Proof of Stake: A mining construct that states a miner can mine/validate block transactions based on how many coins they hold.Proof of Work: A mining construct that achieves consensus through solving complex mathematical problems using computation to validate/achieve consensus on transactions.Private Key: Think of this like the key to your house. You should take extreme care to protect these and never give them out to anyone.Public Address: Think of this like your home address. It’s a semi-public record of your location on the blockchain(s).

POS, POW, Private Key, and Public Address

NFT: Non-fungible token (see fungible above). An NFT can be almost anything from a photo to a video to a song.NGMI: Not gonna make it (often used to refer to individuals that make less-than-ideal decisions to buy/sell in the space)Oracle: A third-party service that allows smart contracts to interface with outside information/data sources Paper Hands: A tendency to flip/sell frequently and/or after small increases or decreases in value

NFT, NGMI, Oracle, and Paper Hands

ERC 20, ERC 721, ERC 1155: Most common token standards on Ethereum (for things like NFTs)Fiat: Traditional currency like USD or EURFUD: Fear, uncertainty, and doubtFungible: With many goods/assets, it’s not really important which one you have (one US dollar is basically the same as another US dollar). Non-fungible goods/assets mean that every individual good/asset is unique and that some are likely more valuable/different than others

ERCs, Fiat, FUD, Fungible

Staking: An arrangement where you agree to lock up your assets (cryptocurrency or NFTs) for a period of time in exchange for rewards (usually tokens or cryptocurrency or NFTs). Rewards are similar to interest for keeping money in a savings account.Token: A cryptographic entry that represents an NFT, payment/currency unit, trading asset, information holder, etc.Whitelist / Allow List: A method of access control that’s typically used to grant private access to a platform or experience (it’s often used for minting NFT projects)WGMI: We’re all gonna make it (a supportive rallying cry)

Staking, Token, Whitelist, and WGMI

Hot Wallet: An internet-connected wallet that stores digital assets. It’s wise to exercise caution with these and generally avoid holding too much value in them to help mitigate against risk.KYC: Know your customer. Many exchanges/wallets/platforms require you to verify your identity to help fight fraud, money laundering, etc.Minting: The process of creating a new block and recording information on the blockchain. This is a common part of participating in NFT drops. Many projects have a “mint” day where you process a transaction to bring your NFT into your wallet.

Hot Wallet, KYC, and Minting

Cold Wallet: A wallet that stores assets. It is not connected to the internet which adds an additional layer of security.DAO: Decentralized Autonomous OrganizationDefi: Decentralized finance; financial entities that operate using smart contracts on blockchains that do not rely on central financial intermediariesDiamond Hands: Used to describe holding onto assets for the longer term even if there is pressure to sell

Cold Wallet, DAO, Defi and Diamond Hands

Gas: Transaction fees to process things on a blockchain. gas fees are often suggested by a wallet or platform depending on the congestion of the network but you can opt to lower or raise them which may influence the speed (or certainty) with which your transaction is processed.GM: Good morning (say it on Twitter or in your Discords for some community love)Gwei: Gigawei (1,000,000,000 Wei). Wei is the smallest unit of ether (similar to what a penny is relative to a dollar). Gas is measured in Gwei.HODL: Hold on for dear life (an apt term for many things in this space)

Gas, GM, Gwei, and HODL

Roadmap: Many NFT projects have a “roadmap” that lays out their plans for a project. It’s helpful to look at these with a critical eye.Smart Contract: A self-executing contract that spells out the terms for buyers and sellers in code that is recorded and distributed on the blockchain. The code of a smart contract controls the execution of transactions. Transactions are trackable, immutable, and irreversible.Sniping: A tactic to identify and quickly scoop up NFT assets that are undervalued/underpriced. There are many tools for this but TraitSniper is a useful starting point.

Roadmap, Smart Contract, and Sniping

Web3 is mired in a dizzying array of acronyms that make diving an uphill battle. Here are some which will help you become more familiar with this exciting, dynamic space.

An easy-to-read introduction to the major terms and concepts of web3 and NFTs