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If you’re new to the space, you might be feeling a tad overwhelmed by all the new lingo to learn. Trust us, we get it. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a pro. This space runs very fast, and you need to be up-to-date on the lingo that the community uses.
But don’t fret. To help you get started we’ve compiled an NFT glossary so you can chat with your fellow NFT buds without wondering what the heck they’re talking about.
Know of a term that we seem to be missing? Something you’re still confused about? Comment below. We’re here to help. This is a living document and we’ll be updating it regularly as the ecosystem evolves and new players and technologies enter the space. So bookmark it, and revisit it as you continue on your NFT journey.
Let’s get started:
ArtBlocks, the most well-known platform for generative art, has three collections: “Curated” (ABC), “Playground” and “Factory.”
A string of characters representing a wallet that can send and receive cryptocurrency.
When you get an ‘airdrop’, you automatically receive a specific amount of cryptocurrency or a new free NFT dropped into your wallet. It’s a popular way for NFT projects to reward their early adopters with new artwork, for instance.
Alpha is a term from the investing or hedge fund community representing an asset managers’ skill vs market performance. As opposed to beta (market performance), it means the outstanding performance produced through the skills of asset managers.
Derived from the Crypto Twitter-sphere meaning to ‘take on a large position relative to one’s own portfolio size.’ Apes have a strong NFT history, beginning with the famous 24 rare ape-looking Crypto Punks and then subsequently the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Buying into an NFT project, perhaps without due diligence.
An avatar project is essentially a collection of a few thousand NFT avatars’ including Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, Cool Cats, etc.
The cryptocurrency that started all the hype. This is the most well-known cryptocurrency. The original purpose of Bitcoin was as an alternative payment method that would bypass banks and regular financial institutions, and there are plenty of retailers who will accept Bitcoin as payment for everyday goods and services. However these days most people are buying cryptocurrency as a form of investment, due to its rising value.
Blockchains are distributed databases used to securely store data and information in a publicly accessible way. Rather than relying on a single centralized server, blockchain-powered crypto networks store data across distributed devices (nodes) worldwide. Ultimately, these distributed devices can be anything, such as computers, laptops, or even bigger servers. They serve as the framework of the blockchain, communicating with each other to enable the storage, spread, and preservation of data without the need for a trusted third party. Thanks to nodes, the blockchain provides an immutable record — it’s a decentralized proof of ownership vehicle that is unlike anything we’ve seen before.
‘Buy the f’ing dip.’ When people are running around and selling because a crypto price is dropping hard, this is the time to buy.
‘Build useful stuff.’ When crypto is dipping, building useful stuff proves that it is valuable.
Burning means permanently deleting or eliminating a specific amount of cryptocurrency. It’s done for a number of reasons; it can be used as part of the blockchain authentication process (via something called Proof-of-Burning), or it can be used to moderate the value of a cryptocurrency (if there are fewer in circulation, the value goes up).
Suppose a transaction of yours fails to mint. In that case, you have to buy on OpenSea or any platform where you can mint NFTs and trade them daily — thus not primarily from the source but secondary trading.
Creative Commons Zero (CC0) is the most liberal form of copyright protection in which creators must forgo any copyright protection and allow the public to use, adapt, or profit off of their work.
A cold wallet is a more secure kind of cryptocurrency wallet that is stored offline. Examples of cold wallets include paper wallets and hardware wallets. Hardware wallets are physical devices, many of which look like USB drives. Top brands include Ledger and Trezor. A paper wallet is simply a piece of paper with your private and public keys printed on them. Of course, it’s easy to lose or destroy a piece of paper. As a result, hardware wallets are typically seen as the most secure and safe way to store tokens.
The opposite of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), also known as overcoming the fact that you missed out on something.
This has become the de facto term for anything to do with cryptocurrencies, NFTs, digital collectibles, etc. It’s a catch-all word, so does get used in a variety of ways, so be careful not to assume that someone is using it in the same way you do.
You’ve probably heard of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and maybe even Dogecoin. In the pure sense, these are digital currencies (i.e. payment methods) that you can use to buy things on the blockchain. However, again be wary of how people are using the term as it does get thrown about and used incorrectly.
DAM is a shorter version of ‘damn.’
DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organisation. DAO is an organization represented by rules encoded as a computer program that is transparent, controlled by the organization members, and not influenced by a central government.
When you own an NFT from a project, you and all the other owners have voting rights and control over the project’s future actions and overall direction. Many NFT projects set up similar structures to become more community-driven and secure ongoing support.
Decentralized Applications (dApps) are just like any other website or application you use, except that these applications are built and run on top of a decentralized network, like the Ethereum blockchain. dApps are powered by smart contracts and, because they run across a decentralized network, don’t require a centralized third party or gatekeeper to operate. An NFT dApp is a decentralized application that incorporates NFT use into its software. Most NFT marketplaces, like OpenSea, are dApps.
Simply a misspelling of ‘dead’ used to refer to a rug-pulled project.
Decentralized finance. DeFi is the movement within crypto that removes banks and institutions’ control of money, financial products, and financial services.
It means to cancel the listing of an NFT for sale from an open market (you no longer offer them for sale) for whatever reason because your market expectations of their value have changed.
Devs is short for “developers”. It refers to the developers of a crypto or NFT project.
Degen is short for ‘degenerate,’ and usually refers to people who often make risky and bad bets or invest in digital assets like NFTs without doing due diligence.
Projects derived from the original project were first popularized with a wide variety of “alternative” punks. The philosophical view on derivatives is that they are fine, enhance the original brand, and everyone should stay cool about them.
DEX stands for decentralized exchange. In a centralized exchange, the ownership of the coins is held by the exchange completely. In contrast, a decentralized exchange is a peer-to-peer marketplace where transactions happen directly between crypto traders without the need for a middleman. Some well-known DEX examples are Uniswap, PancakeSwap, dYdX, and 1inch.
One of our favorite terms! In short, this is a brand new way to celebrate your fandom for your favorite films, TV, bands, sports, and everything basically. Instead (or as well as) of collecting physical items that you probably don’t use (or even take out of the packet) you can fill your boots with digital toys, posters, and more that you can enjoy and interact with.
Discord is a voice, text, and video instant messaging platform. Users can converse and share files in private messages or in more public communities called “servers.” Each server can contain a number of chat rooms. Discord has become the primary means of communication for many NFT and Web3 communities. Most NFT projects have a dedicated Discord where creators, NFT holders, and the general public can connect and share updates. To access these servers, users need an invite link.
DYOR means ‘Do Your Own Research.’
ETH is Ether, which is the native currency of the Ethereum blockchain. It’s used to power all transactions that happen on the blockchain, including peer-to-peer payments, NFT trading, crypto gaming, and more.
Ethereum is the primary blockchain used in the Web3 ecosystem due to its size and security. It’s the most popular blockchain for NFTs for the same reason.
Similar to the old-school stock exchange, this is a place to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. There are a few around, some more reputable than others, so if you are considering getting into the cryptocurrency game please do your research and don’t just go with any old exchange.
This relates to the mining of cryptocurrency. Farms are large-scale operations that make mining more efficient.
Not the little car, this type of fiat actually just means money. Technically it means any currency that a government has confirmed as legal tender, and is backed by the government that has issued it. So, yeah, it’s just a fancy term for everyday money but is a useful way to distinguish between normal currencies and digital ones.
Few is short for ‘few understand.’ Like ‘probably nothing,’ it is a polite form of FOMO.
A misspelling of ‘friend’ that is used in Discord and Twitter.
“Floor is lava” originally comes from a game kids play to avoid touching the floor at all costs. It also became a meme people used to describe the things in life we try to avoid. Since “floor” is short for “floor price” in the NFT world, “floor is lava” refers to “avoiding the low price”, which means the floor price is rising.
The floor price of an NFT collection is the lowest listed price in the entire collection. The value of a collection is often dictated by its floor price.
The Fear of Missing Out. Buying an NFT (or anything for that matter) because you are afraid of missing out on the next big thing.
‘FUD’ stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Used to describe negative news stories, tweets, and Discord messages that are either inaccurate or untrue. The reason behind large price drops in NFTs and cryptocurrencies is often a result of ‘FUD.’
GameFi is a combination of the terms gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi) and describes the integration of blockchain applications in the gaming sector for monetization purposes, among other things. It is characterized by its ‘play-to-earn’ (P2E) business model, and mainly refers to blockchain games that offer tokenized incentives to players while enabling frameworks for player-as-owner rather than the standard player-as-consumer.
A gas fee is the payment individuals make to complete a transaction on a blockchain. These fees are used to compensate blockchain miners for the computing power they have to use to verify blockchain transactions, and they are typically paid in the blockchain’s native cryptocurrency. The price fluctuates based on network congestion. As a result, the more people using the network, the higher the gas fee.
A gas war happens when users compete over whose transaction gets priority in the next block of the blockchain. Gas wars are common during popular NFT drops, as many people are competing over a finite number of NFTs. During highly-anticipated drops, only the earliest buyers will have the chance to mint an NFT. As a result, the demand to have mint transactions included in the next block rises. The more gas you pay, the quicker your transaction is validated, so gas fees increase substantially.
Generative art is one of the key innovations in the digital art world. In recent years, collectibles created significant collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cool Cats.
In short, all the NFTs in each of these collections have specific common characteristics, from skin color, clothes, fur color, eye type, backgrounds, headwear, and so on.
It is possible to mix and match these characteristics to create a collection of 10,000 NFTs that are all unique. Whilst the initial features are hand-made, each NFT is automatically created by a computer with a random combination of all the available traits. This is the part of the process described as ‘generative.’
GM is short for ‘good morning.’
GMI means ‘Going to Make It.’ “If you buy and hold on to this superb NFT, you’re going to become rich!”
GN means ‘good night.’
Abbreviation for ‘Greatest Of All Time,’ meaning ‘the greatest ever.’ Used colloquially everywhere and not only in the NFT space to express respect.
A governance token is a token that functions as a democratic system for collective decision-making within a DAO. Governance tokens provide holders with voting rights on major decisions affecting the future of the project, such as funding allocation, key hires, creative direction, and more.
When commenting on someone’s apparent misfortune, you ‘hate to see it.’
‘Holding On for Dear Life’ or holding on despite a loss. When crypto tumbles, loyal investors urge each other to think long-term and HODL — not sell their tokens.
A hot wallet is a digital wallet that is kept online. It’s connected to the blockchain, allowing you to store, send, and receive tokens. It can be accessed from any device, anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection and your private keys. Since they are connected to the internet, they tend to be less secure and subject to hacking. MetaMask is an example of a hot wallet.
Most digital platforms and games are currently siloed, meaning that users can’t move their data from one application to another. For example, gamers aren’t able to wear their Fortnite skins while playing Call of Duty. Interoperability is the ability to carry your data and virtual items with you across decentralized applications and virtual environments. This is one of the core tenants of Web3 and is valued because it gives users more control of their data and true ownership of their digital purchases (which is obviously important when it comes to NFTs).
IYKYK means ‘If You Know, You Know.’ IYKYK is a polite form of FOMO. “If you know, then you should buy this NFT.”
IRL means ‘In Real Life,’ otherwise known as the world beyond NFTs, OpenSea, Discord, and Twitter.
“I see what you did there” means when you see what a friend, competitor, or partner has done in the Metaverse. Generally used as an expression of quiet, subdued admiration for one’s wit. Especially appropriate after a particularly deft pun.
JPGs refer to our NFTs, such as JPGs, GIFs, PNGs, audio files, video files, or computer games.
LFG means ‘Let’s F*cking Go!’ Pretty self-explanatory. It’s used in excitement about a new NFT project launching or some big NFT news.
A limited edition is an NFT collection in which there are a finite number of NFTs available to be minted. Many collections consist of 10,000 editions.
Available ETH (Ethereum) to buy JPGs. Any available ETH converts into JPGs immediately; thus, everyone, in reality, is in a state of perpetual illiquidity.
Rarity is what drives value in the NFT space.
The meaning of ‘happy to see this.’ Sometimes it is purely literal, but sometimes it is used oppositely.
Abbreviation for Ma’am, meaning ‘Ms.’ The same concept as Ser (see below).
Originating from Bitcoin minimalists, they firmly believe that the public chain is the best public chain. Can be applied to NFT projects.
A backup career plan in case the NGMI (see below) scenario comes true. “Applying now to McDonald’s.”
Another term that is used for ‘IRL.’
The metadata of an NFT is all the necessary and unique data making that NFT precisely what it is.
The metaverse is best defined as a blending of physical and virtual reality — as a kind of digital extension of the real world. According to this futuristic vision of tomorrow, everyday reality will be transformed, and people will live, play, shop, and work with others around the globe in a totally immersive, interoperable augmented world. Many Web3 protocols, such as NFTs, may be used in the future metaverse. For example, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection has centered a lot of its utility on gaming experiences and digital events that unite physical and virtual reality in the metaverse.
The process of obtaining small bits of cryptocurrencies and adding them to the blockchain. Miners use complicated computer methods to verify and validate transactions, add these to the blockchain and let others on the network know that something has been added. If you’re a miner you can keep hold of these for yourself or sell them on.
In simple terms, minting is the act of adding, validating, and recording an NFT to the blockchain. Once minted, the NFT is available for public consumption and can be viewed, bought, and traded on the open marketplace. That said, NFTs don’t have to be made public and can be kept private.
MM is short for MetaMask, the popular NFT wallet mainly within the Ethereum ecosystem.
This suggests that it is easy to make profits with NFTs. Used as a joke.
NFA means ‘Not Financial Advice.’ It is related to DYOR, where somebody shares advice or an idea, but it is your role to determine whether it is for you.
An NFT is a digital token of information (data) that lives on a blockchain. Each NFT has its own identification code and metadata. As a result, NFTs are unique and non-interchangeable i.e., they are “non-fungible.” The data an NFT contains can be tied to digital files like photos, poems, songs, albums, videos, avatars, and more. In this respect, NFTs are most often used for buying, renting, or selling digital items. However, they can also be used to give the NFT owner access to exclusive merchandise and airdrops, tickets to live or digital events, and more.
An NFT Marketplace is a decentralized platform where people can buy, sell, and trade NFTs. The majority of NFT marketplaces are built on the Ethereum or Solana blockchains, with OpenSea and Magic Eden serving as the most popular marketplaces for each chain respectively.
An NFT project roadmap is a bit like an investment deck. It’s a document that maps out the goals, milestones, and strategies of an NFT project to communicate the project’s value and utility. They help the NFT creators and NFT owners to align on expectations. As an NFT project progresses, its roadmap is updated with new features and releases. Notably, NFT roadmaps are not legally binding. So while creators may make many promises in their NFT roadmaps, they have no legal obligation to fulfill them.
NGMI means ‘Not going to make it’. Typically used when someone sells an NFT too early.
Newbie. The opposite of OG.
On-chain refers to a digital token that lives on a blockchain. This term is also used to represent any transaction or interaction with a token or contract on the blockchain.
OG means original gangster. It means the people who were here early and earned respect in the NFT space. Similar to early adopters.
It can be understood as the meaning of “okay, old man/woman.”
An open edition is an NFT collection where any number of items can be minted. However, don’t confuse “open” with “unlimited.” Many open editions are only available to mint for set periods of time before they’re gone.
‘Play to Earn,’ as in video games.
A profile picture (PFP) NFT is a digital token or artwork that is designed to be displayed as a person’s social media profile picture. Many of the world’s most popular NFT collections (like CryptoPunks and Doodles) are PFPs.
Plebian. The opposite of OG.
‘Probably nothing’ means probably something. Once again, it is another polite form of FOMO, with some plausible deniability.
As the term implies this is all about how rare an NFT is. For some NFTs there are thousands available to buy, hence they’re viewed as a low rarity. If, however, there is just one of an NFT minted on the blockchain, then it’s super rare, and therefore more valuable.
Short for ‘wrecked.’ It means that when your investment portfolio performance looks like it was hit by a car (thus is wrecked, as per a car crash), no one wants it, but sometimes it cannot be avoided.
Used jokingly to describe every non-NFT person’s first move when learning about NFTs. They know how to download an image from a web browser. After all, NFTs are not about the picture but the ownership right, so right-click, save as, all day long.
Roadmaps are helpful in PFP projects yet insulting to demand in art projects.
Rug is short for ‘rug pulled.’ Derives from the Crypto Twittersphere, particularly DeFi, where multiple projects are pumped and dumped on retail.
‘Salt’ is salty, like the tears you shed in Cope state.
1. a reference to Satoshi Nakomoto, the anonymous founder of Bitcoin who vanished shortly after his creation, leaving the project to be decentralized and collectively managed
2. a unit of exchange, the smallest part of a bitcoin. 1 Satoshi = 0.00000001 ฿
A theory term people believe applies to NFTs (and Bitcoin). Specifically, certain NFTs will become stores of value. As such, storing more of them makes them become even more valuable.
‘Seems legitimate’ means the project looks legitimate and not fraudulent and has potentially good prospects. It can be used directly or sarcastically about a project’s chances.
‘Ser’ means ‘sir’ but is usually used ironically. In other words, if someone uses ‘ser’ in a sentence, don’t take the message too seriously.
‘Shilling’ means constantly promoting others to buy a certain NFT, making people feel irritable, or generating FOMO in the community. But no one likes this, don’t do it.
A smart contract is a computer program that lives on the blockchain. It is governed by rudimentary “if/when…then” statements. For example, “if ‘a’ happens, then execute step ‘b.’” Once these predetermined terms are met, the transaction automatically executes and is recorded in the blockchain. This increases transparency and trust, as the transaction is immutable (it can’t be disputed or changed) and no third-party intermediaries are needed to complete it. NFTs are minted and traded using smart contracts that assign ownership, access assets within the NFT, manage the transferability of the NFT, and so on.
About airdrops, a team will often take a snapshot at a certain point in time to determine who’s eligible. For instance, everyone who held NFT X in their wallet at the time of the snapshot on 29th November, 16:00 UTC, will get a free airdrop of NFT Y the following week.
Crypto staking is the process of locking up a proof-of-stake cryptocurrency in a wallet or exchange over a set period in return for interest rewards. The longer the crypto is staked, the greater the reward.
‘Sweep the floor’ means searching (and possibly buying) all the lowest-priced NFTs of a particular NFT project.
Szn means season, which means market cycle. Crypto szns are accelerated IRL seasons. NFT szns are accelerated crypto seasons. It might last as little as 1–4 weeks.
A way to commend socially positive behavior.
Simply the term for the economics of cryptocurrencies. It comes from combining ‘token’ and ‘economics’, clever eh? It’s an interesting area to look into, and well worth exploring if you’d like to learn more about how cryptocurrencies behave, for example, what makes prices rise and fall, and why certain tokens are more valuable than others.
Much like the stock market, people want NFT prices to be ‘Up Only,’ undoubtedly preferable to the less popular alternative of ‘Down Only.’
A utility token is a cryptocurrency that provides access to (and is used to interact with) a decentralized application or service. It’s important to note that these are not financial securities, although they are sometimes speculated on as such. Rather, the tokens are used in the internal economy of a specific project. An example is the $APE token associated with the BAYC NFT project.
An enormous hall where dead Vikings party alongside others with valuable NFTs.
WAGMI means ‘We’re All Going to Make It’. If an entire community buys into an NFT project with excellent prospects, then buying means the community as a whole will become rich.
You already know what a wallet is in the real world, and it’s basically the same in crypto land. It’s a place to hold your cryptocurrencies. Simple. And when you add a wallet to a store or exchange, you can buy NFTs, and trade cryptocurrencies. Again, there are a lot of wallets out there, so do some research before you settle on the one that’s right for you.
Used when someone sells NFT too early or is just salty, referring to the only sentence you need to learn when going to work at McDonald’s (see McDonald’s above).
Wen means ‘when’. That’s it.
Another from CryptoTwitter refers to your NFT project’s price ascending to the moon.
A ‘whale’ is essentially someone with lots of money, either available to invest or already invested in high-value NFT projects. Whales have the power to move markets, either upward by buying a lot from a given collection or downward by selling.
‘Your bags’ refers to your ‘backpack’ specifically, your NFT wallet address.
It’s an acronym for “you only live once”, expressing the view that one should enjoy the present moment without worrying about the future. It’s also the investor mentality of some people who are willing to take very risky investment decisions without thinking too much about it.
One single unique piece of NFT from an artist, usually the price of 1:1 art, is way higher than that with an extensive collection since it’s way more scarce and unique.
The way to think about PFP and generative art collections. Fidenzas are 1/1 of 999. Punks are 1/1 of 10,000. Each one is entirely unique, but they belong to a whole collection compared to 1:1 art.
OK, we realize that’s quite a big ol’ list, and while it’s a lot to get your head around to start with, these crucial terms will make you feel like an OG and not a noob. This list is not comprehensive by any means, as more are created all the time. So, please tell us what we have forgotten and let me know to add some more.
To be continued…
