Cryptocurrencies were first developed as a way to circumvent traditional banking institutions and decentralise the perceived power they had over financial transactions.
As an anti-authority movement, it may not surprise you that crypto enthusiasts have a language all of their own.
“There undeniably exists a very real and powerful subculture bred from within the crypto community,” reported market research provider WARC.
“[It has] the potential to drive a shift in future urban lifestyles and consumption patterns – not unlike the emergence of streetwear and urban culture rooted in the countercultures of the 1980s and 1990s.”
Perhaps you have seen some of this crypto jargon and wondered what they’re talking about?
Fortunately, British financial services platform Uphold recently published a glossary of crypto slang, which it calls the ‘cryptionary’.
Here are some selected words and their definitions:
HODL
This is “one of the longest-serving” cryptocurrency jargon, which stands for ‘hold on for dear life’. It is also a misspelling of ‘hold’ and refers to the act of not selling cryptocurrency for a long time.
Diamond hands
Similar to HODL, diamond hands refers to an investor who will hold onto their crypto assets regardless of volatility. The opposite of this is “paper hands”, which describes a person who will sell at the first hint of trouble.
Soy boy
This is a pejorative term for an investor who can’t tolerate dips in the crypto market.
Ape In
This is a verb that describes buying into a digital asset hastily without doing much research.
The Flippening
A topic that has been persistent for many years now, the flippening refers to the potential point when Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) overtakes Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as the crypto with the largest market capitalisation.
Bitshaming
This is the act of mocking a Bitcoin investor for holding it for years but not becoming rich out of it yet.
Whale
These creatures are investors who hold massive proportions of a particular cryptocurrency on issue. Due to the size of their holdings, any buying or selling activity by whales can influence the market pricing.
Rekt
This is a misspelling of ‘wrecked’, which describes an investment that has absolutely collapsed and has lost the holder a significant amount of money.
Floor sweeping
This refers to a trading activity when one individual, or a small group, buys up a large number of a particular cryptocurrency.
Shill
This is a verb describing the act of publicly endorsing a specific crypto in order to drum up hype and demand. Some celebrities and social media influencers have been accused of such acts.
Bag holder
While this term describes a person who holds their digital asset for a long time, it has a decidedly negative slant compared to ‘diamond hands’. Bag holders hold onto their crypto for too long and are left with useless tokens.
