TIME tech correspondent Andrew chow provides definitions for common terms used in the often baffling world of cryptocurrency.
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00:00I'm Andrew Chow, I'm a tech correspondent at Time Magazine and the author of Cryptomania.
00:04And this is your Crypto Dictionary.
00:07Cryptocurrency.
00:08This is money.
00:09This is traditional money.
00:10Mostly, we don't really use cash like this anymore.
00:13We swipe our credit cards and the transactions go on some sort of ledger that keep track
00:19of how much money we have.
00:21Cryptocurrency is an endpoint of this progression where our money is stored on a blockchain
00:29or digital database that keeps track of where all crypto is around the world.
00:35Blockchain.
00:36A blockchain is a digital database of transactions that isn't controlled by any centralized entity
00:42like a bank or government, but rather watchdogs around the world who keep the system up and
00:48running.
00:49Bitcoin.
00:50Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and it's the most valuable.
00:55As of recording, one Bitcoin is worth about $55,000.
00:59Ethereum.
01:00Ethereum is a blockchain created by Vitalik Buterin.
01:03It attempted to expand the blockchain so that it was not only for money, but for all sorts
01:10of other applications.
01:12During the pandemic, Ethereum allows for the rise of NFTs, DAOs, and all sorts of other
01:17crypto activity.
01:18NFT.
01:19NFT stands for non-fungible token.
01:22It's a digital asset on a blockchain.
01:25An NFT can be attached to a song or a movie or a land deed or basically anything you can
01:32imagine.
01:33And each NFT comes with a certificate of authenticity, which proves that it's one of a kind.
01:38DAO.
01:39DAO stands for decentralized autonomous organization.
01:43It's an organization that lives on the blockchain.
01:45And during the pandemic era bull run, many crypto enthusiasts believed that DAOs were
01:50going to replace basically every organization possible.
01:54That they were a fair and more streamlined way to cast votes and organize over traditional
02:00corporations with boardrooms or city councils or artistic communes.
02:06So many DAOs were spun up over that time and very few have lasted.
02:11Stablecoin.
02:12A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency.
02:14Other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum can rise and fall really fast.
02:19Stablecoins are always supposed to hold the value of one U.S. dollar and they serve as
02:22a safe haven for when the markets get choppy.
02:26Memecoin.
02:27A memecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that doesn't have an underlying utility or value,
02:33but rather derives its power from the communities of people posting about it and making memes
02:38about it.
02:39So Dogecoin is a famous memecoin that has been powered by the likes of Elon Musk and
02:44other champions.
02:45DeGen.
02:46It's short for degenerate and it's a word that crypto traders refer to themselves as
02:51when they're going especially hard.
02:54You can find a full glossary of terms at the end of my book, Cryptomania.