Ethereum Glossary
Trading Related (The boring stuff first, dont worry the memes are coming):
Exchange:
Websites where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Some popular exchanges in North America are:
Coinbase
GDAX (if you like big dips this is the place for you)
Gemini
Bittrex
Poloniex
Quadriga
Kraken
FIAT (not the wee car) – Government issued currency such as the US dollar
Limit buy/ limit sell:
Traders can create ‘rules’ that automatically buy or sell when the price reaches a certain amount (This is the cause of the recent flash crash on GDAX so stay frosty soldiers)
Sell wall/ buy wall:
Using a depth chart, traders can see the current limit buy and sell points. The graphical representation on the depth chart looks like walls (Trumping intensifies)
Margin Trading:
The act of ‘magnifying’ the intensity of your trades by risking your existing coins. (NOTE: Very risky, only for experienced traders and only on certain exchanges even then)
Going Long (I'm sure there's a joke in here somewhere):
A margin trade that profits if the price increases
Going Short:
A margin trade that profits if the price decreases
Bullish:
An expectation that price is going to increase
Bearish (A bear is clearly better than a bull so I don't know where this one comes from #TeamBear):
An expectation that price is going to decrease
ATH:
All-Time-High. We’ve gotten a lot of these the past couple months
Altcoin:
Generally any crypto-currency other than Bitcoin or Ethereum. (Some Bitcoin folk would probably still say Ethereum is an Altcoin, although we don't like to associate with such peasants)
ETH:
The Crypto-symbol for Ether. Kind of the like stock market symbols. (The crypto equivalent of AMZN meaning Amazon stock)
Symbols of some other crypto-currencies that are regularly discussed/shilled around here:
BTC – Bitcoin
FCT – Factom
LTC – Litecoin
ANS –Antshares (Now called Neo)
SC – Siacoin
XRP – Ripple (the banks own altcoin)
ETC – Ethereum Classic (If North Korea was an altcoin)
Tokens:
Refers to the ‘currency’ of projects built on the Ethereum network that have raised money via issuing their own tokens. Some common tokens discussed on this sub:
GNT – Golem
REP – Augur
BAT – Basic Attention Token
ICN – Iconomi
ICO:
Intial Coin Offering, somewhat similar to an IPO in the non-crypto world. Start-ups issue their own token in exchange for ether. Thus is essentially crowdfunding on the Ethereum platform
Shilling/ Pumping:
Someone essentially advertising another crypto-currency. If a coin is promised to cure cancer or walk your dog it’s mostly likely a shill
Arbitrage:
Taking advantage of a difference in price of the same commodity on two different exchanges. Often mentioned when it comes to comparing ETH prices on Korean exchanges against US exchanges
FOMO:
Fear Of Missing Out. The overwhelming sensation that you need to get out on the train when the price of something starts to skyrocket (e.g. Listen to the little voice in your head, he usually knows the score 100%)
FUD:
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Baseless negativity spread intentionally by someone that wants the price of something to drop (or is it...)
FUDster:
Someone that is spreading FUD (aka a wee lad)
Pump & Dump (Kinda like your usual friday night):
The recurring cycle of an altcoin getting a ton of attention, leading to a fast price increase, and then of course followed by a huge crash
Bagholder:
Someone still holding an altcoin after a pump & dump crash (Wise people these folk)
Terms dealing with the technical side of Ethereum:
Smart Contract:
Code that is deployed onto the Ethereum blockchain, often directly interacting with how money flows. E.g. “A normal transaction allows you to send money from A to B. Smart contracts allow you to send money from A to B, on the condition that C happens.”
Solidity:
One of the most popular languages that smart contracts can be written in. Has some similarities to Javascript
Gas:
A measurement of how much processing is required by the Ethereum network to process a transaction. Simple transactions, like sending ether to another address, typically do not require much gas. More complex transactions, like deploying a smart contract, require more gas
Gas Price:
The amount of ether to be spent for each gas unit on a transaction. The initiator of a transaction chooses and pays the gas price of the transaction. Transaction with higher gas prices are prioritized by the network
Mining:
The process of trying to ‘solve’ the next block. It requires obscene amounts of computer processing power to do effectively, but is rewarded with ether
Mining Rig:
A computer especially designed for processing proof-of-work blockchains, like Ethereum. They often consist of multiple high-end graphic processors (GPU’s) to maximise their processing power
POW:
Proof-of-work. The current consensus algorithm used by Ethereum
POS:
Proof-of-Stake. The proposed future consensus algorithm to be used by Ethereum. Instead of mining in its current form, people that own ETH will be able to ‘lock up’ their ether for a short amount of time in order to ‘vote’ and generate network consensus. The plan is that these stakeholders will be rewarded with ETH by doing so
Raiden Network:
An upcoming protocol change to Ethereum that will enable high-speed transfers across the network. It is similar in some aspect to Bitcoin’s planned Lightning Network (SwegWit2x). The name is reference to the Mortal Kombat fighter Raiden because calling it something normal isn't how we do things on Ethereum
Frontier, Homestead Metropolis, Serenity:
The 4 planned stages of the Ethereum development roadmap. We are currently in the Homestead phase. The Metropolis update is likely to be available sometime in the next year
MEW:
MyEtherWallet. A free site that can generate Ethereum wallets for you
EEA:
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. A coalition of start-ups and corporations trying to figure out the best way to use this confusing free-for-all of decentralisation (they are trying their best god bless'em)
Memes (What you're all here for):
HODL – A guy got drunk a spelled HOLD wrong when the prices were crashing, because getting wrote off and singing Sweet Caroline always go well with dealing in large sums of money
Lambos – What everyone gets after their first investment
This is it, Gentlemen – crack your knuckles, as its about to go down
Mooning – Referring to a price going up astronomical levels and not the other thing that you do out the back of a bus window
That's all folks. Tune in next time and if you have anymore terms post them in the comments below.