- AMM (Automated Market Maker)
A type of decentralised exchange protocol that uses a mathematical formula — typically x × y = k — to price tokens in a …
- Airdrop
The free distribution of a protocol's governance or utility tokens to wallet addresses that meet specific criteria — typ…
- Arbitrage
The practice of exploiting price differences for the same asset across different markets. In DeFi, arbitrage bots consta…
- Aave
One of the largest DeFi lending protocols, allowing users to deposit assets to earn interest or borrow against crypto co…
- Block
A data structure containing a batch of validated transactions on a blockchain. Each block references the previous block …
- Blockchain
A distributed ledger of transactions stored in chronological blocks, each cryptographically linked to the previous one. …
- Bridge
A protocol that enables the transfer of assets or data between two separate blockchain networks. For example, a bridge a…
- Bull Market
A sustained period of rising asset prices, characterised by optimism and increasing investment. In crypto, a bull market…
- Bear Market
A sustained period of declining asset prices — typically defined as a fall of 20% or more from recent highs. Crypto bear…
- Cold Wallet
A cryptocurrency wallet that stores private keys offline, disconnected from the internet. Hardware wallets (Ledger, Trez…
- Collateral
Assets deposited as security for a loan. In DeFi lending (Aave, Compound), collateral must exceed the borrowed amount — …
- Compound
A decentralised lending protocol on Ethereum that pioneered the concept of algorithmic interest rates set by supply and …
- Curve Finance
A decentralised exchange (DEX) optimised for trading between assets that should have similar prices — typically stableco…
- DAI
A decentralised stablecoin issued by MakerDAO (now Sky), soft-pegged to the US dollar and backed by over-collateralised …
- DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organisation)
An organisation governed by token holders through on-chain voting, with rules encoded in smart contracts rather than leg…
- DeFi (Decentralised Finance)
A category of financial applications built on public blockchains that replicate and extend traditional financial service…
- DEX (Decentralised Exchange)
A cryptocurrency exchange that operates through smart contracts without a central authority holding user funds. Users tr…
- Ethereum
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation and the dominant blockchain for DeFi. Ethereum's programmabil…
- Flash Loan
An uncollateralised DeFi loan that must be borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction. If not repaid, th…
- Frontrunning (MEV)
The practice of inserting a transaction ahead of another transaction in the same block to capture profit. In DeFi, MEV (…
- Funding Rate
A periodic payment between long and short positions in a perpetual swap contract that keeps the perp price aligned with …
- Gas Fee
The fee paid to validators to process and record a transaction on a blockchain. Gas fees on Ethereum are priced in Gwei …
- GMX
A decentralised perpetual swap and spot trading protocol operating on Arbitrum and Avalanche. GMX uses a multi-asset liq…
- Hot Wallet
A cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet, typically a software application (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet). Hot wal…
- Layer 1 (L1)
The base blockchain layer — the main chain itself (Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana). Layer 1 handles final settlement and secu…
- Layer 2 (L2)
A secondary network built on top of a Layer 1 blockchain that processes transactions off the main chain and posts compre…
- Liquidation
The automatic closure of a borrower's collateralised position when the collateral value falls below the required ratio. …
- Lido Finance
The largest DeFi protocol by total value locked as of 2026. Lido provides liquid staking for Ethereum — users deposit ET…
- Liquidity
The ease with which an asset can be bought or sold without significantly affecting its price. High liquidity means large…
- Liquidity Pool
A smart contract holding reserves of two or more tokens that enables trading on a DEX. Users called liquidity providers …
- Liquid Staking
A DeFi service that allows users to stake a Proof of Stake asset (like ETH) and receive a liquid token representing thei…
- MetaMask
The most widely used self-custodial Ethereum wallet, available as a browser extension and mobile app. MetaMask allows us…
- MakerDAO
One of the oldest DeFi protocols, responsible for the DAI and USDS stablecoins. Users lock collateral (ETH, wBTC, RWAs) …
- Oracle
A service that provides external data — typically asset prices — to smart contracts on a blockchain. DeFi protocols rely…
- Overcollateralisation
The requirement that the value of collateral deposited exceeds the value of the loan taken. DeFi lending protocols requi…
- Perp (Perpetual Swap)
A derivative contract that tracks an asset's price with no expiry date, allowing traders to go long or short with levera…
- Polymarket
The largest decentralised prediction market by volume, running on Polygon. Users buy YES/NO shares on real-world events …
- Private Key
A cryptographic string that proves ownership of a blockchain wallet and authorises transactions. Anyone with your privat…
- Proof of Stake (PoS)
A consensus mechanism in which validators are chosen to create blocks in proportion to the cryptocurrency they have 'sta…
- Proof of Work (PoW)
The original blockchain consensus mechanism used by Bitcoin. Miners compete to solve computationally intensive puzzles; …
- Protocol
In DeFi, a protocol is a set of smart contracts deployed on a blockchain that provides a specific financial service — le…
- Prediction Market
A platform where users buy and sell shares representing the probability of future events. Shares pay $1 if the event occ…
- RWA (Real-World Asset)
Off-chain assets — US Treasury bonds, private credit, real estate, commodities — represented as tokens on a blockchain. …
- Rug Pull
A DeFi scam in which the team behind a protocol withdraws all liquidity or mints unlimited tokens and sells them, abando…
- Seed Phrase (Recovery Phrase)
A sequence of 12 or 24 words that encodes a wallet's private key and can be used to recover the wallet on any compatible…
- Smart Contract
Self-executing code stored on a blockchain that automatically carries out the terms of an agreement when predefined cond…
- Stablecoin
A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Stablecoins come in three m…
- Staking
The process of locking cryptocurrency to support a blockchain network's operations and earn rewards. In Proof of Stake b…
- Token
A digital asset issued on an existing blockchain (as opposed to a coin, which is the native asset of its own blockchain)…
- Tokenomics
The economic design of a cryptocurrency or token — including total supply, distribution schedule, vesting periods, infla…
- TWAP Oracle
Time-Weighted Average Price — an oracle that calculates the average price of an asset over a defined time window rather …
- Uniswap
The largest decentralised exchange by volume, operating on Ethereum and multiple Layer 2 networks. Uniswap pioneered the…
- USDC
A fiat-backed stablecoin issued by Circle, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and backed by cash and short-term US Treasury bon…
- USDT (Tether)
The largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, issued by Tether Limited. USDT is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and backe…
- Vault
In DeFi, a vault is a smart contract that automatically manages a yield strategy — typically depositing user assets into…
- Yield Farming
The practice of deploying crypto assets across DeFi protocols to maximise returns — often combining trading fees, lendin…
- zkRollup
A Layer 2 scaling solution that batches hundreds of transactions off-chain and submits a cryptographic proof (zero-knowl…
- Airdrop Farming
The practice of strategically using DeFi protocols before their token launches to qualify for a retroactive token airdro…
- Auto-Compound
Automatically reinvesting earned yield rewards back into the same position to earn yield on yield — accelerating growth …
- Basis Trade
A delta-neutral trading strategy that profits from the difference (basis) between the spot price and futures price of an…
- Boosted APY
A higher yield rate earned by users who lock governance tokens (typically in a vote-escrow system) to boost their liquid…
- CDP (Collateralised Debt Position)
A smart contract mechanism where users lock crypto assets as collateral to mint (borrow) a stablecoin. The CDP enforces …
- Composability
The ability of DeFi protocols to interoperate — to use each other's tokens, liquidity, and mechanisms as building blocks…
- Delta-Neutral
A portfolio or strategy with no net directional exposure to an asset's price movements — gains from price increases in o…
- Delegation
The act of assigning your governance token voting power to another address (a delegate) without transferring the tokens.…
- Epoch
A fixed time period used in DeFi protocol mechanics — typically weekly — during which votes are tallied, rewards are dis…
- EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)
The runtime environment that executes smart contracts on Ethereum and all EVM-compatible chains. The EVM defines the ins…
- FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)
The total market capitalisation of a cryptocurrency if its entire maximum supply were in circulation at the current pric…
- Front-Running
In DeFi, front-running occurs when a bot detects a profitable pending transaction in the mempool and submits an identica…
- Gauge
A smart contract mechanism on Curve Finance (and protocols using similar ve(3,3) designs) that controls the flow of toke…
- Gas Limit
The maximum amount of gas units you are willing to consume for a transaction. Gas units measure computational work — com…
- Governance Token
A token that grants holders the right to participate in protocol governance — voting on proposals, delegating voting pow…
- Health Factor
A numeric score in DeFi lending protocols (Aave, Compound, Morpho) that represents the safety of a collateralised borrow…
- Impermanent Loss
The temporary reduction in dollar value experienced by liquidity providers in an AMM pool when the price ratio of their …
- LRT (Liquid Restaking Token)
A token received when restaking liquid staking tokens (like stETH) through a restaking protocol like EigenLayer, EtherFi…
- Liquidation Ratio
The minimum collateral ratio a borrowing position must maintain in a DeFi lending protocol before it becomes eligible fo…
- Liquidity Provider
A user who deposits tokens into a DeFi liquidity pool or lending market to provide capital for trading or borrowing. In …
- LTV (Loan-to-Value)
The ratio of the amount borrowed to the value of the collateral, expressed as a percentage. LTV = (borrow amount ÷ colla…
- MEV (Maximal Extractable Value)
The maximum profit that can be extracted by a block validator or builder by reordering, inserting, or censoring transact…
- Multisig
A smart contract wallet that requires multiple private keys to sign transactions before they execute — for example, 3-of…
- Nonce
A sequentially incrementing integer assigned to each transaction sent from an Ethereum address. The nonce ensures transa…
- Non-Custodial
A wallet, exchange, or protocol that does not hold your private keys or have the ability to freeze or confiscate your as…
- Optimistic Rollup
A Layer 2 scaling solution that processes transactions off Ethereum mainnet and posts compressed transaction data as cal…
- Over-Collateralised
A borrowing position or stablecoin design where the value of collateral deposited exceeds the value of assets borrowed. …
- Permissionless
A system that anyone can interact with without seeking approval, creating an account, or meeting eligibility criteria — …
- Points System
A pre-token incentive mechanism used by DeFi protocols before their governance token launches. Users earn points by usin…
- Price Impact
The change in token price caused by your own trade on an AMM. Large trades deplete one side of the pool reserve, driving…
- Protocol-Owned Liquidity
Liquidity that is permanently owned by a protocol's treasury rather than rented from liquidity providers. Pioneered by O…
- Quorum
The minimum percentage of total voting power (or token supply) that must participate in a governance vote for it to be v…
- Real Yield
Returns generated from genuine protocol revenue — trading fees, borrowing interest, or consensus rewards — rather than i…
- Restaking
Re-using already-staked assets (typically staked ETH via LSTs like stETH) as cryptoeconomic collateral for additional de…
- Sandwich Attack
An MEV attack where a bot detects a large pending DEX swap, places a buy order immediately before it (frontrun — pushing…
- Slippage
The difference between the expected price when submitting a swap and the actual execution price. Slippage occurs because…
- Soft Liquidation
A gradual liquidation mechanism introduced by Curve's crvUSD lending system (LLAMMA). Instead of a sharp all-or-nothing …
- Smart Contract Audit
A security review of a smart contract's code by independent expert reviewers looking for bugs, vulnerabilities, logic er…
- Synthetic Asset
A tokenised representation of a real-world or other crypto asset created by DeFi protocols. Synthetix allows minting of …
- Timelock
A mandatory delay between when a governance proposal passes and when it executes on-chain — typically 24-72 hours. Timel…
- Token Unlock
The scheduled release of previously locked or vested tokens into the circulating supply. Team allocations, investor port…
- TVL (Total Value Locked)
The total dollar value of all crypto assets deposited in a DeFi protocol's smart contracts at a given time. TVL is DeFi'…
- veTokenomics
A governance token design where users lock tokens for a defined period (up to 4 years) to receive vote-escrow tokens (ve…
- Vesting
The scheduled release of tokens to team members, investors, or protocol treasuries over time. Vesting prevents insiders …
- zkEVM
A zero-knowledge rollup that is Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible — able to execute and prove Ethereum smart contracts…
- Account Abstraction
A wallet design model where user accounts behave like smart contracts instead of simple key pairs. Also searched as smar…
- APY vs APR
Two ways to quote yield. APR (annual percentage rate) is simple interest without compounding — 10% APR is about 10% over…
- AVS (Actively Validated Service)
A service that borrows cryptoeconomic security from restakers — typically via EigenLayer — instead of bootstrapping its …
- EigenLayer
The leading Ethereum restaking protocol. Stakers and LST holders opt in to secure Actively Validated Services (AVSs) by …
- ERC-4337
The Ethereum standard that enables account abstraction without changing the consensus layer. Users submit UserOperations…
- Intent-Based Trading
A trading model where users sign a desired outcome (an intent) — e.g. “swap X for at least Y” — and solvers compete to f…
- Liquid Staking Token (LST)
A transferable token that represents staked assets while they remain locked with validators — for example stETH, rETH, o…
- Points Farming
Actively using a pre-token protocol to accumulate off-chain or on-chain points that may later convert into an airdrop al…
- Shared Security
An architecture where multiple services inherit cryptoeconomic security from a common stake pool rather than recruiting …
- Smart Account
A wallet implemented as a smart contract rather than an externally owned account (EOA). Also searched as smart contract …