Crypto Slang Terms Every New Investor Needs to Learn

Entering the crypto space can be confusing and overwhelming. It feels like there’s an endless amount of terms, phrases, and concepts you need to know. On top of this, crypto slang terms change and evolve all the time. Luckily, we laid out forty-five of the most common crypto slang terms you need to learn to get started in the crypto space. This list will help you understand crypto conversations, digest crypto news, and be an active participant in your crypto community. 

Crypto Slang List 2022

1. HODL

HODL is an acronym for “Hold On for Dear Life”. In the crypto community people ask many questions: Should I buy? Sell? Hold out? HODL is a term meaning hold, or do not sell. Especially in times of extreme price volatility or panic, a natural instinct is to sell. Hodling is a strategy for long-term investment to weather price volatility and wait for a better opportunity to sell. It is one of the most widely used crypto slang terms you will come across.

Example: “I am going to Hodl through this bear market”

2. Diamond Hands & Paper Hands

Diamond hands is a term expressing high-risk tolerance. This term originates from Reddit and Twitter stock market slang and has made its way to crypto. If you have diamond hands, you typically HODL as well and don’t panic or sell quickly. In contrast, paper hands mean that you are susceptible to selling quickly. Someone with paper hands sells shortly after any negative news or dips in the market, having very little risk tolerance.

Example: “His diamond hands made him a lot of money hodling”

Example: “If you didn’t have paper hands, you would’ve been rich”

3. FOMO

FOMO is another common acronym used in the crypto space, standing for “Fear Of Missing Out”. In cases where a crypto’s value is rising, investors don’t want to miss an opportunity to profit and feel an urge to invest before the price gets too high. Investors can also have FOMO on a new crypto project, not wanting to miss out on any possible gains.

Example: “When bitcoin was rising in price, I had FOMO and bought some before it was too late”

4. FUD

FUD means fear, uncertainty, and doubt. It is a scheme to spread negative news, information, or stories in order to drop the coin’s price. People who do this are referred to as “fudders”. 

Example: “The fud got to me, and I decided to sell before the price skyrocketed”

5. Shitcoin

A Shitcoin is a term to say that a coin has no value or use. It is used commonly to degrade or attack a coin or warn others about the coin.

Example: “Why do you invest in shitcoins?”

6. Ape

Ape in or Apes is used to describe investors who throw money at a coin or project without doing research. This commonly happens when an investor has FOMO and quickly invests.

Example: “This project took off so fast, all these apes are throwing money at it”

7. BTD/BTFD

Buy The Dip or Buy The f*ucking Dip is a crypto and investing term. When the market value of a coin dips, buying the dip is a common strategy. In a bull market, it lets you get in at a better price before it continues climbing. In a bear market, buying the dip is a good strategy for long-term hodling.

Example: “It’s now or never to BTFD”

8. Degen

Degen, or degenerate, is used to refer to someone who is a risk-taker in the crypto space. This could be buying at risky times or in risky projects.

Example: “This degen really bought all those shitcoins”

9. GM

GM, or Good Morning, is not necessarily a crypto-specific term but is widely regarded as crypto slang. Used as a greeting, just make sure not to confuse it with other terms.

Example: “GM investors!”

10. NGMI/WAGMI

NGMI means “Not Going to Make It”. It is slang used to express negativity towards a person or company. On the other hand, WAGMI (We Are All Going to Make It) is an affirmation that everything will turn out okay.

Example: “WAGMI, just have a little faith”

Example: “This project NGMI, it just doesn’t have the right development team”

11. IYKYK

If You Know You Know, IYKYK is a term to express an inside joke or being coy with some information.

Example: “Wow, that was crazy #IYKYK”

12. LFG

LFG means “Let’s F*cking Go” and expresses excitement over the news or just in general.

Example: “Big news is coming, LFG”

13. Looks Rare

Looks Rare is a phrase that commonly refers to NFTs. If someone says “looks rare”, they are saying it might be rare and thus valuable.

Example: “That NFT looks rare”

14. Probably Nothing / Few

Probably Nothing and “Few” are a way to say something is probably important ironically. It also can mean (ironically) that few people are aware of something.

Example: “Bitcoin just hit a new all-time high, probably nothing.”

15. (3,3)

(3,3) is a meme whose meaning is somewhat obscure. A project named OlympusDAO used game theory to explain and organize its community operations. (3,3) references game theory and signifies that this is the optimal outcome for all parties. In this specific case, staking in OlympusDAO is (3,3). So when you see this, it means collectively we should all stake in OlympusDAO. Of course, (3,3) can be applied generally to mean we should all do what is best for everyone and look for an optimum outcome.

Example: “I staked in OlympusDAO, so you should too so we can (3,3)!”

16. Shilling

A shill is a person that promotes and advertises a cryptocurrency for profit. They typically have a large social media presence and following.

Example: “This famous person is just a shill”

17. Moonboys/Moonbois

Novices who overhype a coin are referred to as moonboys. They think they will get rich quickly once the coin they invest in “goes to the moon”

Example: “These moonboys are out of their mind with their expectations”

18. Lambo

You may hear people say “When Lambo?”. They are asking when the price will increase or climb to a high price (so they can afford a lambo). They are typically only concerned about the price of the coin. This crypto slang term may also be thrown around ironically.

Example: “I just invested. When Lambo?”

19. Wen/Wat

Wen/Wat are simplistic spellings of When and What; this is done usually to poke fun at people asking simplistic questions.

Example: “wen lambo?”

20. Boomer

Boomer is a reference to the baby boomer generation. It is commonly used to describe something outdated or obsolete. It can be used to describe a person who is acting like a “boomer”, or a coin/technology that is outdated. For instance, Bitcoin is sometimes referred to as Boomercoin.

Example: “The people running this project are boomers”

21. Wagecuck

A Wagecuck is someone who has a normal, 9-to-5 day job. This term is often used in a negative way, or in a joking manner. There are typically two types of people in the crypto space. First, you have “wagecucks” who have normal jobs and dabble in crypto part-time. Those who don’t have a normal job are in crypto full time, and their activity and investing are how they make a living. These people don’t have set hours and sometimes are their own bosses.

Example: “I hope I can stop wagecucking after I make some money”

22. Pleb/Normie

Pleb or normie is just that: a normal person. Sometimes people new to the crypto space or don’t know much about crypto are referred to as plebs or normies. These terms can be used to put down or target those less knowledgeable in the crypto space. They can also be used to defend people who lack technical crypto knowledge.

Example: “These plebs don’t know what they are doing”

Example: “He’s just a normie, so give him a break”

23. Fren

Fren is a term that means friend or friends. Usually used in a joking or meme-este way, fren is a way to say you enjoy a person or a group of people.

Example: “I love my frens in the NFT community”

24. Ser

This is another common misspelling that is intentional. It means “Sir” and is used jokingly or to poke fun. It can also be used to point out that a conversation or situation does not have to be as formal as it is.

Example: “Excuse me ser”

25. Gigabrain/Gigachad

Both gigabrain and gigachad are terms referring to someone’s high intelligence or presence in the crypto space. This is someone who is an expert or a large figure in the crypto space.

Example: “Investing at that time was a gigabrain move by him”

Example: “He’s a real gigachad, that’s why the project is doing well”

26. Smol brain / Smooth brain

Smol brain/smooth brain (in contrast to giga brain) is saying that someone has low intelligence or a poor understanding of a subject.

Example: “That was a smooth brain move”

Example: “They have a smol brain when it comes to big picture thinking”

27. Anon

Anon in its usual context means anonymous. Because most crypto users are anonymous, Anon is used to address the general user. An analogy would be how users of the social media platform Reddit are called Redditors. 

Example: “Anon, What are we going to do?”

28. -oooor

Among the many ways to put down or shame people/concepts in the crypto space, -oooor is a way to say a person doesn’t know what they are talking about. 

Example: “This investooooor doesn’t know anything about crypto”

29. Rekt

A misspelling of “wrecked”, rekt is a crypto slang term that means you lost money or the market crashed. It can also be used loosely to mean something bad happened to you or something else.

Example: “We got rekt really bad last week, I hope we bounce back”

30. Down Bad

Down Bad is similar to rekt, but not as severe. Crypto traders will say they are down bad when they lose money or the market falls unexpectedly.

Example: “I forgot to exit my trades yesterday before the crash so I’m down bad”

31. Pump It/Dump It

Pump it/Dump it is both a scheme and a common slang term. Pump it/dump it schemes involve artificially inflating the price of a coin (pumping) and then selling all or a large portion of their crypto at the peak (dumping). This is not uncommon and most evident when large holders of crypto (whales) do it. Because crypto is extremely speculative and volatile, pump it/dump it can be used as a general term for the nature of crypto.

Example: “News really pumped up the price, now everyone is waiting for the dump”

32. Nuke

Because of the volatility of crypto markets, strong price corrections and pullbacks are relatively common. Major corrections are sometimes referred to as nukes. 

Example: “Nuke it so I can buy lower”

33. NFA

NFA stands for “Not Financial Advice”. This is similar to NLA (Not Legal Advice) and is a disclaimer that advice is not from a professional. It is used to show opinions and views should not be taken as fact. It can also be used ironically.

Example: “NFA, but I think a big boom in price is coming”

34. In It for the Tech

In it for the tech means that your views and positions are not just for profit but because you like the technology of a particular coin. This phrase has also become a meme of sorts for those coping with investment losses.

Example: “I lost half of my portfolio today so good thing I’m only in it for the tech”

35. Can Devs Do Something?

The question “can devs do something” is a meme that is used when prices drop on a particular coin. It is just a joke nowadays, but most likely originated from a serious question. Devs refer to developers or the team behind the project or coin. 

Example: “dang, can devs do something about these prices”

36. Copium/Hopium

Copium and Hopium are crypto slang words used to express people’s illogical or fantasy hopes in a particular coin or price change. It figuratively means that you are taking or on “copium/hopium” when expressing these hopes.

Example: “The prices are never coming back up, you are on hopium”

37. Bulla/Bera

Bulla/Bera are just misspellings of the bull and bear markets. While not commonly used, they are used in memes.

Example: “This bulla market got me hyped!”

Example: “stop being bera, we are going to bounce back”

38. Funds are Safu

Funds are safu is a way of saying funds are safe. This is commonly used when investors inquire about the legitimacy and security of an exchange or smart contract.

Example: “The exchange was hacked but my funds are safu”

39. Rugged

Rugged (Rug in the past tense, not the word rugged) or rug pull is the action of scammers or a shady development team pulling funds out of a project without consent or warning. In high-risk projects, this is a possibility and everyone loses the money invested in a project. Having the “rug pulled out from under you” also can be used to say you got scammed or deceived.

Example: “This shitcoin just rugged all of us!”

40. Hsbaf

hsbaf means “Holy Sh*t bears (or bulls) are f*cked. Referring to the bears/bulls (those who thought the price would go a certain way and opened a position) will lose money.

Example: “Hsbaf with this unexpected news”

41. Hfsp

Hfsp means “Have fun staying poor”. It’s used to ridicule those who are not in crypto or those who are overly cautious with their money. It’s used in a mean and derisive way.

Example: hfsp while these altcoins moon”

42. Exit Liquidity

Exit liquidity is what people call those who are late to the party and only in it for quick profits, similar to apes. Early investors may use apes or moonboys as exit liquidity to get out of their position before the market turns.

43. 69/420

69/420 is a common meme that is used to troll or be funny. 69 is a sexual position, and 420 is used to express marijuana. Companies or people will use these numbers (whether it is fund limits, collection amounts, or coin amounts) to be funny.

Example: “We minted 420 million coins at $69 each”

44. IDO

IDO is not actually slang but a widely used acronym in the crypto space. It stands for Initial DEX Offering and is one of the hottest new ways for crypto projects to fundraise. IDOs use launchpads such as Scaleswap as a platform to organize, advertise, and crowdfund new projects. These platforms are especially valuable to crypto investors because they allow the average user to participate in early fundraising rounds for innovative new projects. In the past, these rounds were only reserved for big time investors and venture capitalist. For an in-depth analysis of IDOs and the benefits they bring to participants, take a look at this article.

Example: “How do I participate in an IDO on Scaleswap?”

Conclusion

Congrats! Now that you know the essential crypto slang terms, you’re probably excited and want to get started in the crypto space. To learn more about crypto wallets and how to store cryptocurrency, check out our article including the five best crypto wallets. To learn more about IDO launchpads like Scaleswap, where you can get early access to tokens of the newest and most innovative crypto startups, check out our website to get started.