Crypto is creating its own lingo as investors speak
Are you a soy boy or a bag holder? Do you have diamond hands?
And are you ready for the Flipping?
As if cryptocurrency isn’t confusing enough already, the digital dough has created its own language.
Given crypto’s history of wild rides, many investors probably have their own words they want to use – most of which are four letters long.
Language is a constantly changing thing, with words and expressions going in and out of fashion with mind-blowing speed.
Merriam-Webster recently said it had added 370 new words to the dictionary for September, including “altcoin,” which is defined as various cryptocurrencies that are considered alternatives to established cryptos — particularly bitcoin.
Look it up
The folks at Uphold sat down and analyzed the language used in the volatile crypto sector to list the most unusual terms that investors need to know.
The digital trading platform came up with a cipher – their term – that is meant to help newbies navigate this linguistic underworld.
Uphold said the hashtag #cryptoterms has received a staggering 537,100 views on TikTok, driving demand with searches for “crypto lingo cheat sheet” skyrocketing 256% in the past 12 months.
TikTok has been a source of all kinds of savings and investment talk. FinTok, a sub-community of the short-form video hosting service, offers videos of people sharing financial advice.
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By now, just about everyone knows HODL, the granddaddy of the crypto language, which stands for “hold on for dear life” and refers to holding onto cryptocurrency tokens or coins for an extended period of time.
Holds the bag
“Soy boy” is used to insult someone in the crypto space who can’t handle the falls in the market.
“Bag holder” refers to investors who hold onto digital assets that decline in value until they’re worthless, so it’s hardly a compliment.
“Diamond Hands”, on the other hand, refers to holding on to an investment regardless of volatility.
“This person is seen to have a high risk tolerance and will not sell their digital assets at the first sign of trouble,” Uphold said.
“The Flippening” is one of the most controversial topics in the crypto space, Uphold said, as it refers to the possible moment when Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin as the most valuable asset.
And speaking of Ethereum, Merge, a software update to the Ethereum blockchain, is set for September 15 and will be more environmentally friendly, safer and cheaper for users.
Going Ape
Other crypto terms include “Ape In”, a ridiculous term to describe a person who buys a digital token without much research; and “Bitshaming”, which mocks a bitcoin holder for not having a huge value in bitcoin and for being rich yet.
“Right” is a reduced rendering of “wreck”, where an investor suffers a large financial loss from a bad investment and is seriously damaged by the outcome.
This last one may be hitting a little too close to the bone for some crypto investors.
In fact, some of these people may have been victims of a “pump and dump”, where a person spreads misleading or false information to inflate the price of a new digital asset in the market.
And let’s not forget “whales”, which denote crypto holders with disproportionately large amounts of cryptocurrency. Whales can influence the market with their buying and selling power.