Glossary
All the terms from the world of Cryptocurrencies that help you understand the topics better and allow you to start trading with confidence.
A
AML
Anti-money laundering regulations prevent illegal activities on centralised exchanges.
AMM
Automated Market Makers are smart contracts adopted by decentralised exchanges to automatically execute orders.
API
Tools that simplify the development of apps and web services.
APR
The annual percentage rate you receive for an investment or loan.
APY
A metric often used in DeFi, it indicates the percentage return per year you receive on an investment or loan.
ASIC
Devices dedicated to mining certain cryptocurrencies.
ATH and ATL
Acronyms used to indicate the maximum and minimum price of a cryptocurrency.
Account Model
On the Ethereum blockchain, accounts are the foundation of the decentralised ledger and they are usually associated with a wallet address.
Aggregator
An online collector of similar content or services from different sources for easy access. An example is Yearn Finance
Airdrop
A way of distributing a new cryptocurrency on the market
Algorithm
The procedure applied to solve a problem.
Altcoin
Cryptocurrencies that followed Bitcoin as alternative solutions.
Arbitrage
Buying and selling in different markets in order to take advantage of the disparity in prices.
Audit
A verification process that ensures the correct functioning of software.
B
Bear Market
A market phase characterised by price lows.
Bear Trap
In a bullish market, a Bear Trap is a downward price movement that can confuse investors.
Benchmark
A standard for measuring the performance of a financial instrument or market.
Bid and Ask
In the order book, these are the prices at which an asset is offered or demanded.
Bitcoin
The longest-lived cryptocurrency on the market and the first application of blockchain.
Bitcoin Dominance
The percentage ratio between Bitcoin's market cap and that of the entire crypto market.
Black Swan Event
An unexpected event that has a significant effect.
Block
The set of encrypted transactions that, connected to other blocks, makes up a blockchain.
Block Height
The number of blocks in a blockchain starting from the genesis block.
Blockchain
A technology based on cryptography that enables decentralised and uncensored execution of any type of transaction.
Blockchain Explorer
Software that allows users to view all transactions and data exchanged on a given blockchain.
Bonding
A process in which cryptocurrencies are blocked as a form of commitment to obtain benefits or the right to perform certain activities in a network.
Bonds
Financial instruments issued by governments or institutions to finance themselves
Break-Even point
The balance point between losses and gains, income and expenditure.
Breakout
In a price chart, the breaking of a resistance or support leading to an increase in volatility and trading volumes.
Bridge
In blockchain technology, it is a connection that allows interaction between different blockchains.
Bull Market
A market where there is an upward price trend
Bull Run
Market phase characterised by a bullish trend, associated with positive investor sentiment.
Bull Trap
In a bearish market, a bull trap is an upward price movement that, like a trap, can be deceptive.
Buy Wall and Sell Wall
High number of purchases or sales demanded at a certain price.
C
CPI
The main index by which inflation is measured
Capital
Funds available for investment
Capital gain
The profit resulting from the increase in the price of an asset
Cashback
Cashback involves a partial reimbursement of funds spent in a transaction.
CeFi
Centralised finance is the centralised counterpart of DeFi, but should not be confused with traditional finance.
Central Bank
The top of the banking system, which together with the central government regulates the issuance of money.
Circulating Supply
The number of units of a cryptocurrency available on the market.
Coin
A cryptocurrency that is natively based on its blockchain
Coin Burning
A way to remove cryptocurrency units from the circulating supply.
Cold Staking
Type of staking that requires the use of a cold wallet
Cold Wallet
Wallets that are not connected to the internet.
Commercial Bank
Type of common bank, aimed at private individuals and small savers.
Consensus Mechanism
A decentralised way to validate transactions on blockchain.
Crowdfunding
Online fundraising open to anyone.
Crypto Lending
A financial service that allows lending and borrowing cryptocurrencies on a centralised or decentralised platform
Cryptocurrency
Virtual currency based on cryptography and blockchain.
Cryptography
The branch of computer science that studies secure communication methods.
Custodial WalletÂ
A type of crypto wallet in which third parties hold the owner's private keys.
Custody
Managing one's wallet by knowing its private key
D
DAO
The Decentralised Autonomous Organisation is a form of automated blockchain governance.
DApp
Decentralised application allowing the use of a blockchain-based service.
DEX
A Decentralised Exchange allows cryptocurrency trading without intermediaries and directly on the blockchain.
DLT
Distributed Ledger Technologies are technologies based on an immutable ledger of transactions, the control of which is distributed.
DNS
Hierarchical server system that, on the Internet, associates each domain name with an IP address.
DYOR
Do Your Own Research, don't just take any information from one source at face value.
Database
A set of data stored in a structured manner
DeFi
Decentralised Finance includes all blockchain-based and decentralised financial solutions.
Decentralised
It is said of a system governed by the consensus of its participants and without a central authority or hierarchy.
Default
Inability to repay debts causing bankruptcy
Deficit
An economic condition of loss
Delegated Proof-of-Stake
A variant of Proof-of-Stake in which the stake is transferred to delegates who act as validators.Â
Delisting
Removing a cryptocurrency from an exchange's offering.
Diversification
The strategic inclusion of assets with different characteristics in the investment portfolio
Dividend
Profit received periodically in exchange for participation in the shares of a company
DoS
A Denial of Service is a computer attack that aims to make a network or service inaccessible.
Double Spending
The possibility for an attacker to spend the same amount twice if the payment system does not have a mechanism to prevent this.
Dovish
Monetary policy characterised by low interest rates and higher levels of employment aimed at fostering economic growth.
Drawdown
Indicator that calculates the difference between the maximum and minimum price of an asset over a specific time period.
E
ERC-20
The Ethereum token standard that has enabled hundreds of projects to launch their own cryptocurrency on Ethereum.
ETF
ETFs are passively managed investment funds that replicate the value of a reference index called a benchmark.
Exchange
Services facilitating the purchase and sale of digital assets based on daily market prices.
F
FOMO
Fear Of Missing Out is an expression often used in the context of trading and cryptocurrencies.
FUD
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt refers to a negative market sentiment
Fakeout
A market situation in which the observed price trend is different from that predicted by an investor, falsifying their expectations.
Fan Token
Fan Tokens are utility tokens that allow sports teams to connect with their fans.
Fee
Commission paid for the execution of transactions.
Fiat Currency
Legal tender, i.e. the official currency adopted by a government.
FinTech
A sector that combines finance and technology, where companies develop technologically innovative financial services.
Financial Bubble
Increase in the value of an asset, in an excessive way, given its intrinsic value.
Financial Instrument
An asset or instrument for investing and managing financial resources
Financial Market
The financial market is a regulated space where financial securities can be bought and sold.
Floor price
The minimum price at which an asset can be purchased.
Forex
The Foreign Exchange Market allows fiat currency trading.
Fungibility
It is the property of a means of payment to be divisible into equal parts to facilitate the exchange of goods.
Futures Contract
A contract that regulates the execution of a transaction at a predetermined price on a specific date.
H
Halving
The halving of the reward given to miners for producing Bitcoin blockchain blocks.
Hard Fork
A division of the blockchain due to the incompatibility of the new version of the protocol with the previous one.
Hash
A cryptographic function that serves to identify each block of the blockchain.
Hawkish
'Hard' monetary policies aimed at raising interest rates to combat inflation.
Hot Wallet
A cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet.
I
ICANN
Organisation that manages domain names on the Internet and assigns IP addresses.
ICO
An event where a newly created cryptocurrency is sold to distribute it on the market and promote it.
IEO
An event hosted by an exchange where a newly created cryptocurrency is sold to distribute it on the market and promote it.
IP address
Numeric strings that uniquely identify every resource to the network
Inflation
The gradual increase in the prices of a market or currency.
Interoperability
The ability to exchange data with other platforms, including those based on different types of blockchain, as well as with the off-chain world.
L
Layer 2
Protocol that operates on the basis of a blockchain to improve network scalability and efficiency.
Limit Order
A buy or sell order that is executed only when the cryptocurrency reaches the set price.
Liquid Proof-of-Stake
Proof-of-Stake variant in which tokens are not staked but liquid.
Liquid Staking
Staking mode that allows one's stake to be used in other protocols.
Liquidity
How easy it is to convert a cryptocurrency or financial instrument into fiat money or the base currency.
Listing
The inclusion of a token or cryptocurrency within an exchange’s market.
M
Market Cap
The total value of all the coins or tokens of a cryptocurrency in circulation.
Market Maker
Companies or organised entities that, in partnership with an exchange, are always willing to buy and sell a cryptocurrency.
Market Mover
A factor capable of influencing the development of a market and the level of prices.
Market Order
Instant buy or sell at the next best price available on the market.
Market Trend
A perceived tendency of financial markets to move in a particular direction over time.
Metadata
Data providing information on other data
Metaverse
Digital platform in which users take part in shared experiences, immersed in an online virtual environment, sometimes based on blockchain
Mining
The process of creating new blocks for a blockchain in exchange for cryptocurrency rewards.
Mining Pool
A company that bases its business on mining, by collecting a large number of powerful mining devices.
Mining difficulty
Difficulty level of the cryptographic problems to be solved to mine a Bitcoin block.
Minting
Minting is the process of registration and creation of new digital assets on the blockchain, like tokens of NFTs.
Modularity
Approach to software development that favours flexibility through component fragmentation
Moon
When the price of a cryptocurrency rises very fast, they say it soars 'to the moon'.
Multisig Wallet
A multisig wallet is a type of crypto wallet that requires two or more private keys to perform transactions.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are financial instruments that combine the capital of several investors into a single asset.
N
NFT
A Non-Fungible Token is a unique asset registered on the blockchain.
NFT Domains
An NFT domain is a decentralised Internet domain managed by smart contracts and registered on the blockchain.
Network
The set of interconnected computers, called nodes, on which the blockchain of a given cryptocurrency is based.
Neural Networks
Computational model reproducing the functioning of the human brain
Node
Device connected to a blockchain and participating in its network.
Non custodial wallet
A crypto wallet in which the owner retains custody of the private keys.
O
Off-chain
Transaction that is not performed on the blockchain.
On-chain
Any process executed or recorded on the blockchain
Open-source
Open-source software is public and available for anyone to reuse.
Oracle
A service that collects data not available on blockchain, verifies it and provides it to smart contracts
Order Book
The list of all the prices at which traders are willing to trade a certain amount of cryptocurrency on an exchange.
P
P2P
Una rete peer-to-peer permette agli utenti di scambiare dati senza intermediari.
Pair
Two currencies traded against each other on a crypto or forex exchange
Prediction Market
Exchange-traded markets created for the purpose of trading the outcome of events.
Price action
The behaviour of the price of a financial instrument over time.
Private Key
Cryptographic code that gives access to a wallet.
Proof-of-Stake
A consensus mechanism based on putting cryptocurrencies at stake in order to contribute to the blockchain.
Proof-of-Work
A consensus mechanism for blockchain based on the computing power of mining.
Public Key
Cryptographic code that identifies a wallet on the blockchain.
Pump&Dump
A strategy that inflates the price of a cryptocurrency to generate profits only for those who implement it.
Purchasing power
Quantity of goods that can be obtained with a certain amount of money
Pure Proof-of-Stake
It is a type of Proof-of-Stake in which validators are chosen randomly and anonymously thanks to the VRF function.
R
ROI
A value that measures the return generated by an investment.
Rally
A sudden and rapid rise in the price of an asset or market index, caused by increased demand from investors.
Registrar
Organisation that deals with the sale and registration of domain names.
Registry
Organisations that manage all information relating to top-level domains.
Relative Strength
A chart describing the performance of a pair of cryptocurrencies by comparing their price performance.
Royalty
Financial compensation paid to the creator of an NFT following its secondary purchase.
S
SEC
US government agency that regulates securities markets.
Satoshi Nakamoto
The pseudonym of the creator or group of Bitcoin developers. Their true identity is unknown and they no longer have an online presence.
Scarcity
How much an asset is available and consequently how much value it has.
Seed phrase
Sequence of 12 or 24 words used to retrieve access to a wallet.
Shard
Fragments' of blockchain operating in parallel.
Slippage
The difference between the execution price of an order and the price entered in the order.
Smart Contract
An agreement in digital form that allows actions to be triggered automatically if certain conditions are met.
Stablecoin
Cryptocurrencies pegged to the price of a stable asset such as a fiat currency or precious metal.
Stake
Total amount of cryptocurrency being staked
Staking
Depositing and holding cryptocurrencies on certain blockchains to obtain cryptocurrency incentives.
Staking Derivative
Derivatives of staking systems whose value depends on the performance of the staked native tokens and the amount of rewards issued by the network
Staking Pool
The joint staking of several people's cryptocurrencies with the aim to increase the rewards
Stocks
A financial instrument representing the shares of a company
Stop Order
A trading order that allows you to set a price at which another order is triggered.
Structured data
A structured and organised data type
Supply and demand
In economics, supply and demand correspond to the two main market variables and describe the behaviour of those who buy and sell goods or services.
Support and resistance
Support and resistance are two technical analysis tools used to monitor the price trend of an asset.
Swap
The conversion of tokens into other tokens on a decentralised exchange.
T
TCP/IP
The communication protocol used by the Internet
TLD
The domain extension placed at the end of a URL address,located at the highest point in the DNS hierarchy.
TVL
Total amount of crypto blocked in a DeFi protocol or decentralised application (dApp).
Testnet
A blockchain network used for testing new applications and features in a secure environment.
Token
Digital unit of value based on a third-party protocol.
Token YNG
Young (YNG) is the Utility Token at the heart of the entire Young Platform ecosystem.
Tokenomics
An economic model that regulates the distribution and use of a project's cryptocurrency.
Total Supply
Total supply is the quantity of tokens emitted by a crypto project.
Trading
Trading is a speculative activity of buying and selling financial assets, with the goal of making a profit.
Transaction
Exchange of value, property or data between two parties.
Transactions per second (TPS)
Literally 'transactions per second', it is a measure of the speed of a blockchain.
U
URL
Stringa di caratteri associata in String of characters uniquely associated with a resource on the World Wide Web. univoca ad una risorsa sul World Wide Web.
UTXO
The Unspent Transaction Output is the amount of cryptocurrency resulting from a transaction on certain blockchains, which can be the input for future transactions.
Utility Token
Utility tokens are cryptocurrencies that enable exchanges of services, benefits or functions within a crypto ecosystem.
W
Wallet
Software that allows you to send, receive and store your cryptocurrencies.
Wallet address
The string of characters that identifies a cryptocurrency wallet.
Web 3.0
A term often associated with the idea of the 'Semantic Web' and data interoperability, it represents the next phase of the Internet.
Web3
Third historical phase of the web, during which the economic and technological system of the internet changes thanks to the tools offered by blockchain.
White Paper
Technical and informative document used by cryptocurrency projects to present their technological proposal.
Whitelist
A whitelist (or allowlist) in the blockchain sector is a list of addresses that have early access to an ICO or NFT collection.
Wrapped Token
A token representing the value of a cryptocurrency in another blockchain standard.