Crypto jargon,
one line at a time.
Beginners’ first wall usually isn’t buying crypto — it’s understanding the chat. Four groups: trading, risk, slang and on-chain.
Trading terms
| Term | In one line | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Spot | You own the actual coin | Buy BTC with 100 USDT |
| Futures / perps | Bet on price direction, often with leverage | Open a BTC perpetual long |
| Long | Profit if price rises | Bullish on ETH → go long |
| Short | Profit if price falls | Bearish → open a short |
| USDT- vs coin-margined | Collateral and P&L in USDT vs in the coin | USDT-margined P&L is in USDT |
| Maker / taker | Resting on the book vs taking liquidity | Maker fees are usually lower |
| Slippage | Expected vs actual fill price | Big market orders slip |
Sign up through our button and code OK66688 is applied for you automatically. Every spot and futures trade then costs 20% less, for life.
Risk terms
| Term | In one line | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Leverage | Borrowed size that magnifies gains and losses | 10x: a 1% move = 10% |
| Liquidation | Forced close when margin runs out | A 10x long can be liquidated on a ~10% drop |
| Wick | A sudden spike that snaps back, leaving a long candle shadow | −5% and back within minutes |
| Stop-loss | Pre-set exit to cap losses | 5% below entry |
| Funding rate | Periodic payment between longs and shorts on perps | Positive: longs pay shorts |
| Drawdown | Peak-to-trough decline | 10,000 → 7,000 = 30% |
Wicks plus high leverage is the classic beginner liquidation. Keep futures at 3x or less with a stop every time.
Slang
| Term | In one line | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Rekt | Badly wrecked by a loss | “Got rekt on that long” |
| FOMO | Fear of missing out — chasing pumps | Buying right after a spike |
| HODL | Holding long-term through volatility | Not selling BTC in a bear market |
| Ape in / all in | Going all-in impulsively | A classic beginner mistake |
| Catching a falling knife | Buying a dip that keeps dipping | Bought “the bottom” halfway down |
| Shill / signal group | Promoting a coin; private “gurus” are often scams | “Guaranteed 10x, trust me” |
“Guaranteed”, “insider” or “my mentor doubles your money” = scam. OKX never offers private trading signals by DM.
On-chain terms
| Term | In one line | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Blockchain / L1 | The network itself | Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin |
| Gas fee | Network fee for on-chain actions | Higher when Ethereum is busy |
| Wallet / seed phrase | Self-custody account / the words that restore it | Leaked seed = lost funds |
| Airdrop | Free tokens for early users | Using a new protocol |
| Altcoin | Any coin other than Bitcoin | Altseason = broad altcoin rally |
| Memecoin | Coin driven by memes and community | Dogecoin and friends |
| Stablecoin | Pegged to a fiat currency | USDT, USDC |
Jargon down? Next: risk management and liquidation.
Glossary
FAQ.
01What do long and short mean?
Long profits when price rises; short profits when it falls. Spot is long-only; futures let you do both.
02What is liquidation?
A forced close of a leveraged position when losses eat the margin. Higher leverage means a smaller move can liquidate you.
03What is a wick?
A sharp, brief spike that quickly reverses, leaving a long shadow on the candle. High-leverage positions often get liquidated on wicks.
04What are gas fees?
Network fees for on-chain transactions. They’re separate from exchange trading fees.
05What does HODL mean?
Holding through volatility instead of trading in and out — originally a typo of “hold”.
Keep reading,
related tutorials.
Practice first, learn charts, indicators and jargon, size positions properly — then put real money in.
OKX demo trading
Practice with ~100,000 USDT of virtual funds: how to open it, what to practice, how to reset.
How to set a stop-loss on OKXRead charts & place orders
Candlesticks and volume, limit vs market orders, TP/SL and trigger orders.
How to read a MACD crossoverMACD, RSI & moving averages
Five indicators in plain English: crossovers, overbought/oversold, band squeezes.
How much leverage for beginners?Can you owe money after liquidation?
Liquidation vs bankruptcy, leverage distance, the 2% rule, and what to do after a loss.
Are prediction markets legal?What are prediction markets?
2026’s hottest trend: how event contracts work, prices as odds, and the risks.