There is a lot of jargon out there in the crypto world and often it can be difficult to decipher. Let us take a look at some of the common terms that we are most commonly going to interact with as we trade, sell or buy, invest and adopt cryptocurrency.
- Alt coin
Alt coin refers to any cryptocurrency other than bitcoin.Cryptocurrency exchanges, just like regular stock exchanges, the likes of Coin base, Binance, Remitano, and Yellow pages allow traders and investors to buy and sell, trade and earn via cryptocurrencies.Examples of Altcoins are Ethereum,Doge coin, Solana,Lite coin among many more others.There are over 2000 cryptocurrencies as of 2022 and more are being conceived everyday.
2. Limit Order.
A “LIMIT” order allows you to set your own price to buy or sell. If the market reaches your limit price, your order will be executed. However, if the market does not reach your limit price, your order will not be executed.This protects traders from unnecessary losses and ensures great returns when the market is favorable.
3. Shorting/short selling/Going short.
“Shorting” cryptocurrency means betting on the price going down rather than up.
4. Forks.
A cryptocurrency fork is a split in a blockchain where two separate block chains are created. This is sometimes but not always because of a disagreement between developers as to how the blockchain should be organized.A good example is when, in 2017, bitcoin forked into two separate block chains: bitcoin and bitcoin cash.
- ICO
An ICO is an initial coin offering, like an initial public offering (IPO), or float, in the stocks and shares world. A company seeking to raise money to create a new coin, app, or service can launch an ICO as a way to raise funds. Interested investors can buy into an initial coin offering to receive a new crypto token issued by a company.
- Margin trading/Buy on Margin.
When platforms talk about margin trading, they mean investors borrow money to increase their bet on a cryptocurrency. Be very careful, though, because margin trading can dramatically exacerbate losses if a trade doesn’t go your way.
- Fiat Currency.
A fiat currency is one that is backed by a sovereign government. For instance, sterling, US dollars o,r Indian rupees, Kenyan shilling etc. A countries local currency is what is called fiat currency.
- Cloud mining.
People can “mine”, or create, cryptocurrencies to compete for rewards in the form of newly minted crypto. Cloud mining uses remote data centers with shared processing power, like the kind that powers Google software, to pool resources and cut the cost of mining. ECOs is the one of the best and had been the only legit cloud mining company in the world. It was established in 2017 in Armenia in the Free Economic Zone. ECOS has more than 100 000 users from all over the world.An incredible amount of computing power is needed to mine the top cryptocurrencies.
- Bull markets and bear markets.
These are phrases borrowed from traditional stock markets. A bull market means traders are confident in the prospects for a particular investment, meaning they will keep buying and prices will keep rising – whereas in a bear market, traders are nervous and prices will generally fall.So in a nutshell a bull market is a prospering market in the crypto world for example Bitcoin while a bear market is one that is receding.
- Sell orders.
A sell order is an instruction given by traders to a platform to sell cryptocurrency that they own when the price hits a certain level. In traditional markets, this is referred to as a “stop-loss”.
- Order book.
An order book is a list of all the traders on a particular cryptocurrency exchange or brokerage who want to buy or sell cryptocurrency for a certain price.
- Gas.
This applies in the Ethereum blockchain, its refers to the fee necessary to perform a transaction on the network.
- Genesis Block.
The first block of a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin , ever mined.In most Bitcoin devotees its used as a slung to indicate Nakamoto himself , the Bitcoin creator.
- HODL.
Stands for “Hold On for Dear Life” though the term originated from a user typo on a Bitcoin forum in 2013. It refers to a passive investment strategy in which people buy and hold onto cryptocurrency instead of trading it in the hopes that it increases in value.This is a long term investment strategy and it can lead to generous returns or pure losses.
- Crypto Exchange.
A cryptocurrency exchange is a digital marketplace where you can buy and sell cryptocurrency.Examples of this platforms are Binance, coin base, Remitano, Yellow paper, Robin hood among many others. there are over 400 crypto exchange platforms in the world and new ones are sprouting on a daily basis.
- Digital Gold
This is a symbolism to Bitcoin.Experts sometimes compare specific cryptocurrencies to real gold based on the way they can store and increase in value. Bitcoin is commonly referred to as digital gold.
- Decentralized Applications (D Apps)
Applications are designed by developers and deployed on a blockchain to carry out actions without intermediaries. Decentralized finance activities are often completed using decentralized apps. Ethereum is the main network supporting activities in decentralized finance.
18. Cold and Warm wallets.
A cold wallet is not connected to the internet and one can safely store their crypto assets and carry it around in the form of a USB or Disc. Most people prefer this wallets since its safe and not easy to hack.Warm wallets are the ones that are connected to the internet. You can only access them when online.The security of this wallets is doubt able since most computer geniuses can hack your wallet.Examples of cold wallets are:Ledger Nano X,Trezor Model T. Example of a warm wallet include: coin base, Binance etc.
19. CBDCs.
CBDCs are government-backed digital currencies used by consumers and businesses.Examples of this are the e-naira of Nigeria and the Indian rupee. These are taxable and they are made and controlled by their respective governments.
