Lingos of Crypto Twitter: A Quick Guide

I searched what these crypto phrases mean so you don’t have to.

It’s 2019, I bought my first crypto and the hottest buzzwords were HODL and to the moon.

An extraordinary bull run and a seismic bear crash later, we are here with a brand new set of crypto phrases that go beyond words like FUD and NFTs.

Last month, I set up my shiny new crypto Twitter account and realised the crypto-speak on the platform was unrecognisable.

What are these accounts with hexagonal profile pictures even talking about? Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

Let’s refresh our crypto dictionaries and keep up with all the new crypto phrases.

What does GM mean?

Let’s start with the classic — GM

Good Morning. Another morning, another day of crypto. It’s simple: You says GM, and someone replies you with GM.

Beeple, an artist who sold one of the most expensive NFTs for close to US$70 million

GM is typically to greet your community. This is your number one tool to engage and connect with the crypto crowd.

What does Alpha mean?

You might think that it refers to the alpha male, but in crypto Twitter, it means exclusive intel or insider information.

In traditional finance (also commonly known as TradFi), this is what it means:

Alpha is an overloaded term in capital markets that typically refers to the ability of an investment strategy to outperform the market.

— says this CoinDesk article

What does WAGMI mean?

We’re all gonna make it.

Are you optimistic about the markets? Then this is the phrase for you.

It helps to build confidence in the community and can be seen as a rallying cry. Like most unexplainable memes, WAGMI came from 4chan forums before making its way into crypto Twitter.

Another related acronym would be LFG, which means Let’s fucking go

The exact opposite of this phrase would be NGMI, which means not gonna make it.

What does Rug Pull mean?

It means getting scammed.

A rug pull is a fraud story in three parts:

1. Create a token without apparent worth
2. Hype the coin, usually on Twitter or Discord
3. Collect funds from unsuspecting investors and watch as the coin price
4. Withdraw all real assets from the liquidity pools and run off with the investors’ money

While it is more complicated than a rug pull, the recent FTX debacle certainly has elements of a rug pull, with its FTT tokens.

Since most crypto projects are not regulated, this type of fraud happens quite often in the crypto world. These are likely the stories which non-crypto native friends hear frequently.

Do you know what crypto Twitter call people who are not involved in crypto?

What does Normie mean?

Normal people, who are not involved in crypto.

Without the context of crypto, normie would mean a person with bland tastes. In the context of crypto, it would be a skeptic who stays out of crypto and has no knowledge about crypto.

To avoid being a normie, consider subscribing to my Medium or visit my crypto blog for beginners.

Now what?

Here, I have given you a quick guide to exploring crypto Twitter and its meandering language.

Crypto Twitter and the crypto scene are always evolving; that’s also why I like being in the space. There is something new to explore and these crypto twitter cultures are set by the people who are using it.

So go on Twitter and join the chatter. Who knows if it might make a difference to language?