Don't let FUD lead you to FOMO, because then you'll end up in Rekt. The world of cryptocurrencies also has its own slang, and we have collected the 11 most popular of them.
If you've been reading crypto-related posts on Reddit or Twitter, it's almost 100 percent likely that you've come across these phrases, abbreviations, or funny memes. FOMO, FUD, laser eyes or whales, these are quite strange terms for a beginner, but each of them has its own little story.
Diamond hands
Diamonds hands is a term popularized by crypto and stock traders on Reddit. It refers to a strong adherence to the HODL philosophy (more on that later) and is often used by online groups that have banded together to try to drive up the price of a meme coin or other asset.
FOMO
FOMO comes from the term "fear of missing out". This often leads to emotional trading, which is usually always a bad decision and dangerous, because later you easily regret that you did not time a sale and purchase well and missed out on extra profit due to your hasty decision. (Nobody can time a trade perfectly.)
A good way to reduce FOMO is to have a strategy and stick to it, especially if you think the value of the investment will increase over the long term. One such popular option is dollar cost averaging (or DCA), which allows you to invest the same amount each week or month without worrying about market activity.
FUD
Another great term is FUD, which stands for "fear, uncertainty, doubt". This is a classic PR and propaganda tactic. The idea is to distort public opinion about a product, technology, or candidate by strategically releasing misinformation that creates a negative emotional response.
Mainframe architect and entrepreneur Gene Amdahl is often credited with popularizing the concept in the 1980s. He used it to describe IBM salesmen of the era who worked to ban competitors' products, claiming they were unreliable.
In the world of crypto, FUD often refers to general skepticism about the technology (from the media or from traditional financial analysts), but the idea can also be used by proponents of a specific token or protocol to deflect criticism.
Flippening
Flippening is a hypothetical event in which the market capitalization of Ethereum will one day overtake that of Bitcoin . It can also be used to describe any similar situation where a smaller or less established token or protocol overtakes a larger rival.
HODL
I've mentioned this acronym before, but HODL is probably the most common piece of crypto slang. Originally derived from a drunken typo in the subject line of a 2013 Bitcoin forum post: “ I AM HODLING ”. (The spelling of the word “holding”)
HODL – commonly pronounced “hoddle” – simply means to buy and hold a currency for the long term, regardless of what happens in the market. Bitcoin enthusiasts coined it a separate acronym, "hold on for dear life".
The original forum post is riddled with typos, but the underlying message was prescient. At that time, the value of Bitcoin fell from $1,242 to $480 in one month. Panicked traders saved what could be saved, but GameKyuuubi - real name Mike, a programmer - didn't sell anything. As he wrote: "In such a passive game, the only way the traders can take your money is if you sell."
The sentiment soon spread throughout the Bitcoin community, spawning countless memes. Crypto has gone through several bull and bear cycles, but at least so far, HODL has been good advice - and Bitcoin has become one of the best performing assets of the last decade. (As mentioned in the FOMO section above, a good way to HODL is DCA.)
Laser eyes
In 2021, ardent supporters of Bitcoin began signaling their support for the cryptocurrency by adding "laser eyes" to their Twitter photos. NFL superstar Tom Brady, Paris Hilton, Elon Musk, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor are just a few of the famous names who have participated in the movement. The meme is often associated with the hashtag #LaserRayUntil100K, which supports the cryptocurrency to break the $100,000 mark. Well, that's still a bit further away, but you never know.
Memecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) is the original memecoin, which is literally a cryptocurrency based on a meme that was popular at the time of its invention . But in 2021, when the value of Dogecoin increased dramatically, a huge wave of additional absurdly named tokens appeared. In May 2021, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated over $1 billion to DOGE-inspired memecoins (such as AKITA, SHIB, and Dogelon Mars (ELON)) to fight COVID in India and other causes. The coins were placed in Buterin's cryptocurrency wallet in an attempt to trick traders into believing he was an investor.
Moon
When a cryptocurrency shows strong upward momentum, traders tend to describe it as "going to the moon".
Pump and dump
This is a coordinated operation where the price of an asset is artificially inflated and sold before it crashes. Cryptocurrencies with smaller market capitalizations are particularly vulnerable to pump and dump schemes. A group of traders then work together to drive up the price of a particular small-cap altcoin. As prices go up, designers will promote the opportunity on Twitter, Reddit, Discord, Facebook, YouTube and everywhere else, attracting more investors and driving up prices. When the asset reaches a specified target value, the original group withdraws their money from it, making a large profit, and everyone else can "go to the soup" when the token crashes.
Rekt
What happens when you get swept up in FOMO and fall victim to a pump and dump? You will receive a Rekt. The term comes from the gamer world, where getting rect means a heavy loss, and the definition is pretty much the same for crypto.
Whale
The biggest holders of crypto are called whales. In the case of Bitcoin, a whale is usually considered to be someone who has more than 1000 BTC. Unlike the vast majority of crypto traders, whales are able to move the market with their trades. According to bitinfocharts.com, in mid-May 2021, the top 100 Bitcoin addresses (out of more than 800,000 active addresses) held more than 20 percent of all BTC.
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