So if you’re still an absolute beginner to crypto, I suggest you begin with a different set of terms to know. Once you’ve figured that out, you’re ready to move to the next level. Learning some crypto slang. This makes all the difference between being an amateur in crypto and the move to the next level (becoming “Made” in crypto).
So here’s the terms to know,
HODL
Simply this means HOLD. Hold on to the cryptocurrency. Do not sell. So then why Hodl? Apparently in crypto folklore, there was a guy in 2013 who in an inebriated (drunk) state posted on a Bitcoin chat forum “I AM HODLING”. The term picked off since and has been widely used. Some have even expanded it to read: Hold On to Dear Life. So, the next time someone tells you “HODL ZILLIQA”, you know what to do.
FUD
So this morning, Reuters carried a story,
What can follow a story like this, based off sources and yet to be confirmed, is selling in the market. FUD expands as “Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt“.
FUD, typically, is a strategy used to spread doubt and fear. This can be aimed at the market in general (as is the case with the story above) or a specific cryptocurrency. This can trigger panic, which would cause selling pressure and a drop in price.
This is what some users on Twitter feel about the story. They think its a FUD by the Main Stream Media (at least as of now).
So if I say, for example, “HODL or BUY the FUD”, you know what to do. Right?
FOMO
You’re going to see this a lot. Let’s say there’s a cryptocurrency called X which is up 50% today. Now here’s some tweets around X,
“Buy X now”
“Buy X now or miss out forever”
“Last chance to buy X before it moves up”
“Buy X now and pay off your all your debts next month”
Firstly what you do here is DO NOT BUY X. Or at least do some research before getting into X. But what these tweets have done is, they’ve gotten you thinking about buying X. You’re feeling that pressure. “I should buy it now” or I risk missing out on this. This is FOMO.
FOMO expands as ‘Fear Of Missing Out’. The feeling when you see or hear about a huge move on certain crypto that you don’t own. FOMO can lead you to panic buy. You may even sell something you have planned to hold for long, just so that you can buy X now. Trading is driven by emotions to a large extent and being aware of FOMO can make a big difference to the success or failure of a trade.
REKT
Just like HODL is derived from Hold, this is another term derived a regular English language word. Any guesses on what that it? Hint: It means to get destroyed or badly damaged. Well, the word is WRECKED. So REKT is term used to represent Wrecked.
Continuing with the previous example of the cryptocurrency X. Let’s say you jumped onboard and purchased X after it had run up 50%. So say, you buy X at $10 per share. Now, the very next day, X fall and it’s now down 80% to $2. Unfortunately, you’ve been wrecked, and you follow this with a tweet,
“REKT!!!!!” Because of X”
This is what it is in essence. Typically it is used for positions which have been based off a leverage (futures, derivatives), but that’s not for now.
MOON
This is easy. Up moves in cryptocurrencies can be extreme. So it’s is not uncommon to see 30%, 40%, 100%, or even more up moves on projects within a day.
This is the chart for CHILIZ. So as you see, the price since end Feb has moved sky high. Basically, reaching for the moon. Hence, the phrases “To the moon”, “When mooning”. Basically hoping the price goes out of the roof, off the stratosphere and towards the moon. Exaggerated? Well that’s crypto. A lot can be pretty exaggerated.
LAMBO
Something pretty close to what the previous term indicates. This basically is shorthand for Lamborghini. Thanks to the sharp moves in crypto and Bitcoin in general, some traders in this market have been able to indulge themselves by getting a Lamborghini. Again a little tale here: A guy called Peter Saddington bought some Bitcoin worth $115 in 2011. He held onto it and by 2017, that $115 invested in Bitcoin was sufficient for him to buy a Lamborghini.
So that’s what “When Lambo” has come to mean. It’s used to represent when the cryptocurrency holder will be able to purchase a Lamborghini or become rich thanks to their crypto portfolio.
SATS or SATOSHIS
I’ve spoken of this separately in a post. Please check it out here. This is something you ought to know. It’s less of a slang I’d say.
This represents the smallest unit of a Bitcoin. Just like the smaller unit of a US Dollar is a Cent (100 cents make a US dollar) or the smaller unit for a Pound is the Pence, so also the smaller units of a Bitcoin are called Satoshis or Sats. Check out the article I linked earlier to know more. But quickly, 1 BITCOIN = 100 MILLION SATOSHIS.
SHILL
Read Suppoman. (Kidding. Or am I??????) But beware of SHILLS in crypto.
Typically, this involves hyping a particular project one is involved in (an influencer generally), aimed at making (read tricking) everyone else into believing that a particular coin or token will be extremely valuable in the future. Now there’s absolutely no harm in creating a hype. But when there’s a negative intent there, aimed at making new / naive / gullible investors in crypto to take a position so that you can profit off their foolishness, that’s Shilling.
I was recently banned by an influencer from his Twitter account cause I called him out on a coin he recommended – PAZZY. He was screaming his lungs out on how amazing that project was last month. It was a new listing. Encouraging others to invest in it. A simple look at Pazzy’s Twitter account showed followers had been purchased and generally included fake accounts (not saying this is the way to research a coin. But it helps). Anyways, PAZZY listed and went in only one direction. DOWN. I asked him about it. By now he’d deleted his tweets around PAZZY. Next convenient thing was blocking my account from seeing his tweets. Now that’s a SHILL.
“Shilling your bags” means promoting your coins to drive the price up. This can be by way of using fake volume building (basically manipulate the amount traded in a coin of small volumes), spamming (bunch of tweets, etc) by lying.
DYOR
I’ve used this term before and can’t stress it enough.
DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH
It is absolutely essential you do some of your own research into projects and coins you have invested in or want to. Do not depend on an influencer. Yes, influencers can introduce you to projects you may otherwise not have heard of. But don’t just ape into a project blindly. Do not just see a tweet “Buy X now” and jump into it without knowing what X does, or have any idea about the project except the name.
Spend some time researching a project. It will help big big time, and you will only get better with each project you research. Check out this post to get some more insights around this.
