Crypto (and CT, Crypto Twitter) has its own language. Here’s a handy glossary of common terms, with plain definitions and example usage.
Key terms and phrases
- FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
- Definition: Anxiety about missing a lucrative opportunity, leading to impulsive buys.
- Usage: “I bought that alt because I had major FOMO after it mooned.”
- HODL (Hold On for Dear Life)
- Definition: Meme for holding assets through volatility; long-term conviction.
- Usage: “I’m going to HODL my BTC through the bear market.”
- Moon
- Definition: Rapid, significant price increase.
- Usage: “ETH mooned after the announcement.”
- Alpha
- Definition: Early, high-signal insights about trends or profitable plays.
- Usage: “Got alpha on a new DeFi project launching soon.”
- FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
- Definition: Negative info (true or not) that spreads fear and triggers sells.
- Usage: “Ignore the FUD; fundamentals are unchanged.”
- Whale
- Definition: Large holder capable of moving markets.
- Usage: “A whale moved 1,000 BTC to an exchange—watch for volatility.”
- Pump and dump
- Definition: Artificial price inflation followed by a rapid sell-off.
- Usage: “Looks like a classic pump and dump.”
- Bagholder
- Definition: Still holding an asset far below your buy price.
- Usage: “I’m a bagholder from last cycle.”
- DYOR (Do Your Own Research)
- Definition: Investigate before investing; don’t rely solely on tips.
- Usage: “Before that ICO, please DYOR.”
- Shilling
- Definition: Overpromoting a token, often self-interested.
- Usage: “That influencer is shilling their own token again.”
- Ape
- Definition: Aping in—buying quickly with little research.
- Usage: “I aped into the new DeFi token after the hype.”
- Rug pull
- Definition: Devs drain liquidity or abandon project, leaving worthless tokens.
- Usage: “It was a rug pull; funds gone.”
- DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
- Definition: On-chain lending, trading, and services via smart contracts.
- Usage: “DeFi unlocked permissionless yield.”
- BTFD (Buy the Dip)
- Definition: Buy when prices drop, expecting rebound.
- Usage: “BTC dropped 20%—BTFD.”
- Rekt
- Definition: Suffered severe losses.
- Usage: “Went all-in and got rekt.”
- NGMI (Not Gonna Make It)
- Definition: Someone likely to fail due to bad decisions.
- Usage: “Selling on a tiny dip? NGMI.”
- GM / GN
- Definition: Good Morning / Good Night; CT greetings.
- Usage: “GM CT!”
- WAGMI (We’re All Gonna Make It)
- Definition: Optimistic community mantra.
- Usage: “Keep building—WAGMI.”
- Diamond hands
- Definition: Holding despite volatility.
- Usage: “She held through the crash—diamond hands.”
- Paper hands
- Definition: Selling quickly on fear.
- Usage: “He sold the dip—paper hands.”
- Sats (Satoshis)
- Definition: Smallest BTC unit (0.00000001 BTC).
- Usage: “Earned a few sats today.”
- Whale watching
- Definition: Tracking large holder movements.
- Usage: “Whale watching suggests a BTC move.”
- Flippening
- Definition: Scenario where another coin overtakes BTC by market cap.
- Usage: “Will the flippening happen with ETH?”
- Farm (Yield farming)
- Definition: Earn rewards by providing liquidity or staking.
- Usage: “I’m farming to boost yield.”
- Gas fees
- Definition: Transaction costs paid to the network.
- Usage: “Gas is high; I’ll wait.”
- ATH (All-Time High)
- Definition: Highest historical price.
- Usage: “BTC hit a new ATH.”
- Liquidity pool
- Definition: Token reserves in a smart contract enabling DEX trades.
- Usage: “Added liquidity to the pool.”
- Shitcoin
- Definition: Token with little intrinsic value or prospects.
- Usage: “Careful, that looks like a shitcoin.”
- Hodl
- Definition: Meme for holding long-term (originated from a misspelling).
- Usage: “I’ll hodl through volatility.”
Notes on slang usage
- Context matters; some slang is humorous, some abrasive.
- Terms can shift meaning over time; always confirm context.
Conclusion
Knowing CT slang improves communication, helps parse sentiment, and keeps you in the loop. Keep learning the culture—and always pair memes with solid research.