Metaverse Jargon
This section contains the definitions of popular crypto and metaverse terminologies to lhelp all the dumdums out there.
Altcoin
Short for “alternative coin.” A term used to refer to any cryptocurrency other than bitcoin.
Airdrop
The distribution of free crypto tokens to promote a new project or encourage community adoption.
Bitcoin
The world’s first and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Launched in 2009 by a pseudonymous creator known as “Satoshi Nakamoto.”
Blockchain
A type of digitally distributed, decentralized, public ledger that exists across a network.
Bear market
Is a condition where we can observe a general decline in the stock market over a period of time.
Bull market
Is a condition where we can observe a rise decline in the stock market over a period of time.
Cardano
A blockchain platform designed to be an alternative to Ethereum. Cardano was developed through a peer-review process and implements certain technologies, such as proof-of-stake (PoS), in order to be more scalable.
Central Bank Digital Currency
A digital version of a government-issued fiat currency that’s managed by a central bank.
Cryptography
The scientific study and practice of encoding and decoding data.
dapps
Short for “decentralized applications.” Autonomous apps that operate on distributed networks smart contracts, programs that automatically execute (say, a transaction) when specific conditions are met.
DeFi
Short for “decentralized finance,” a collective term for all finance-based dapps created on public blockchains.
Dogecoin
The native cryptocurrency of the Dogecoin blockchain. A popular blockchain project created around a viral internet meme of a Shiba Inu dog.
Ethereum
The blockchain that supports the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The network is called Ethereum and the actual currency is called ether. The Ethereum network directly incorporates smart contracts and provides the basis for many other digital currencies and projects, including decentralized apps (dapps), non-fungible tokens (NFT) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Fantom
The distribution of free crypto tokens to promote a new project or encourage community adoption.
Fiat
A term for any government-issued currency, such as the U.S. dollar or the Chinese yuan.
FOMO
Short for “fear of missing out.” A popular acronym used to describe anxiety over missing out on a potential opportunity.
FUD
Short for “fear, uncertainty, doubt.” Commonly used in the crypto space as a label for spreading negative news or information.
Gas
The ether that must be spent as a fee in order to execute a transaction or contract on the Ethereum network.
HODL
An intentional misspelling of 'hold' and common crypto slang term used to promote or describe the idea of never selling crypto. Retroactively designated an initialism for 'hold on for dear life'.
Liquidity
A term for describing how easily an asset can be bought or sold at any given price, volume and time.
Market Cap
Market capitalization is a term used to describe the total value of a project, company or other entity. For crypto, market cap is calculated by taking the current price of a project’s token and multiplying it by the total circulating supply.
Mining
The process of using computer equipment to verify and add new data to a blockchain ledger, as well as add new coins into circulation.
NFT
Short for “non-fungible tokens.” NFTs are digital tokens used to prove ownership of unique tangible and intangible items.
Public Key
A digital version of a government-issued fiat currency that’s managed by a central bank.
Public Ledger
A code used to create an address so a crypto wallet can receive transactions.
Sharding
Refers to splitting a blockchain into multiple, identical chains called “shards.” These shards each execute transactions and smart contracts in parallel, making a network more efficient and scalable.
Smart Contract
A special type of computer program that automatically executes a transaction whenever a predetermined input is received.
Stablecoin
A type of digital asset that maintains a stable value by tying it to another asset, such as gold or the U.S. dollar.
Token
A subset of cryptocurrencies. Tokens are units of value issued by platforms built on top of existing blockchains.
Volatility
A word used to describe how much the price of a crypto token deviates from the average over a given period.
Wallet
Hardware or software that stores a user’s private and public key pair and interfaces with a blockchain network.
Whale
A term used to describe investors who hold large amounts of specific cryptocurrencies.