Glossary
Understand the terminology.
Crypto
GLOSSARY
Learn some key crypto and FX terminologies and gain a better understanding of how the cryptocurrency exchange and forex market work.
Terms
Description
A
Address
A place where cryptocurrency can be sent to and from, in the form of a string of letters and numbers
Altcoins
All cryptocurrencies launched after Bitcoin.
Airdrop
A distribution (usually for free) of a coin to numerous wallet addresses.
Ashdraked
Total loss of investment when shorting Bitcoin
B
Bag
A notable quantity of a specific crypto.
Bagholder
A person or entity holding a notable amount of a cryptocurrency
Bit
.000001 Bitcoins
Block
A collection of transaction in a specific time period on the blockchain
Blockchain
A system in which a record of transactions is maintained across multiple computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network
Bounty Program
Coin incentive offered during an initial coin release to increase marketing and attention
Bug Bounty
A reward offered for finding technical vulnerabilities such as security breaches or bugs
C
Chain Split
See Fork
Coin
A cryptocurrency that can operate independently
Coinbase
A transaction on the blockchain that directs where to send the mining reward to.
Coin Burn
Completely removing a coin from circulation
Cold Storage
The offline storage of cryptocurrencies
Consensus
An agreement between all network paarticipants on the order and content of blocks
Correction
A (usually) negative reverse movement of a cryptocurrency in order to adjust for over valuations
Co-signer
A person who shares control of a crypto wallet with another.
Cryptography
The development and implementation of secure practices to prevent unauthorised third-party access to information
Crypto jacking
The unauthorised use of a computer to mine cryptocurrency
Terms
Description
D Dead Cat Bounce
A temporary increase in value of a cryptocurrency after a notable decrease
Decentralised
The absence of a single centralised authority
DDos Attack
Distributed Denial of Service Attack. A method used by hackers to overload a system with requests, rendering the system unable to process legitimate requests.
Dump
To sell off all one’s cryptocurrencies
E Emission
The speed at which new coins are created and released
Exchange
Online platforms allowing traders to exchange their fiat to crypto or crypto to other cryptocurrencies
F Faucet
A reward system offered to users for completing specific tasks.
Fiat
Currency which has been declared by a government to be legal tender
Fiat-Pegged
A coin linked to a specific fiat currency (e.g. USD) and has a guaranteed cash value.
Fork
Forks, also known as splits, create a secondary blockchain for the same crypto and the two block chains run simultaneously.
G Genesis Block
The first valid block of data on a specific blockchain.
Gold-Backed
Cryptocurrencies that are tied to the value of Gold.
H Halving
A feature specific to Bitcoin, where the miner's reward is cut in half. This occurs every 210,000 blocks and is intended to control Bitcoin's inflation
Hard Fork
The split of a cryptocurrency resulting from a change in protocol. One split will follow the old protocol and the new one will follow the new protocol, for example, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
Hot Storage
The online storage of private keys.
Terms
Description
I
IBO
Initial Bounty Offering. Coin incentive offered during an initial coin release to increase marketing and attention
ICO
Initial Coin Offering. A way of raising funds for new cryptocurrencies
ITO
Initial Token Offering
Instamine
When a notable portion of the total number of minable coins is offered up in a very short period after the initial launch.
L
Ledger
A permanent and unchangeable record of financial transactions
M
Market Capitalization / Market Cap / MCAP
The total capitalization of a cryptocurrencies price.
Max Supply
The maximum number of coins that will ever exist in the lifetime of a cryptocurrency.
Mining
The process of verifying and adding transactions to the blockchain
Moon
A continuous upwards trend of a cryptocurrency.
N
Node
A copy of a blockchain ledger
P
Paper Wallet
A physical document containing private keys/seed phrases
Private Key
An encrypted alphanumeric code that permits access to one’s cryptocurrency holdings
Public Address
A destination for a cryptocurrency payment.
Public Key
An alphanumeric code that allows a user to receive cryptocurrency
Terms
Description
Q
QR Code
A machine-readable label used to share wallet addresses
R
Rank
The relative position of one crypto currency to another, based on their respective market capitalization
S
Satoshi (SATS)
The smallest unit of bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC).
Satoshi Nakamoto
The creator (or creators) of Bitcoin
Soft Cap
The minimum target amount of an Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
Soft Fork
A protocol upgrade where only previously valid transactions are made invalid (as opposed to a hard fork where previously invalid transactions are also made valid).
Seed Phrase
A list of words used as a backup to recover a Bitcoin wallet private key
Stablecoin
Cryptocurrencies that do not have a finite supply, and are backed by a reserve asset, such as Gold.
T
Token
A digital asset with a specific use inside a specific project.
Transaction (TX)
The act of exchanging cryptocurrencies
Transaction Fee
A fee for using the blockchain to make a transaction (usually paid to miners).
W
Wallet
A secure digital wallet for holding cryptocurrencies.
Whale
Someone who holds an unusually large amount of a cryptocurrency.
Whitepaper
A document outlining all the details of a proposed new cryptocurrency, designed to entice investors.
CFD
TRADING GLOSSARY
Terms
Description
A
AML
Anti-Money Laundering. A set of international laws, regulations and procedure designed to prevent illegally obtained funds being disguised as legitimate income.
Arbitrage
A trading strategy that aims to profit from different trading conditions between providers. Generally not regarded as a genuine trading strategy.
All Time High (ATH)
The highest recorded trading price of an asset
All Time Low (ATL)
The lowest ever recorded trading price of an asset
B
Bearish
A market in a downwards trend
Bullish
A market in an upwards trend
C
Candlesticks
A graphical representation of the open, close, low and high prices on a trading chart for a specific time period.
Contract For Difference (CFD)
A form of derivative trading where trading is based on price speculation only. There is an agreement that the seller will pay the buyer the difference between the value of the asset at the time of the contract agreement and the contract expiration. If the difference is negative then the buyer must pay the difference to the seller.
Copy Trading
A system that allows the automatic copying of trades from a master account to an investors account.
D
Drawdown
The size of a drop in the value of an account from its peak to its low
E
Economic Calendar
An online calendar publishing the scheduled times and results of significant global economic events.
Expert Advisor (EA)
A piece of coding designed to place trades automatically once specific parameters have been met in the market.
Exposure
The total amount of funds at risk in a trading account
Terms
Description
F
First In First Out (FIFO)
A trading condition whereby trades must be closed in the order they were opened.
Fill or Kill
A type of execution whereby the order is filled at the exact price and volume as requested or not at all.
Fundamental Analysis
Price analysis based on current global economic factors
H
Hedging
A strategy used to offset risk, and involves the simultaneous buying and selling of the same asset
I
Indicators
Tools used by traders to predict future price movements
Instant Execution
A type of execution where trades are opened at the requested price, or if that price is not available a requote is offered.
L
Leverage
Borrowed capital from the broker to increase the available funds in a trading account.
Liquidity
The relative ease of entering and exiting the market at stable prices.
Long
An order to buy, with the expectation the price is going to rise.
M
Margin
The amount of funds required by a broker to open a position
Margin Call
The level at which a broker will demand additional margin to be added to the account to prevent stop out.
Market Execution
A type of execution where orders are filled at the best available price in the market, which may differ from the requested price
N
Negative Balance
A minus balance resulting from a large market movement against the trader.
Terms
Description
O
One Cancels Other (OCO)
A type of order that agrees to cancel one (or more) orders when the other opens.
Open High Low Close (OHLC)
The opening, highest, closing and lowest price of an asset in a particular time period.
Over the Counter (OTC)
Trading that takes place away from a formal exchange
P
Pending Order
An order set to open in the future, once a particular price has been reached
R
Return on Investment (ROI)
A performance measure used to evaluate the profitability and efficiency of an investment
S
Scalping
A trading strategy that uses low time frames only with the intention of profiting from smaller yet more frequent movements.
Short
An order to sell, with the expectation the price is going to fall.
Slippage
The difference between the requested price and the final fill price of an order
Stop Loss
An order placed to automatically close a trade once a predetermined loss amount has been realised
Stop Out
The automatic closure of all trades on an account once the equity of an account falls below the available margin
T
Take Profit
An order placed to automatically close a trade once a predetermined profit amount has been realised
Technical Analysis
Price analysis based on historical price movements
V
Volatility
The rate of change of an asset's value