A Dummies Guide to Crypto Acronyms

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, there will always be a learning curve when it comes to relevant acronyms, or abbreviations, with the crypto sphere being no different. It does share a lot of the same terminologies as the stock market, or any type of trading for that matter. With this said, there are also number of new ones, that even a seasoned trader wouldn’t necessarily know. 

To help with this, we’ve put together a ‘crib’ or ‘cheat sheet’ of the most commonly used acronyms, what they stand for, and what they actually mean. This will help to get you up to speed in no time.

• DYOR (Do Your Own Research) – As real money is involved when it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, scams and misinformation are everywhere. Because of this, it’s always recommended that you do your own research. This is to make sure that you understand the fundamentals of the coin, or token, before parting ways with your hard-earned money. 

• FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) – There can be a lot of pessimism around the crypto market, and it’s coins, especially in a bear market. Negative, dubious, or false information can be spread within the market, with the intention of creating fear, uncertainty, and doubt. This is to discourage new investors from the market as a whole, or from a particular asset. 

• FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) – When a coin sees huge growth, a coin that you don’t own, it isn’t uncommon for a knee jerk reaction to be made. This is driven solely by emotion, and with no due diligence or research carried out. This sees you panic, and sell your other coins to get in on the action. 

• HODL (Hold on for Dear Life) – The term HODL actually originated from a post made on the crypto forum ‘Bicointalk’ back in December 2013. The user ‘GameKyuubi’ made a typo in their post title saying “I AM HODLING”, when the post should have read “I AM HOLDING”. It has since been said to stand for “Hold on for Dear Life” as a play on this typo made in the early days of Bitcoin. This term is used in the crypto sphere when a coin is being bought and held indefinitely. 

• BTD/BTFD (Buy the Dip/Buy the F**king Dip) – Refers to the strategy of buying a coin, or any asset for that matter, just as its price has fallen significantly. This can be whether the sudden drop in the price is down due to outside factors, or because of FUD. This strategy is commonly used by investors, in the crypto sphere, and in the stock market. Although, it does come with risk. This is if a coins price falls into a long-term decline, instead of just a dip. 

• Mooning/To the Moon – When a coin sees a significant upward trend, with a sharp, and quick increase in price, the chart movement is said to soar up to the sky, and onto ‘the moon’. You will also hear of a coin ‘mooning’ when it sees this type of price trend. 

• YOLO (You Only Live Once) – When you put the majority of your net worth, or everything to your name into a coin, hoping for the best. This is usually seen when new investors buy into high-risk meme coins. This type of behaviour would also see very little, or no, research being carried out beforehand. This investment strategy is seen as reckless. 

• Apeing/Apeing In – This one is similar to YOLO. When no due diligence, or research, is carried out, and you buy into a new token shortly after its launch, in fear of missing out on any potential gains. This is seen as a reckless way of trading. 

• SFYL (Sorry for Your Loss) – A phrase that is used in the crypto sphere to mourn the loss of an investment gone bad in a sarcastic way. It’s commonly used when an individual loses money in a scam, or risky investment. 

• BUIDL (Build) – A typo on the word build. The term is used to urge crypto enthusiasts to build new crypto projects, contributing to the blockchain, and cryptocurrency ecosystem. This is rather than simply passively holding onto coins and hoping for the best. 

• Diamond Hands 💎 🤲 – The term is used for when you don’t panic sell and have a high-risk tolerance when it comes to a coin, token, or stock. This investment strategy sees you unlikely to sell under the pressure that is seen in periods of significant market turmoil. 

• Paper Hands – The term is used if you are risk-averse, and sell a coin, token, or stock, off too early. This would see you likely to sell off at the first sign of market turmoil, when the risk of losing money is high. 

• NGMI (Not Gonna Make It) – Is usually used in the crypto sphere to describe when a bad investment decision has been made. 

• WAGMI (We’re All Gonna Make It) – Is used in the crypto sphere to build confidence, and give hope, when there is a lot of uncertainty in the wider market. 

• Stacking Sats – Sat is short for a Satoshi, the smallest denomination of Bitcoin. A sat is equal to 0.00000001 BTC. The name comes from the creater of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Whereas, staking sats refers to the accumulation of Bitcoin. This is usually done on a DCA basis. 

• Whale – Refers to an individual, or entity, in the crypto sphere that owns a large quantity of a certain coin. The size of a whales holding usually means they can significantly influence the market through their trades. 

• Pump and Dump – A crypto, or investment scam, that sees a coin with a small market cap advertised, to ‘pump’ the price, before a major sell off, that sees a major ‘dump’ in the price. In the crypto sphere this can primarily be seen happening with new or unknown tokens. They are most commonly promoted through celebrities or influencers, who give the coin, or token, a lot of attention on social media. 

• Bag Holder – When you held a coin, or token, for too long and now has to live with this decision. As a worst-case scenario, you can be left holding a bag that is worthless, if the buy is made on a high price point, on a coin that is on a long-term decline.