Are friends new to the crypto world getting overwhelmed by all kinds of jargon? I’ve put together a basic glossary of crypto terms to cover most of the concepts you need to know, hoping to help you get started quickly.

First are a few fundamental concepts. Fiat currency is government-issued money, such as RMB or USD, backed by national credit. Token is usually translated as “digital token,” which is proof of rights on the blockchain, allowing the exchange of value through accounting of physical or digital assets. This is the core of what crypto is—a value circulation system based on digital records.

Airdrops and candies are marketing tactics by project teams. An airdrop is the free distribution of new tokens based on your holdings of existing tokens; candies are tokens distributed for free during ICO periods, used to generate hype and publicity.

A “breakout” refers to a token falling below its issuance price. Private placement is a way for projects to raise funds from specific investors, as opposed to public fundraising open to everyone.

Regarding trading platforms, well-known ones include a major exchange, a U.S.-based exchange, and Gate, among others. Crypto trading has several unique features: 24/7 operation without holidays, no daily price limit restrictions, minimum purchase of 0.0001 BTC, T+0 trading (buy today, sell today), and no time limit for withdrawal and cashing out. These features make the virtual currency market much more flexible than traditional stock markets, but they also come with higher risks.

A wallet is like your personal bank card, used to store cryptocurrencies. There are single-currency wallets (only for one coin) and multi-currency wallets (like imToken). Recharging means transferring coins into the platform, and withdrawal means transferring coins out.

Common trading terms: Position refers to your holdings’ direction; buying is bullish (expecting prices to rise), selling is bearish (expecting prices to fall). Market order executes at current market prices, limit order allows you to set your own price. Trades follow the “price priority, time priority” principle.

Another important aspect of crypto is market sentiment. Good news (利好) favors price increases, bad news (利空) is unfavorable. Bull market (牛市) is a sustained upward trend, bear market (熊市) is a prolonged decline (you might currently be experiencing a bear market—survive first, then accumulate coins and buy the dip). Monkey market (猴市) is characterized by wild price swings, hard to grasp. Main upward wave (主升浪) is the biggest rise in a bull market; catching it can lead to big profits.

Price movement descriptions: “Yin decline” (陰跌) means overall downward trend with hope and disappointment; waterfall (瀑布) indicates a sudden sharp drop; parabolic rise (井噴) is explosive growth after a long lull. Rebound (反彈) is a small recovery during a decline; reversal (反轉) is a true change in trend.

Market manipulators’ tactics include: wash trading (操敲) to manipulate prices across exchanges; shakeout (洗盤) to deliberately lower prices then raise them; support (護盤) by big players buying to prevent decline; absorbing chips (吸籌) by shaking out retail investors; controlling the market (控盤) by holding large amounts of coins to influence prices; fake signals (騙線) using candlestick patterns to create false signals. “Cutting leeks” (割韭菜) means repeatedly causing others to lose money and exit, while newcomers keep entering, cycle after cycle.

诱多 (诱多) and 诱空 (诱空) are common traps.诱多 involves a bearish pull-up to attract bulls then dumping, while 诱空 involves a bullish push to attract bears then rallying.

Position management is crucial. All-in (全倉) means putting all funds into coins (all-in gamble), averaging down (補倉) is buying more during a decline to lower the average cost, adding positions (加倉) is continuing to buy during an uptrend, reducing positions (減倉) is selling part of holdings when risk is perceived. No-position (空倉) means only holding USDT with no other coins; light, heavy, and half positions are based on fund proportions. Take profit (止盈) is selling to lock in gains, stop loss (止損) is selling after losses reach a certain point to prevent further damage.

Trading psychology: Cutting losses (割肉) means selling when prices fall to avoid bigger losses; “being trapped” (套牢) is holding after a decline and unwilling to sell; “breaking free” (解套) is recovering after being trapped; missing out (踏空) is buying during bad market conditions or watching from the sidelines during rallies—missing the best opportunities. Roller coaster (過山車) describes the emotional swings of excitement during rises and disappointment during drops. Holding coins (囤幣) is buying in anticipation of future growth.

Going long (做多) means buying expecting prices to rise; going short (做空) means selling (or borrowing coins to sell) expecting prices to fall and then buying back later. Arbitrage (搬磚) involves profiting from price differences across platforms. Over-the-counter (OTC) trading (場外交易) is direct fiat-to-crypto or USDT transactions.

Other important concepts: Turnover rate (換手率) measures liquidity of a coin; sideways market (橫盤) indicates low volatility within a range; rebound (反彈) during a decline, trend reversal (反轉) is a true change in trend; mining (挖礦) involves using computers to earn digital currency (note: it can shorten equipment lifespan).

ICO is a fundraising method where projects exchange their tokens for mainstream coins. Private rounds (私募輪) target specific investors. Angel rounds (天使輪) are early investments by individual investors in startups.

Public chains (公有鏈) are open to anyone, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Private chains (私有鏈) have restricted writing permissions, suitable for enterprise applications. Consortium chains (聯盟鏈) are controlled by multiple organizations, suitable for financial industry cooperation.

These concepts form the basic framework of what crypto is. Understanding these terms can help you better grasp the market, avoid risks, and make more rational decisions. When trading on Gate, you will encounter these concepts repeatedly; familiarizing yourself with them will greatly benefit your trading journey.