Argot crypto 101 : Le guide ultime pour ne pas passer pour un débutant

If you’ve spent 5 minutes in a crypto discord and felt completely lost, you’re not alone. The terminology is wild. Let me break down the 100 essentials into digestible chunks:

The Price Action Crew

Moon/Mooning - Your coins go brrrr 📈
ATH - All-Time High (the peak every trader dreams of)
Rekt - You lost big. Real big. (Wrecked)
Pump & Dump - Classic scam: artificially inflate price → sell to bagholders → exit
Squeeze - Short-sellers panic buying, sending price vertical
Bull Run - Extended rally (optimistic sentiment)
Bear Market - Extended downtrend (everyone’s doom-scrolling)

The Player Types

Whale - Holds massive amounts; can move markets with one transaction
Bagholder - Bought high, now holding the bag (bag = losing position)
HODLer - Long-term believer, ignores the noise
Bear/Bull Whale - Large holders betting down/up
Whaleshark - Exceptionally large whale (think billionaire status in crypto)

The Mental State Terms

FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out (buys at peaks)
FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (spreading bad vibes)
Shill - Promoting something for personal gain (often sketchy)
DYOR - Do Your Own Research (ignore the hype, verify facts)

The Tech Stuff Simplified

DeFi - Decentralized Finance (crypto’s version of traditional finance without middlemen)
DApp - Decentralized App (runs on blockchain, not controlled by one entity)
DEX - Decentralized Exchange (peer-to-peer trading, no KYC needed)
Smart Contract - Self-executing code on blockchain (if X happens, do Y automatically)
Tokenomics - The economic design of a token (supply, distribution, incentives)

The Money Moves

Staking - Lock up coins, earn rewards (crypto’s version of saving interest)
Yield Farming - Provide liquidity to protocols, earn tokens (higher risk, higher reward)
DCA - Dollar-Cost Averaging (invest fixed amount regularly, ignore volatility)
Gas Fees - Transaction costs on networks like Ethereum (fluctuates wildly)
Airdrop - Free tokens given to holders (sometimes legit, often hype)

The Scams & Traps

Rug Pull - Devs abandon project after collecting investor funds
Bear Trap - Fake price dip → traders panic sell → price recovers fast
Bull Trap - Fake rally → traders FOMO buy → price crashes
Pump & Dump - Coordinated price manipulation followed by exit

The Essentials Everyone Needs

Private Key - Your secret password to your wallet (lose this = lose everything)
Public Key - Your wallet address (safe to share, this is how people send you coins)
Whitepaper - Project’s technical blueprint (always read this before investing)
KYC - Know Your Customer (exchanges verify your ID for compliance)
2FA - Two-Factor Authentication (basic security, use it)

The Coins & Standards

Altcoin - Any cryptocurrency that’s not Bitcoin
Stablecoin - Coin pegged to USD or other fiat (minimizes volatility)
NFT - Non-Fungible Token (unique digital asset, can’t be replicated)
ERC-20 - Standard for Ethereum tokens (most tokens follow this format)

Advanced Concepts You’ll See

MEV - Miner Extractable Value (miners reorder transactions for profit)
Flash Loan - Borrow and repay funds in a single transaction (used in arbitrage)
Sharding - Scale blockchain by splitting data across nodes
Hard Fork - Major protocol upgrade that splits the chain
Lightning Network - Layer-2 solution for faster, cheaper transactions

Real Talk: This space evolves weekly. New terms drop constantly. The key is understanding the core concepts, not memorizing every obscure abbreviation. Start here, then let curiosity guide you deeper. Welcome to the chaos—er, opportunity.