8 Crypto Currency Slang Terms You Should Know

#1 HODL

The term “HODL” was coined (pun intended) within an early Bitcoin forum in which a poster misspelled the word HOLD. The term was then adopted and used in place of the properly spelled word for comedic effect.

Some people interpreted it as an acronym that stands for “hold on for dear life” which plays into the idea of holding a trade position.

Example: We may be on a down trend but don’t sell your position, we have to HODL for the long term.

#2 Pump & Dump (AKA Rug Pull)

A pump and dump occurs when a group of investors hold a substantial percentage of a coin’s available supply at a low price point. They facilitate hype based for the majority on false statements, which creates demand within the market, and drives the price up (pump).

Once the initial investments have been inflated by new investors, they sell all of their holdings for a cheeky profit. Since they held a substantial portion of the supply, this sell off usually drives the price to an irreparable low (dump).

I have seen hundreds of these situations happen, and the market is being filled with garbage coins whose sole purpose is to do just that. The problem is, there are always people who are getting burned and left holding the bag.

This phenomenon is also known as a “rug pull”

Example: Andy got burned on that pump and dump scheme last week, ended up losing over $1000!

#3 Bag Holder

A bag holder is essentially defined as an investor who holds a position within a currency that decreases in price to the point of being worthless. These investors were either unaware of their position’s drop in value, or were set on waiting to sell at a higher price. They end up being the last holders of a failing investment, and therefore become bag holders.

This type of thing often occurs in the misleading pump and dump scenarios that I highlighted in term #2. However these bag holders can be created in a variety of situations and within any market.

Example: There’s always a winner, and there’s always a bag holder!

#4 Mooning

Within the crypto community the term “mooning” is used in reference to a coin’s price experiencing a spike or significant increase. People have started saying things like “we’re going to the moon” or “get on this moon rocket”, as a sort of slogan or hype inducing statement.

The fact that “mooning” in another sense refers to someone publicly exposing their bare ass, is irrelevant but hilarious.

Example: Have you seen Dogecoin’s price this week? Its really mooning!

#5 FUD

FUD is an acronym that stands for “fear uncertainty & doubt”. People that spread negativity about a coin and its future are labeled “fudders” and are spreading fud. Communities will advise to watch out for unwarranted fud, as this can cause major selloffs and severely decrease a coin’s value.

Example: I have the utmost faith in this coin, despite all the FUD going around about it.

#6 Diamond Hands

The term diamond hands refers to investors who are not deterred by swings in price or any other signs of trouble for their investment. These traders will hold until the bitter end even when a position is losing value. They strongly believe that their investment will always rebound and are set on holding for the big gains.

This, in my opinion, is one of the main ways that investors of any caliber end up losing big chunks of money. However, there are cases in which hanging onto a failing investment can prove to be a great decision.

I have actually experienced this once myself. Decided to sell my position in a failing stock at a massive loss. One year later that same stock sits at 8x what I sold it for, I would have made a big profit if I had diamond hands!

Example: The stock made a huge recovery and has actually turned a 10x profit! Those diamond hands really paid off!

#7 Paper Hands

Paper hands (also known as weak hands), refers to an investor who sells their position at the first sign of trouble. Be it a negative press release, a decrease in price, or simply a gut feeling, they will not hesitate to sell and get out.

In many cases, a trader with paper hands has such a low tolerance for risk within a market that they will often miss out on substantial profit after opting to sell before a price increase.

Keep in mind, paper hands aren’t necessarily a bad thing to have. Some traders actually live by the saying that “paper hands are green hands”.

The stock market can be incredibly volatile and unpredictable, so don’t let others pressure you to hold on to an investment longer than you feel comfortable.

Example: John and his paper hands, can’t hold onto a position for longer than a week!

#8 Satoshi (SAT)

A Satoshi is the smallest defined unit of Bitcoin cryptocurrency. A single Satoshi refers to 0.00000001 of a Bitcoin, or 1 hundred millionth of a Bitcoin.

The term is named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. He also published the Bitcoin white paper in 2008, and implemented the original reference system for the most expensive and well known crypto currency available today.

Example: I have been mining Bitcoin for the past few months at a rate of approximately 2,500 Satoshis a day!

I hope these definitions can help some of you to better understand some of the slang terms and jargon currently in circulation.

Many of these terms are transferrable to other markets as well, but are seeing a lot of use within the crypto currency community.

Thanks for reading!