NFT Lingo, Slang and Acronyms — Volume 1 (2022)
Have you ever wanted to join an NFT community, start trading crypto, or follow fellow NFT enthusiasts and influencers online, but couldn’t because you had a hard time understanding their NFT lingo or crypto slang?!
Well, worry no more, degen. Before your very eyes is the answer to all your questions — “What is WAGMI, a type of meat?”, “Why is ‘when’ spelled ‘wen’ all the time?”, “Are there health benefits to all of these dips? Why do people keep buying them?”
We here at Fayre have compiled an article filled with all the NFT lingo, slang, and acronyms you’ll ever need. But wait, there’s MORE! For as long as this article lives online, you’ll also have access to BONUS crypto slang, mentions of some of the best NFT communities, Bitcoin slang, Metaverse mantras, and Web3 words!
[Hot Tip: Use “Control/Command + F + Letter)” to jump to the letter you need]
Make sure to save the link to this article and share it with your friends and loved ones if you want them to understand what you’re on about with NFTs. Also make sure to check out the rest of our articles. We have a ton of great beginner and advanced information on NFTs, crypto, the Metaverse, and Web3.
Fayre is not liable for any terms changing definition/connotation after publishing.
A)
Animetas
A very popular NFT community that is founded on a collection of 10101 unique, one-for-one, generative NFTs. These NFTs are stored on the Ethereum blockchain and can grant the holder access to special community events and access to the Animetas-themed arcade world in the future.
Apes
Apes are monkey-like NFT characters that one can buy in order to join the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT community. Each NFT has its own style of clothing, accessories, facial expression, hairstyle, and so on.
Art Blocks
Art Blocks is an NFT platform that was created to deliver programmable and generative (randomly generated) content. The platform uses the Ethereum blockchain to facilitate the buying of and transacting of the final NFT to the user’s crypto wallet. Each NFT is unique in style and form.
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is a popular NFT platform and Play-to-Earn game that takes inspiration from the Pokémon series. Users can engage with the video game-like ecosystem by battling their NFT characters, collecting and then raising them, and creating land to host their pets.
B)
Based
In crypto slang, ‘based’ is a term used to describe something that one agrees with, or believes is spot on, confident, honest, or legit.
Bearish
Being bearish is a sentiment one carries against the value of an NFT, crypto, or even technology that indicates you don’t believe it will succeed (at least in the short term). For example, if you think a crypto’s value is going to crash, you are bearish on that crypto. It’s so-named because bears in the wild walk with their head slumped down.
Beeple
Mike Winklemann, artistically known as Beeple, is one of the most popular NFT creators in the world. He created the NFT “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” which sold for $69,400,000 in auction. It’s a collection of 5000 different NFTs.
Binance Smart Chain (BSC)
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is a Proof-of-Stake reliant blockchain created by Binance, the world’s largest crypto platform. The blockchain is known for its low transaction costs and ecological precedent. Anyone can trade or mint NFTs on BSC.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency created and released by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Bitcoin uses Proof-of-Work to secure every transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain. It is the most dominant and widely adopted digital asset ever created.
Blockchain
A blockchain is a public ledger that is used to record cryptocurrency transactions, or mint/host NFTs with. Transactions are recorded in bits, and when enough bits are verified they are aggregated into ‘blocks’ which are then verified and added to the blockchain. A blockchain can be secured by Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake consensus protocols, and when done properly, can be immutable. The Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains are the most popular and well-known blockchains.
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the most popular NFT communities. Its members include those that can afford the (mostly) high-end NFTs available in the community. Each NFT is a cartoon picture of an ape that comes with its own fashion, hairstyle, and facial expression.
Bullish
Being bullish is a sentiment one carries against the value of an NFT, crypto, or even technology that indicates you believe it will succeed (at least in the short term). For example, if you think a crypto’s value is going to increase, you are bullish on that crypto. The word bullish comes from how bulls raise their heads upwards when fighting.
Buy the dip (BTD/BTFD)
Buying the dip means purchasing an NFT, crypto, or Bitcoin (or any other asset like a stock, gold, etc…) when price drops (dips), allowing traders to buy for a discount.
C)
Cool Cats
Cool Cats is a popular NFT community that offers its users randomly generated NFTs. These NFTs are minted on the Ethereum blockchain.
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is a term used to describe digital currencies and assets that are tradeable. Most cryptocurrencies are accessible via internet access and don’t require permission to accumulate. The original cryptocurrency was Bitcoin (although it’s no longer considered as such), and others like Ethereum came afterwards. Stablecoins are also forms of cryptocurrency.
Cryptopunks
Cryptopunks is one of the most popular NFT communities to exist. The NFT community was created by LarvaLabs in 2017 and consists of 10,000 uniquely pixelated NFT characters. They are popular partly because they are the first NFTs to be created on Ethereum. Ethereum’s ERC-721 was inspired by Cryptopunks.
Crypto Wallet
A crypto wallet is a medium through which transactions are executed by the individual on a blockchain. They are a means by which ownership over digital assets is secured on a blockchain as wallets allow users to send and receive digital assets with blockchain addresses.
D)
dApp
Short for Decentralized Application, a dApp is just like any other application that can be downloaded onto a smartphone or laptop, but also includes blockchain interoperability. The idea behind a dApp is to remove centralization and control from organizations that create apps.
DAO
DAO is a crypto acronym for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. A DAO is an organization that runs on computer generated rules. Participants aren’t governed by anyone in the community, but all operate as necessary members.
Decentraland
Decentraland is the first Metaverse project to exist. The Metaverse was founded in 2017 by Esteban Ordano, and was also developed by Animoca Brands as a play-to-earn platform available to the world. The project is a decentralized platform that you can earn $MANA and $LAND (the project’s two native tokens) on.
Decentralization
A transfer of control over an activity or organization to several individuals, pools, or organizations rather than to a single one. In crypto terms and NFT lingo, decentralization occurs when a blockchain is secured by Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake protocol that removes the need for human intervention.
Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
A decentralized exchange is a marketplace facilitated by peer-to-peer transactions which take place directly between crypto traders (there are no intermediaries regulating trades). DEX’s offer anonymity to crypto and NFT maxis that wish to trade privately.
DeFi
DeFi is short for Decentralized Finance, the digital option for removing banks, regulators, and financial institutions from financial products and services. DeFi relies on blockchain technologies and can provide users with secure means to store their money or investments.
Degen
Degen is short for “degenerate”. Those that are referred to as degens are because of the bad trading decision(s) they have made. Not checking for fake NFTs, or investing in weak cryptocurrencies can earn a trader the title of degen.
Diamond Hands
Those who can hodl (hold) their investment(s) through good and bad times despite intense price fluctuations and financial temptations to sell have diamond hands. They are unbreakable in their resolve to support their holdings.
Do your own research (DYOR)
A common phrase in crypto and NFT communities to alert fellow users they should research a project or NFT before investing. DYOR is also a common clap back to those that rely on FUD to talk poorly about NFTs.
E)
ERC-20
ERC-20 is a Token Standard on Ethereum which gives each token a property to allow each Token to be exactly the same as another Token in value and type. ERC-20 ensures fungibility for tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. This simply means that any single Token is and will always be the equal to any other Token.
ERC-721
ERC-721 is a Token Standard on Ethereum that differentiates all tokens from each other. It is a standard that allows Ethereum to host Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and ensures no single Token is the same (in any way) as another Token.
Ethereum
Ethereum is a type of crypto technology, similar to Bitcoin, which allows anyone to send cryptocurrency to anyone else. The key difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum is that Ethereum is a programmable blockchain, which ultimately means Ethereum can support several different digital assets and many crypto projects.
F)
Fayre
Fayre is an NFT marketplace and part fan activation hub which makes tools that allow creators and brands to build fan clubs. Fayre aims to give NFTs unlimited function and purpose in real life, online and in virtual worlds.
$FAYRE Token
The $FAYRE Token is Fayre’s native token which can be used to trade NFTs with, or stake for special perks.
Few
“Few” is crypto slang and NFT lingo which simply means “few people understand this”.
Floor Price
The floor price is the lowest available price to buy a collection of NFTs or a unit of cryptocurrency. The floor price can be decided by the market or set by a seller. In general, when there are mostly sells, the floor price decreases. And when there are mostly buys, the floor price rises.
Fear of missing out (FOMO)
FOMO is a phenomena that traders experience usually during the most extreme points of a market cycle (when price hits cycle highs or lows). Traders either feel euphoric about price and buy at the top to avoid missing out on “sure” gains, or feel pressure to buy when price dips to take advantage of a “discounted price”.
FUD
This is an acronym for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. FUD is usually used to describe the sentiment of crypto or NFT nay-sayers. Complaints from FUDers include environmental injustice, structural inconsistencies, and overall bearish attacks.
Fungibility
A characteristic that describes an asset’s ability to be exchanged for another asset so long as both have the same uniformity, qualities and value, and are otherwise indistinguishable.
G)
Gas (Gas Fees)
Gas is a fee required to pay for any transaction that occurs directly on the Ethereum blockchain. These fees are paid to the miners who secure the blockchain and the transactions that take place on it. Minting NFTs usually requires high gas prices as Ethereum transactions are generally in high demand. OpenSea also has gas fees. Proof-of-Stake protocols greatly reduce gas fees due to higher transaction throughputs to meet large demands.
GWEI
The smallest unit of account of Ethereum, worth 1 billionth of 1 ETH (ETH 0.000000001). ETH trades can be measured in GWEI. Often, layer 2 NFT solutions will provide gas fee information in GWEI because of their significantly lower transaction prices.
H)
HODL
A famous misspelling by GameKyuubi in a Bitcoin chat forum from 2013. The word became an important part of the Bitcoin culture, and has since propagated into other crypto and NFT communities as an expression for hodling onto an investment. Hodling is associated with diamond hands and paper hands.
Hopium
When a crypto influencer or NFT enthusiast provides reasoning, logical or otherwise, to why a project will succeed and inspires bullish hope about its future. Hopium can be addicting, which is why it is a word play on the addictive substance opium.
I)
IMX
Immutable X is the first Ethereum layer 2 NFT marketplace. The marketplace has very low gas fees, giving many NFT enthusiasts a secondary option to Ethereum or OpenSea (Ethereum and OpenSea gas fees can be quite expensive).
Interplanetary System (IPFS)
An IPFS is a decentralized, peer-to-peer storage network (much like Bitcoin or Ethereum’s blockchain) that allows NFTs to be stored with immutable data. If an NFT is stored on an IPFS, its data will be split into many bits, each associated with its own part of a URI code, and then recoverable via verification protocols.
If You Know You Know (IYKYK)
IYKYK is a common acronym used in the crypto/NFT industry. The acronym can be used literally, or as a hint that most people won’t be aware of a project. Warning, IYKYK can entice FOMO.
J)
JPG/JPEG
A format for photo/picture storage. Many NFTs are JPGs before they are minted as an NFT. However, those who dislike NFTs often refer to them as JPGs in an effort to show they don’t understand why NFTs are useful.
K)
Kaiju King
Kaiju Kings is a popular NFT community that produces sought after NFTs. Many celebrities own these particular NFTs. There was a major KaijuKing NFT reveal that let the world know that Marshmallow, the musical artist, holds NFTs in his portfolio (with one KaijuKing valued at over $1 million at the time).
L)
LarvaLabs
The creators of Cryptopunks, one of the most popular and most well-known NFT communities in the world.
“Looks Rare”
Used in a sarcastic tone, “looks rare” is a slight against NFT users by those that don’t understand NFT utility to be a store of value.
M)
Metaverse
A Metaverse is a virtual platform in which people can interact with a virtual environment and with each other. The promises of a Metaverse rest on expansions of some cutting edge technology we have today, including the use of NFTs to create and build worlds, avatars and objects. Metaverses rely on cryptocurrencies and blockchains to provide experiences to users.
Minting
The process of creating an NFT is known as minting. This is when a non-fungible token is created on a blockchain. There are many NFT minting standards such as ERC-721, ERC-1155, ERC-809, ERC-994, ERC- 1201, and ERC-998 which allow NFTs to be created.
Mooning
When the price of an NFT or cryptocurrency is rising quickly. Mooning comes from the phrase “going to the moon!” which is an expression that shows belief in a project succeeding, at least financially.
N)
Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. Each NFT is a representation of ownership over a unique, authentic piece of digital property, or even real-life asset. These tokens exist on and are secured by a blockchain so as to be resilient against theft or copy attempts.
NFT Artist
One who creates art (paintings, drawings, music, videos, photos, etc…) and distributes their creations by minting NFTs. Beeple is one of the most revered NFT artists to exist after his auctioning of “Everydays: The First 5000”, an NFT that is composed of 5000 different NFTs he created.
NFT Brand
Just like any other brand but different in that an NFT brand delivers their product via NFTs, or uses NFTs to link their physical products to a blockchain.
NFT Community
An NFT community is a group of NFT fans that support a style of NFTs by hodling one or more of that community’s NFTs. Many NFT communities also have defined cultures and rules that participants must follow to be considered a legitimate part of the community.
NFT Creator
Anyone who creates or mints NFTs.
NFT Industry
The collective group of all NFT marketplaces, NFT communities, artists, brands, creators, fans, metaverses, technology, and overall sales volume.
NFT Marketplace
An NFT marketplace is similar to any other online platform where you can buy or sell goods, except it is used for NFTs. Brands, artists, and fans all interact in an NFT marketplace as that’s the place to go to buy, sell, trade, and even mint NFTs. They require crypto wallets and cryptocurrency to participate in.
Not Gonna Make It (NGMI)
A common phrase used in crypto and NFT communities online to express uncertainty or doubt about a project or coin.
Number Go Up
This is a FOMO statement and general crypto slang that describes one reason for investing in a crypto — because, “Number go up!” It means the value of the NFT or cryptocurrency will rise.
O)
OpenSea
As one of the most popular NFT marketplaces, thousands of NFT enthusiasts use OpenSea to mint and trade NFTs, despite the potentially expensive OpenSea gas fees.
P)
Paper Hands
Those who are unable to hodl (hold) their investment(s) through good and bad times due to price fluctuations and financial temptation will sell their holdings. These people have paper hands. Paper hand behavior is often discouraged in crypto and NFT communities.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
A peer-to-peer system is one that allows a network to distribute applications and transactions between peers without the need of an intermediary.
Pericos
Fayre’s first NFT collection which came in partnership with RCD Espanyol, a prominent futbol club in Spain. These cute birds are NFTs that can give fans benefits during games in the stadium thanks to Web3 activations.
Play-to-Earn (P2E)
A model many Metaverses employ to incentivise users to use and develop their Metaverse. Users can be awarded with NFTs, Tokens, or cryptocurrency for their efforts.
Polygon
Polygon is what is known as a layer 2 scaling solution on Ethereum. The Polygon network is primarily designed to introduce capabilities that go beyond the base functionalities of Ethereum. Integrations such as Security as a Service, dedicated and scalable blockchains, and full Ethereum compatibility are what Polygon offers in addition to extremely low transaction fees and extensive NFT minting capabilities.
“Probably Nothing”
A phrase used to share FOMO sentiments in a mannerly way. For example, if an NFT marketplace were to announce an NFT collection with a celebrity, the NFT community could celebrate by saying “probably nothing,” knowing it is actually something exciting.
Profile Picture (PFP)
Many participants in popular NFT communities represent their memberships by using their NFT as their profile picture online.
Proof-of-Stake
Proof-of-Stake is a consensus protocol that can be used to verify and add transactions to a blockchain. The Proof-of-Stake protocol is derivative of the Proof-of-Work consensus protocol, but relies on a staking/governance structure rather than a distributed energy reliant system.
Proof-of-Work
Proof-of-Work is a consensus protocol used to verify and add new transactions onto a blockchain by using intensive computing power. But before it was implemented on a blockchain, it was a means to protect computers against nefarious acts such as viral attacks to lock computers, as well as spam.
Punks Comic
A popular NFT community led project that relies on the whole community to participate in shared ownership of the system. Certain members can stake and profit from other’s success in the community. Punks Comic came from an idea of making an NFT community out of a Cryptopunks comic book.
Q)
Quick Gains
Profits made on quick turnover. When NFT traders buy and sell NFTs quickly and make a profit, it’s referred to as “quick gains”.
R)
Rekt
NFT slang and crypto slang for when a trade goes poorly and results in a significant loss in value. If an NFT were bought for $350k and then sold for $115, that trader got rekt.
Right-Click, Save As
NFT FUDers often say NFTs are useless JPGs since anyone can “right-click, and save as” any image on the internet. However, NFT utility goes well beyond the function of a JPG, and comes down to immutable data storage.
Roadmap
Roadmaps are common for NFT marketplaces, NFT projects and crypto projects as they inform their fanbase of what to look forward to in the future. They usually include major feature rollouts, events and partnerships.
Rug Pull
Rug pulls are scams designed to gain interest and large investments from investors just to take the money and run once enough of it is obtained. Rug pulls are attacks on unwitting investors (DYOR).
S)
Secondary Market
A market in which investors can trade assets among themselves, and without the need of a central exchange.
“Seems Legit”
Always used in a sarcastic manner, “seems legit” expresses an overall sense of doubt about a project.
Shill
Anyone who is a shill is known for only ever marketing and selling people on their own project(s), NFTs and cryptocurrencies.
Smart Contract
These are computer coded contracts, or protocols, that execute transactions automatically when the predetermined agreements and requirements are met. Smart contracts give NFTs utility beyond stores of value, and allow an NFT owner to rent or farm yield with their NFTs.
Stablecoin
A type of cryptocurrency that is “pegged” to a set value (usually the US dollar). Not all stablecoins are made equally as they each employ their own peg strategy to maintain their value through time. USDT (Tether) is one of the most popular stablecoins and it exists on the Ethereum blockchain.
T)
Token
Many NFT marketplaces, like Fayre, offer their own native token as a way for users to trade NFTs on the platform with added perks, such as low to zero transaction fees, governance capabilities, etc… Fayre also allows users to stake the $FAYRE Token as that also provides benefits to their experience in the marketplace.
U)
Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)
A URI points to where an NFTs’ data is stored, whether on a decentralized source or on the internet so that the blockchain can access it. URIs are necessary for NFTs to be minted onto a blockchain.
V)
Vee friends
Vee friends is a popular NFT community that is striving to create meaningful technology to protect intellectual property, as well as develop an exceptional NFT community experience. Vee friends was founded by Gary Vaynerchuk.
W)
We are gonna make it (WAGMI)
A common phrase used in crypto and NFT communities online to express certainty about a project or coin.
Web3
Web3 is the next iteration of the internet which is meant to implement significant upgrades from our current version, Web2. Web3 is meant to protect users from unwarranted tracking, targeting and data collection, bots and click farms, and is supposed to deliver transparency to the internet. Blockchain technologies and artificial intelligence are at the forefront of Web3 technology.
Wen (insert product/service/event here)
Crypto and NFT slang written by users to ask in a ‘friendly’ way when a new NFT drop or crypto feature (like Ethereum transitioning to Proof-of-Stake) will be available.
Whale
One who holds large sums of crypto, NFTs or NFT value, Bitcoin, or any other asset. Whales have the ability to affect the sentiment of a market by trading their holdings.
X)
CLONE X
A high-end NFT community that has established an ecosystem of quality-driven, boutique NFT avatars that can be implemented into a Metaverse.
Y)
You only live once (YOLO)
A common phrase used in many situations, but when applied to NFTs or crypto it means the one declaring “YOLO” is making a big decision by either selling or buying for a large amount, or going all in on a special NFT, for example.
Z)
Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg is the creator of Meta, a Metaverse popularized from the success of Facebook. Meta promises users the ability to build any world they so wish and will utilize NFT technology to help users adhere to property rights.
