30 essential crypto terms — from HODL and gas to TVL and impermanent loss — explained simply. Bookmark this. You'll need it.
HODL: Hold On for Dear Life — don't sell despite volatility. DeFi: Decentralized Finance — banks replaced by code. Gas: Transaction fee on Ethereum (paid in ETH). ETH gas can be $0.02 on Arbitrum, $5–20 on mainnet. Seed phrase: 12 or 24 words that control your wallet. Never share.
TVL (Total Value Locked): Total $ deposited in a DeFi protocol. Higher TVL = more trusted. APY: Annual Percentage Yield — your yearly return including compounding. APR: Annual Percentage Rate — without compounding. Liquidity pool: A pool of two tokens that enables trading on a DEX.
Impermanent Loss: Value lost when providing liquidity to volatile pairs vs just holding. Bull/Bear: Rising/falling market. FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out. FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (negative sentiment spread to manipulate price). Whale: Address holding $10M+ in crypto. Rug pull: Dev team steals funds and disappears.
DYOR: Do Your Own Research — never invest based on others' tips. Smart contract: Code that runs on blockchain automatically. Airdrop: Free tokens distributed to wallet holders. Staking: Lock tokens to earn yield. TDS: Tax Deducted at Source — 1% on Indian crypto transactions above ₹50K. VDA: Virtual Digital Asset — India's legal term for crypto.
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