50 cryptocurrencies and NFT terms you need to know

air drop: To send someone free crypto stuff like NFTs or tokens. This has nothing to do with Apple’s Airdrop feature. Sometimes airdropping gives NFT holders something special. But usually, aerial dropping is for giveaways or a sketchy marketing tactic.

alpha: This is another term for “inside information”. When someone has “alpha,” they have information that the rest of the market has not yet learned about.

monkey in: Investing a lot of money in a new cryptocurrency or NFT project without doing the proper research first. It’s taken from the “monkeys together strong” meme.

bearish: The belief that a project will lose value over time.

Blockchain: A database type. Information is stored in groups (blocks) that cannot be modified once created. The entire group of groups (chain of blocks = blockchain) is copied to many different computers, so the data is public and secure.

Blue chip: As close to a “reliable” investment as you can get in the NFT space. These NFT projects are well known and generally regarded as high. Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, World of Women are considered blue chips.

bullish: The belief that a project will increase in value over time.

coin base: A popular platform for buying and selling crypto.

crypto wallet: A place (app or physical item) to keep your crypto holdings (NFTs, Ethereum, etc.). A wallet is required to buy things (NFTs) with crypto. Some popular wallets are Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask.

Crypto wallet address: A public address you can give people so they can send crypto/NFTs to you. It’s usually a long alphanumeric string, but you can purchase a shorter domain name if you’d like. For example, mine is aprilynne.eth.

decentralized: Power is shared among many people rather than a single person.

DAO: Abbreviation for “decentralized autonomous organization”. The votes of the members of this group are automatically counted and used to decide things. Sometimes actions are performed automatically. The code for all automatic actions is publicly available, so anyone can make sure things are running correctly.

DAPP: Short for “decentralized application”, an app built on top of the blockchain. Instead of data being collected/manipulated/sold (*cough, cough, meta*) by Big Brother, all data is stored publicly on the blockchain.

DEFI: Abbreviation for “decentralized finance”. It basically means banking but without the fees/permissions for transactions and loans. You can lend, trade and borrow crypto via a public code that automatically records/verifies transactions.

diamond hands: Stick to a high-risk NFT despite selling pressure. Sometimes people use this as a justification when one of their NFTs starts depreciating. It comes from “Diamonds are formed under pressure”.

Doxxed: When the true identity of a team behind an NFT project is revealed. Typically used to build credibility in a project.

drops: The first launch of a new collection or project.

DYOR: Abbreviation for “Do your own research”. This is a disclaimer and, frankly, pretty good advice that is often added at the end of a statement on an NFT project. It’s pronounced like the Dior brand.

DOT ETH (.eth): A personal crypto wallet address that someone can buy. For example, my Ethereum wallet address is aprilynne.eth.

Ether: A popular blockchain used for NFTs, often criticized for its slow, expensive transactions. Also home to Ether (ETH), the second most popular cryptocurrency.

flip: Buy an NFT and sell quickly rather than hold with the intention of making immediate profits. It’s a fairly common but risky strategy.

floor: The NFTs at the minimum price of a collection.

land price: The lowest market price for NFTs within a collection. Often used as a rule of thumb for the value of an NFT project.

Sweeping the floor: When someone buys all NFTs in a collection at reserve price. Buyers can do this because they believe in the project. Sellers can do this to artificially inflate the reserve price of the NFT collection.

FOMO: Abbreviation for “fear of missing out”. It’s an emotional factor that makes someone irrationally commit to a project.

FUD: Abbreviation of “Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt” and is used to express concerns about the legitimacy/value of an NFT project. For example, someone can come onto an NFT discord server and spread FUD.

gas fee: Basically a transaction fee for crypto (Ethereum) transactions. The busier the Ethereum network, the more expensive the gas fee. This is one of the most lamented features of the Ethereum network.

GM: Abbreviation of “Good morning,” a popular greeting on NFT Twitter. It signals that someone is online.

HODL: A misspelling of “hold” that caught on, earning the acronym “hold on (for) dear life.” The term signals that someone is not selling despite potential volatility and uncertainty.

LFG: Abbreviation for “Let’s fucking go.” Typically used to spice up an NFT project.

marketplace: A platform for buying and selling NFTs. Popular NFT marketplaces are OpenSea, Rarible and Magic Eden.

MetaMask: A popular crypto wallet. MetaMask has a logo that looks like a fox.

metaverse: A virtual world where you can have an avatar and buy things, play games and even build businesses. Many different companies (*cough, cough, meta*) are trying to make a metaverse that “wins” and becomes mainstream.

embossing: Take a digital asset and put it on the blockchain to create an NFT.

mooning: Describes the trend as the numbers increase. It means that the price is going up very quickly.

NGMI: Short for “won’t make it”. It’s used to roast people and projects that won’t last long in the NFT space.

Open sea: A popular NFT marketplace. Only NFTs are currently supported on the Etherium and Polygon blockchains.

paper hands: Selling NFTs under pressure. Usually used by “diamond hands” as a roast against people actually selling.

PFP project: Abbreviation for “profile picture project”. These are collections started with the intention of being avatars that users can use as their Twitter profile picture to change ownership.

polygon: A blockchain used for NFTs, popular for its lack of gas fees. Technically built on Ethereum.

Pump and dump: A nefarious scheme to artificially “pump” (inflate) the price of an NFT project before selling it all at once, effectively “dumping” the price while making a profit.

P2E: Abbreviation for “Pay to Earn”. You get paid in crypto/NFTs for playing certain types of games.

road map: A public master plan for an NFT project. Usually provides insight into the timeline and benefits of the project.

rug pull: An NFT project went wrong. People lie about an NFT project to trick others into buying into it. Once they collect the money, they leave the project, leaving with the money, and everyone is sad and broke.

shards: Breaking down a single NFT into smaller parts, or shards, to allow a group of people to buy and own an NFT that is otherwise too expensive to buy outright.

Solana: A popular blockchain for NFTs, known for its cheap and fast transactions.

Smart Contract: Public code attached to an NFT that runs by itself. Usually how the utility of an NFT is enforced. Useful because you don’t have to trust the person behind a project – you only have to trust the code that you can see and verify yourself.

Mark out: A way to earn passive income by locking your NFTs on the blockchain for a period of time. You can earn rewards in the form of crypto for doing so.

To the moon: A celebratory term used when prices of an NFT project go up and up.

usefulness: Underlying value of an NFT. Benefits are the perks, products, services, benefits, or rights associated with owning an NFT. For example, some NFTS offer a 30% discount on future products, membership in a private fund, access to an online course, access to private events, or copyright on a brand.