Terms like HODL, whale and FOMO can confuse a beginner investor. But slang knowledge is a must-have if you are to feel at home in any crypto community. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will go over the most crucial crypto terminology and explain the most used terms.
1. HODL
HODL-ing means saving your coins for a long time, waiting for the price to go to the moon. The term originated as a typo in one of the old Bitcoin forum chats. After a sharp price drop in 2013, one of the devoted investors typed “I am HODLing” instead of “holding.”
Example:
— We still HODL bitcoins we mined back in 2012
2. FOMO
FOMO stands for Fear-of-Missing-Out. This term describes a mindset that forces traders to buy or sell crypto out of fear of missing a lifetime opportunity. Of course, most hasty actions result in tremendous losses. FOMO is your worst enemy in crypto trading.
Example:
— “Blame your FOMO for this loss”
Successfully traders learn to control FOMO. Here are our 8 tips that can help you keep fear in check and make logical decisions.
3. BTFD
This abbreviation stands for Buy the F***in Deep. It can be used as a noun or a verb, suggesting to buy a coin when its price hits an all-time low. For instance, when BTC plunged to $3,868 in March 2020, some BTFD traders took advantage of it.
Example:
— His favourite strategy is BTFD
4. FUD
FUD translates into “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt”. It refers to scary make-believe news and rumors media or individuals spread about a currency or a project. Next time someone says Bitcoin is a bubble, feel free to reply with “Keep your FUD to yourself, man.”
Example:
— Don’t believe this article, it looks like FUD
5. ATH
ATH (All-Time High) is the highest price a coin has ever achieved. For example, Bitcoin’s ATH is $19,891. The record was set on December 17, 2017, and stays unbroken.
Example:
— The price reached its ATH, now it’s time to sell
6. Moon and Mooning
A mooning price is one breaking all growth records and making the investors rich. New investors sometimes use this exclamation when they see a minor price rise, get excited, and hope for more. To go to the moon is to experience a mind-blowing price rise.
Example:
— Coin XYZ is headed to the Moon!
7. Whale
Whales hold enormous amounts of crypto. They are the investors who control markets from the shade and dictate trends. Often, a whale is an early Bitcoin investor or miner. When a whale moves a big part of their holdings, the whole market feels the trembles.
Example:
— Sure, some whale is responsible for this price rise
8. Weak Hands
The term describes impatient investors with low-stress resistance. Weak hands start selling at the first signs of a price fall. In a way, they are the opposite of devoted HODLers, who have nerves of steel.
Example:
— Weak hands are massively selling
9. Pump-and-Dump
Pump-and-dump is a popular scam type. Shills artificially inflate — or pump — the coin’s price and wait for the value to reach an ATH. Then, the scammers sell — or dump — their holdings. The price drops sharply, leaving a lot of followers with worthless assets.
Example:
— The chart looks like pump-and-dump
Want to know how to spot a pump-and-dump scheme? Read about it in our article What Is Pump-and-Dump.
