📖 86+ Terms
Crypto Trading Glossary: 86+ Terms Explained
Your complete A-Z dictionary of crypto trading terminology. From basic concepts to advanced derivatives jargon.
86 terms
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A 5 terms
AMM (Automated Market Maker)
DeFi
A protocol using mathematical formulas to price assets in a liquidity pool, enabling trading without an order book.
ATH (All-Time High)
Trading
The highest price ever reached by a cryptocurrency since its listing on exchanges.
ATL (All-Time Low)
Trading
The lowest price ever recorded for a cryptocurrency since it began trading.
ATM (At The Money)
Options
An option whose strike price equals the current market price of the underlying asset.
Ask Price
Trading
The lowest price a seller is willing to accept for an asset. Also known as the offer price.
B 6 terms
Backwardation
Futures
When futures prices are lower than the expected spot price, often indicating high immediate demand.
Basis
Futures
The difference between the spot price and futures price of an asset. Positive basis means futures trade at a premium.
Bear Market
Trading
A prolonged period of declining prices, typically defined as a drop of 20% or more from recent highs.
Bid Price
Trading
The highest price a buyer is willing to pay for an asset at a given moment.
Bollinger Bands
Technical
Volatility bands placed above and below a moving average. Wider bands indicate higher volatility.
Bull Market
Trading
A sustained period of rising prices where investor confidence is high and demand exceeds supply.
C 5 terms
Call Option
Options
A contract giving the buyer the right (not obligation) to purchase an asset at a predetermined price before expiration.
Candlestick
Technical
A chart representation showing open, high, low, and close prices for a time period. Body color indicates price direction.
Contango
Futures
A market condition where futures prices are higher than the expected spot price — normal market structure.
Covered Call
Options
A strategy where you hold the underlying asset and sell a call option to generate income from the premium.
Cross Margin
Futures
A margin mode where your entire account balance is used as collateral, reducing liquidation risk but risking full account.
D 6 terms
DEX (Decentralized Exchange)
DeFi
A peer-to-peer marketplace allowing direct crypto trading without a centralized authority holding funds.
DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
DeFi
Financial services built on blockchain without centralized intermediaries — including lending, trading, and yield generation.
Delta
Greeks
Measures how much an option's price changes for a $1 move in the underlying asset. Ranges from 0 to 1 for calls, -1 to 0 for puts.
Doji
Technical
A candlestick where open and close prices are nearly equal, indicating market indecision or potential reversal.
Dormancy
On-Chain
The average age of coins being spent, measured in coin-days. High dormancy = old coins moving = potential bearish signal.
Double Bottom
Technical
A bullish reversal pattern forming after two consecutive troughs at approximately the same price level.
E 5 terms
EMA (Exponential Moving Average)
Technical
A type of moving average that gives more weight to recent prices, reacting faster to price changes than a simple MA.
Exchange Inflow
On-Chain
The amount of cryptocurrency moved onto exchanges. High inflows often signal potential selling pressure.
Exchange Outflow
On-Chain
Crypto moved off exchanges to wallets. High outflows often indicate accumulation or long-term holding intent.
Exercise
Options
The act of using your right to buy (call) or sell (put) the underlying asset at the strike price.
Expiration Date
Options
The date on which an options contract expires and becomes void if not exercised.
F 5 terms
FOMO
Trading
Fear Of Missing Out — the anxiety of missing a profitable trade, often causing impulsive buying decisions.
FUD
Trading
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt — negative information (real or fabricated) that causes panic selling in the market.
Fibonacci Retracement
Technical
Horizontal lines indicating potential support/resistance at key Fibonacci ratios (23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%, 78.6%).
Flash Loan
DeFi
An uncollateralized loan that must be borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction, used for arbitrage.
Funding Rate
Futures
A periodic payment between long and short holders in perpetual futures to keep the contract price close to spot price.
G 2 terms
Gamma
Greeks
The rate of change of delta for each $1 move in the underlying asset. Highest for ATM options near expiration.
Gas Fee
DeFi
The fee paid to compensate network validators for the computation required to process Ethereum transactions.
H 3 terms
HODL
Trading
A misspelling of "hold" that became crypto slang for holding assets long-term regardless of price volatility.
Hash Rate
On-Chain
The computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain. Higher hash rate = more secure network.
Head and Shoulders
Technical
A bearish reversal pattern with three peaks — a higher middle peak flanked by two lower peaks.
I 5 terms
ITM (In The Money)
Options
A call option where strike price is below market price, or a put where strike price is above market price.
Impermanent Loss
DeFi
The temporary loss experienced by liquidity providers when the price ratio of pooled assets changes relative to holding.
Implied Volatility
Options
The market's expectation of future price movement, derived from current options prices. Higher IV = higher premiums.
Iron Condor
Options
A neutral options strategy combining a bull put spread and bear call spread to profit when prices stay within a range.
Isolated Margin
Futures
A margin mode where only the allocated margin for a specific position can be lost, limiting risk to that amount.
L 6 terms
Leverage
Futures
Using borrowed capital to increase position size. 10x leverage means a 10% price move creates a 100% gain or loss.
Limit Order
Trading
An order to buy or sell at a specific price or better, only executed when that price is reached.
Liquidation
Futures
Forced closure of a leveraged position when losses exceed the margin balance, preventing negative equity.
Liquidity
Trading
The ease with which an asset can be bought or sold without significantly affecting its price.
Liquidity Pool
DeFi
A pool of tokens locked in a smart contract, providing liquidity for decentralized trading and lending.
Long Position
Futures
A trade that profits when the price of the underlying asset increases. Buying with expectation of price rise.
M 8 terms
MACD
Technical
Moving Average Convergence Divergence — a trend-following momentum indicator showing the relationship between two EMAs.
MVRV Ratio
On-Chain
Market Value to Realized Value — compares market cap to realized cap to identify overbought/oversold conditions.
Margin
Futures
The collateral required to open and maintain a leveraged position. Initial margin opens positions; maintenance margin keeps them open.
Mark Price
Futures
A calculated fair price based on the index price plus a moving average basis, used to prevent manipulative liquidations.
Market Cap
Trading
Total market value calculated by multiplying current price by circulating supply.
Market Order
Trading
An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available current price.
Miner Revenue
On-Chain
Total value earned by miners through block rewards and transaction fees. Declining revenue may pressure miners to sell.
Moving Average
Technical
A continuously calculated average price over a set period, smoothing out short-term volatility to reveal trends.
N 1 terms
NVT Ratio
On-Chain
Network Value to Transactions — similar to P/E ratio, comparing network value to on-chain transaction volume.
O 3 terms
OTM (Out of The Money)
Options
An option with no intrinsic value — call with strike above market, or put with strike below market.
On-Chain Analysis
On-Chain
Analyzing blockchain transaction data to understand market behavior, investor sentiment, and supply/demand dynamics.
Open Interest
Options
The total number of outstanding options or futures contracts that have not been settled or closed.
P 6 terms
Perpetual Futures
Futures
A derivative contract without expiration date. Traders can hold positions indefinitely, subject to funding rates.
PnL (Profit and Loss)
Futures
The realized or unrealized profit or loss from a trading position.
Premium
Options
The price paid by the buyer to the seller for an options contract, representing the cost of the right.
Protective Put
Options
Buying a put option while holding the underlying asset to protect against downside risk.
Pump and Dump
Trading
A market manipulation scheme where prices are artificially inflated then sold off, leaving retail investors with losses.
Put Option
Options
A contract giving the buyer the right (not obligation) to sell an asset at a predetermined price before expiration.
R 4 terms
RSI (Relative Strength Index)
Technical
A momentum oscillator measuring speed and magnitude of price changes. Above 70 = overbought, below 30 = oversold.
Realized Cap
On-Chain
The sum of all bitcoins valued at the price they last moved on-chain, representing the aggregate cost basis of all holders.
Resistance Level
Technical
A price level where selling pressure prevents further rises. Acts as a ceiling that prices struggle to break through.
Rho
Greeks
Measures sensitivity to interest rate changes. Less important for short-term options, more relevant for longer-dated contracts.
S 8 terms
Short Position
Futures
A trade that profits when the price decreases. Borrowing and selling with the intent to buy back at a lower price.
Slippage
Trading
The difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual executed price, common in low-liquidity markets.
Smart Contract
DeFi
Self-executing code stored on a blockchain that automatically enforces and executes agreement terms.
Spread
Trading
The difference between the bid and ask price of an asset. Narrower spreads indicate higher liquidity.
Stop Loss
Trading
An order placed to sell an asset when it reaches a specific price, limiting potential losses.
Straddle
Options
Simultaneously buying a call and put with the same strike price and expiration, profiting from large price movements in either direction.
Strike Price
Options
The predetermined price at which an options contract can be exercised.
Support Level
Technical
A price level where buying interest is strong enough to prevent further decline. Acts as a floor for prices.
T 3 terms
TVL (Total Value Locked)
DeFi
The total value of assets deposited in a DeFi protocol, used as a metric for its adoption and health.
Take Profit
Trading
An order that automatically closes a position when it reaches a target profit level.
Theta
Greeks
Time decay — the rate at which an option loses value as expiration approaches. Works against option buyers, for sellers.
U 1 terms
UTXO
On-Chain
Unspent Transaction Output — the fundamental unit of Bitcoin transactions representing unspent funds available to be used.
V 2 terms
Vega
Greeks
Measures an option's sensitivity to changes in implied volatility. A vega of 0.1 means $0.10 gain per 1% IV increase.
Volume
Trading
The total amount of an asset traded within a specific time period, indicating market activity and interest.
W 1 terms
Whale
Trading
An individual or institution holding large amounts of cryptocurrency, capable of moving market prices.
Y 1 terms
Yield Farming
DeFi
The practice of moving funds between DeFi protocols to maximize returns through liquidity mining and interest.