Crypto & finance-bro slang
Crypto Twitter has minted more slang per capita than almost any subculture online. The vocabulary is its own dialect of English: half acronyms (GM, WAGMI, NGMI), half memes (rugged, aped, oversold), all soaked in trader-floor swagger.
This is Slangora's catalogue of crypto and finance-bro slang. Some has crossed into mainstream finance Twitter; some stays inside Discord servers and Telegram pumps; a few have already aged into 2021-bull-run nostalgia.
The Crypto lexicon · 11 terms
Bottom line
If you understand HODL, rug-pull, and 'this is financial advice' (a disclaimer that always means the opposite), you can decode most of the rest in context.
FAQ
What is crypto slang?+
The dialect of crypto Twitter and Discord communities — half acronyms (GM, WAGMI, NGMI), half memes (rugged, ape-in, oversold), all soaked in trader-floor swagger.
Where did crypto slang come from?+
4chan and early Bitcoin forums (HODL was a 2013 typo that stuck), Twitter, and Discord servers. The 2021 bull run minted most of the current vocabulary; the 2022 crash retired some of it.
Is crypto slang understood outside crypto?+
HODL and FOMO have crossed into general internet vocabulary. Most other terms (wagmi, ngmi, ape-in, rug-pull) remain crypto-specific. The vocabulary is heavily dated to 2020–2022.
What's the most useful crypto slang to know?+
HODL (don't sell), rug-pull (developer abandons project with funds), FOMO (buying because everyone else is), diamond hands (won't sell under pressure), and 'this is financial advice' (always sarcastic).
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