F

Fiat Notes are old-fashioned now and are so-called “fiat” in the crypto world. It’s another way of saying “paper money” which is physical currency notes in the real world.

G

Gwei Want to maximize profit? Watch out for how much you spend on Gwei! Gwei is a simplified way of saying “transaction fees” on the Ethereum network when discussing Ethereum gas.

H

HODL If the chat spam “HODL”, it may be time to cash out! HODL has become a popular term for crypto enthusiasts as it stands for “hold on for dear life” and is usually a reference to cryptocurrencies or projects that are having volatile price actions.

I

Initial Coin Offering An Initial Coin Offering is when a company decides to release a coin to the public for purchase in order to raise capital for the project.

J

JavaScript There is no doubt that every person who knows how to code has not heard of JavaScript before. It can be applied to a variety of applications to help support blockchain activities and can be used to develop front-end and back-end solutions.

K

KYC Don’t know who is running the crypto project? Is it an anonymous team? KYC, also known as “Know your Customer” is the first stage towards anti-money laundering regulations. This comes down to procedures being implemented to identify and verify relevant identities to ensure no scams or illicit activities are involved in the project.

L

Liquidity Can’t pay the bills with crypto? Well, it’s important to keep an eye out for the liquidity of a project in case you do need that fiat currency. Liquidity is the reference to how easily a token can be swapped to other tokens or to fiat currencies depending on the available supply and demand.

M

Minting “First come, First Serve” in the crypto world is usually called minting for many projects. This is the process of generating new coins through the authentication of data, creating new blocks and the information being stored on the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies and NFTs can be minted the same way.

N

NGMI It stands for “not gonna make it” and is often used as a “slang” for projects or cryptocurrencies that may be deemed as a scam or a bad investment opportunity.

O

On-Chain On-Chain transactions are what occur on the blockchain and are validated and authenticated which then leads to the entire transaction being updated on the network. Essentially stating that every transaction is available to view on the blockchain if it’s an on-chain transaction.

P

Public Keys Don’t lose your keys! A public key is a cryptographic code which enables users to receive cryptocurrencies and tokens into their wallets. It is publicly known and also used for identification, while private keys are hidden and used for authentication purposes.

Q

QR Code QR stands for Quick Response. A QR code is a barcode that stores information as a series of pixels in a square-shaped grid and allows users to scan with a digital device easily. Keep your eyes peeled when you are attending events, you may be able to claim an NFT/ POAP for free if you scan a QR code!

R

Rugpull Don’t want to lose your savings? Watch out for projects considered a “Rugpull”. A rugpull is a common term used in the Web 3.0 space where a developer would attract many potential investors to a project, and then leaves with all the funds before the project is developed and ever completed.

S

Shilling Hearing your favorite celebrities telling you about a project? Random messages on your Discord telling you to join an NFT community? This is commonly known as “shilling” which is a term used for users and developers promoting a cryptocurrency coin or NFT project through implicit advertising. This can usually be done through social media influencers due to their large follower count.

T

Tokens Almost every project has a token, but what exactly are they and why aren’t they called coins? Tokens allow developers to create a cryptocurrency without the need of having to build a blockchain for it, unlike coins such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. This allows developers to make tokens in a far easier and more efficient process.

U

UX/UI User Experience (UX) & User Interaction (UI) is always important for every crypto project. It’s always the first impressions that count, therefore, the UX & UI are the make it or break it.

V

Virtual Land Already working from home? Imagine entering a virtual office space, or checking out some creative projects. Virtual Land is all digital spaces or digital land plots that can be bought, sold or built upon when exploring virtual worlds.

W

WAGMI Stands for “we are gonna make it”, WAGMI is the opposite of NGMI. People usually spam this in the chat for projects that have increased in value or volume and have proven to become or will become successful. In fact, WAGMI is so popular that there is now a crypto sports company named WAGMI United, cool right?

X

xDai Chain Have you heard about this? Someone accepted an offer for a Bored Ape Yacht Club for 115DAI instead of 115ETH, meaning it was sold for US$115 instead of US$350,000. Definitely a costly mistake, so pay attention! Dai Chain is an Ethereum sidechain using a Proof-Of-Stake mechanism. It has a stablecoin (DAI) as part of its chain with “xDai” being its native cryptocurrency.

Y

YOLO Stands for “You Only Live Once”, YOLO isn’t a word coined by the crypto community, but crypto enthusiasts do love to say YOLO. This is usually a risky bet where investors place a majority of funds into a single asset hoping for a high-risk-high-return scenario.

Z

Zero-Knowledge Proof A secure way to verify the information for cryptocurrency transactions and identities while keeping their private data hidden.