Continuously updated
AMM #
Automated Market Maker
A DEX protocol that relies on mathematical formulas to price assets, rather than an order book.
Call/Put Options #
Financial contracts giving the right to buy (Call) or sell (Put) an asset at a set price.
CeFi / DeFi #
Centralized Finance / Decentralized Finance
CeFi: Financial services run by centralized companies (like Binance or Coinbase), similar to traditional banks.
DeFi: Financial services built on public blockchains utilizing smart contracts, without intermediaries.
CEX / DEX #
Centralized Exchange / Decentralized Exchange
CEX: An off-chain program for buying, selling, trading, or swapping on-chain assets.
DEX: A peer-to-peer marketplace where transactions occur directly between crypto traders.
Concentrated Liquidity #
A mechanism (popularized by Uniswap V3) where LPs allocate capital within a specific price range to increase capital efficiency.
FDV #
Fully Diluted Valuation
Price × Total Supply (including locked tokens). The theoretical value once all tokens are unlocked.
GameFi #
The intersection of blockchain gaming and DeFi, where players can earn value through gameplay.
Grant #
Non-repayable funds provided by a foundation or DAO to developers to build on their ecosystem.
KYC #
Know Your Customer
Identify verification process used by financial institutions to prevent fraud and money laundering.
LSD / LST #
Liquid Staking Derivative/Token
A token representing staked assets that can still be traded or used in DeFi while the underlying asset earns rewards.
Locking / Soft Locking #
Locking: Freezing assets in a contract for a period.
Soft Locking: Incentivizing users to keep assets staked without strictly enforcing a hard lock period.
LP #
Liquidity Provider
Users who deposit assets into a pool to facilitate trading on a DEX, earning fees in return.
LP Token #
Liquidity Provider Token
Often refers to the token receipt users get when they provide liquidity, representing their share of the pool.
Maker #
A trader who places limit orders that add liquidity to the order book.
Market Cap #
Market Capitalization
Market Cap = Price × Circulating Supply. Reflects the current market value and rank.
Market Maker #
Professional entities or algorithms that actively quote buy and sell prices to ensure market liquidity.
MEV #
Maximal Extractable Value
Value extracted by miners/validators by reordering, including, or censoring transactions in a block.
NFT #
Non-Fungible Token
Unique digital assets verified on a blockchain, distinct from interchangeable tokens like Bitcoin.
P2E #
Play-to-Earn
A business model in blockchain games where players earn crypto or NFTs that have real-world value through gameplay.
Perpetual Futures #
A derivative contract similar to futures but without an expiration date.
Prediction Market #
Markets where users trade on the outcome of future events.
Quadratic Funding #
A funding matching mechanism where smaller contributions from many people are matched with larger amounts from a pool.
RWAs #
Real World Assets
Tokenized versions of tangible assets like real estate, gold, or bonds on the blockchain.
Slippage #
The difference between the expected price and the actual execution price.
Stablecoin #
A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset like the US Dollar to minimize volatility.
Staking #
Locking up crypto assets to support the operation of a blockchain network in exchange for rewards.
Synthetic Asset #
Tokenized derivatives that mimic the value and price fluctuations of another asset (real-world or crypto) without requiring ownership of the underlying asset.
Taker #
A trader who accepts existing orders on the book, removing liquidity.
Tokenomics #
The economic model of a token, including supply, distribution, utility, and incentives.
Cover image: This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the planet Jupiter in a color composite of ultraviolet wavelengths. From NASA