Beginner's Must-Read: Not understanding these slang terms in the crypto world can easily get you wrecked. Don't even know what FUD means.

The first hurdle to entering the crypto world is learning these slang terms. Otherwise, watching others discuss while you’re clueless makes it easier to get swept up in the rhythm and lose money. Today, we’ll organize these common cryptocurrency slang terms so you can understand them all at once.

Emotions and Mindset: Clarify Your Trading Psychology First

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

This is the most common. When BTC rises 30%, and you see everyone in the group discussing it, fearing you’ll miss the wealth secret, you become impatient and want to buy. This feeling of being driven by market sentiment is classic FOMO. Many people buy at the top because of this mindset, only to get caught.

FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)

Simply put, spreading negative information to create panic. You often see someone in the community suddenly releasing various “bad news” messages. What does FUD mean? It’s about spreading bad news about Bitcoin to make everyone afraid and sell off. Sometimes regulatory policies come out; other times, a big V (influencer) makes random comments, all triggering market FUD. At these times, it’s actually a good opportunity for smart investors to buy the dip.

Diamond Hands vs Paper Hands

People with diamond hands hold firmly regardless of how bad the market gets. Conversely, paper hands panic and sell when prices drop. Many think they have diamond hands, but once they lose 10%, they sell, which is a typical paper hand behavior.

WAGMI vs NGMI

In communities, people often encourage each other with “WAGMI” (We’re All Going to Make It). But some will look at your investment strategy and say “NGMI” (Not Going to Make It), implying your approach won’t make money. These two phrases are especially popular in the NFT scene.

Trading and Market: Understanding These Is Key to Reading the Market

HODL (Hold On for Dear Life)

This might be the most famous slang in crypto. HODL originated from a typo—someone meant to type “hold” but typed “HODL.” Later, it was adopted as an acronym for “Hold On for Dear Life.” No matter how prices fluctuate, just hold your BTC tightly.

Buy the Dip

When prices fall, it’s a good time to buy. Like shopping discounts, when something is cheap, you buy. So many experienced traders see a big drop and don’t panic; instead, they plan to buy the bottom.

To the Moon

Believing that a certain coin’s price will explode upward. If you say a coin is “going to the moon,” you’re expressing a bullish outlook. This phrase is often exaggerated and sometimes used jokingly.

Pump and Dump

A group of people colludes to hype a coin with exaggerated or false information. After the price rises, the main players sell off (dump), trapping retail investors at the top. This is one of the most common traps in the market.

Characters and Holdings: Recognize Different Player Types

Whale

Someone holding a large amount of coins, usually over 5% of the total supply. When a whale moves, the whole market can shake. Sometimes, a single large transfer by a whale can trigger panic.

Bagholder

Someone holding coins that have significantly depreciated or nearly become worthless but refuses to sell. Maybe they lack funds to cut losses or are holding onto hope for a turnaround. The term sounds a bit sad but is very common in the market.

Shill

Someone who, after holding a certain coin, aggressively promotes it through various channels, trying to persuade others to buy and push the price up. The motivation behind shilling is simple—personal gain. If you see someone suddenly promoting a coin very enthusiastically, they’re probably shilling.

No-coiner

People who don’t believe in Bitcoin at all, thinking it will eventually fail and has little value. They don’t hold any coins and usually adopt a pessimistic attitude in discussions.

Trading Outcomes: One Word to Describe Profit or Loss

Rekt

Losing badly. Derived from “wrecked,” like being completely destroyed by an opponent in a game. People who get liquidated in futures trading or buy the dip at the wrong time are often called “rekt.”

Bullish vs Bearish

Terms borrowed from traditional stock markets. Bullish means the market is rising steadily, with high enthusiasm; bearish means prices are falling, and market sentiment is pessimistic.

Asset and Protocols: Basic Concepts Newcomers Must Know

Sats

The smallest unit of Bitcoin. 1 satoshi equals 0.00000001 BTC. Someone might say, “I bought 5 million sats,” which sounds like a big number, but in BTC terms, it’s just a tiny fraction.

Market Cap

The total value of a cryptocurrency, calculated as current price times circulating supply. Market cap reflects how important a coin is in the overall market.

ICO (Initial Coin Offering)

The crypto version of an IPO. Projects sell new tokens to the public to raise funds. Investors get these new tokens as rewards. Some have real utility; others simply represent company shares.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token)

Unique digital assets with built-in identification codes. They can be tweets, digital art, audio, and more. Each NFT has its own “ID card.”

KYC (Know Your Customer)

The process exchanges and platforms use to verify user identities. It’s not only for verification but also to comply with regulations and ensure market security. Most legitimate exchanges require KYC.

Other Interesting Concepts

Cryptosis

An insatiable desire for knowledge about cryptocurrencies. Although it sounds like a disease (and it kind of looks like one), don’t worry—it’s not deadly. Symptoms include: constantly browsing forums, dragging friends into crypto discussions, and repeatedly calculating risks during trades.

Vaporware

Sounds very hot, hyped up extensively, but ultimately never developed. In the crypto world, many projects fall into this category—raised funds but no real product ever materializes.