efficiency.