Glossary
Key terms and concepts explained for crypto and financial markets.
APY & APR
APR is the simple annual interest rate without compounding; APY includes compound interest, showing the actual yearly return.
DXY
The US Dollar Index measures the value of the USD against a basket of six major currencies.
Fear & Greed Index
A sentiment indicator ranging from 0 (Extreme Fear) to 100 (Extreme Greed) that measures crypto market emotions.
Funding Rate
Bitcoin funding rate is a periodic payment between long and short traders in perpetual futures. Positive funding means longs pay shorts (bullish market), negative means shorts pay longs (bearish). Updated every 8 hours on exchanges like Binance and OKX.
HODL
A misspelling of "hold" that became crypto slang for holding assets long-term regardless of price volatility, rather than selling during dips.
Kimchi Premium
The price difference between Bitcoin on Korean exchanges versus international exchanges, expressed as a percentage.
Leverage
A trading mechanism that allows traders to control larger positions with a smaller amount of capital by borrowing funds.
Liquidation
The automatic closing of a leveraged position when losses exceed the margin, resulting in partial or total loss of collateral.
Long & Short
Long means buying an asset expecting price to rise; short means selling (borrowing and selling) expecting price to fall.
Market Cap
The total value of a cryptocurrency, calculated by multiplying the current price by the circulating supply.
Moving Average
A technical indicator that smooths price data by calculating the average price over a specific period, used to identify trends and support/resistance levels.
Open Interest
The total number of outstanding derivative contracts that have not been settled.
RSI
A momentum oscillator measuring the speed and magnitude of price changes, ranging from 0 to 100, used to identify overbought or oversold conditions.
Staking
Locking up cryptocurrency to support blockchain operations (validation, security) in exchange for rewards, similar to earning interest.
Support & Resistance
Price levels where buying pressure (support) or selling pressure (resistance) historically causes price to reverse or pause.
Trading Volume
The total amount of an asset traded within a specific time period, typically measured in USD or the base currency.
Volatility
A measure of how much an asset's price fluctuates over time. Higher volatility means larger price swings.
Whale
An individual or entity holding a large amount of cryptocurrency, capable of influencing market prices through their trades.