CashboardExplore Cashboard
Crypto trading glossary
Short, accurate definitions of the terms you meet on a trading board, with how Cashboard shows each one in real data.
Perps
- Perpetual futuresA perpetual future is a derivative with no expiry date that tracks its underlying through funding payments between longs and shorts.
- Funding rateA funding rate is a periodic payment between perp longs and shorts that keeps the contract trading close to the spot index price.
- Funding APRFunding APR is a perp funding rate turned into a simple yearly percentage, so hourly and eight-hour rates can be compared on the same scale.
- Open interestOpen interest is the total size of derivative positions still open in a market, with each matched long and short pair counted only once.
- BasisBasis is the gap between a derivative's price, such as a future or perp, and the spot price of the same asset, usually shown as a percentage.
- Mark priceMark price is the reference price a derivatives venue uses to value open positions and trigger liquidations, instead of the last traded price.
- Liquidation priceA liquidation price is the mark price at which a leveraged position no longer meets maintenance margin and the venue closes it by force.
- LeverageLeverage means holding a position larger than your own capital by posting margin, which multiplies both gains and losses on that margin.
- Long and shortGoing long profits when an asset's price rises; going short profits when it falls, usually through borrowing or derivatives.
- Perp DEXA perp DEX is a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures, where margin, positions and settlement live on-chain rather than with a custodian.
- Funding rate arbitrageFunding rate arbitrage is a delta-neutral trade that collects perp funding by pairing the perp with an offsetting spot or perp position.
- Cash-and-carry tradeA cash-and-carry trade buys an asset on spot and sells a future or perp against it to earn the premium between the two, known as the basis.
- LighterLighter is an order book perp DEX built as a zero-knowledge rollup on Ethereum, free for retail traders and the engine behind Robinhood Wallet perps.
- HLP vaultThe HLP vault (Hyperliquidity Provider) is Hyperliquid's community-owned vault that makes markets, runs backstop liquidations and shares its PnL.
Trading
- Paper tradingPaper trading is placing simulated trades with virtual money at real market prices, to test an idea or a leverage level before real money is at stake.
- Price alertA price alert is a rule that notifies you when an asset crosses a level you set, so you can stop staring at the chart and still catch the move.
- Candlestick chartA candlestick chart draws price as candles, one per period, each showing where price opened, how high and low it went, and where it closed.
- Market capMarket cap is an asset's price multiplied by its circulating supply. It is the number ranking sites use to size crypto assets and put them in order.
- Fully diluted valuationFully diluted valuation (FDV) is a token's price times its maximum or total supply, counting tokens that are still locked or not yet issued.
- Trading volumeTrading volume is the total value traded in a market over a period, usually the last 24 hours. It shows how much a market is actually being used.
- LiquidityLiquidity is how easily you can buy or sell an asset near its current price. It comes from order book depth or from the size of an AMM pool.
- SlippageSlippage is the gap between the price you expected when you sent a trade and the average price you actually got once it filled.
- VolatilityVolatility measures how far and how fast a price moves, usually quoted as the annualized standard deviation of returns. Direction does not count.
- Bid-ask spreadThe bid-ask spread is the gap between the highest price a buyer will pay and the lowest price a seller will accept at that moment.
- Weekend gapA weekend gap is the jump between a market's Friday close and its next open, or between a closed stock and a token that keeps trading.
- Trading dashboardA trading dashboard puts prices, charts, positions and market data from many sources on one screen, so you can watch them side by side.
- Crypto narrativesCrypto narratives are themes that pull money into a group of tokens at once, such as AI agents or cat coins. Traders and DexScreener call them metas.
DeFi
- DeFiDeFi (decentralized finance) is trading, lending and yield run by smart contracts on public blockchains, with no bank or broker in the middle.
- APY vs APRAPR is a yearly rate without compounding. APY assumes you reinvest what you earn, so for the same rate APY is always equal to APR or higher.
- Liquidity poolA liquidity pool is a smart contract holding tokens, usually a pair, that traders swap against. Providers fund it and collect the trading fees.
- Concentrated liquidityConcentrated liquidity lets a provider place funds inside a chosen price range, earning more fees per dollar while the price stays in that range.
- Automated market makerAn automated market maker (AMM) is a DEX design that prices trades with a formula over pooled tokens instead of matching buy and sell orders.
- DEX aggregatorA DEX aggregator checks many exchanges and pools and routes your swap through whichever path returns the most tokens after fees.
- Lending marketA lending market is a DeFi protocol where users supply assets to earn interest and borrow against collateral, at rates set by an algorithm.
- Total value lockedTotal value locked (TVL) is the dollar value of assets sitting in a DeFi protocol's or a blockchain's smart contracts at a given moment.
- Yield farmingYield farming is moving crypto between DeFi protocols to chase the best return from trading fees, interest and token incentives.
- Impermanent lossImpermanent loss is how far a liquidity provider falls behind simply holding the same tokens, caused by prices moving after the deposit.
- Cross-chain bridgeA cross-chain bridge moves tokens or messages between blockchains, usually by locking or burning assets on one chain and releasing them on another.
Solana
- Solana priority feesA Solana priority fee is an optional extra, priced in micro-lamports per compute unit, that moves a transaction up the queue when blocks are busy.
- Compute unitsCompute units measure how much work a Solana transaction does. They cap what it may use and are the base its priority fee is charged on.
- Jito tipsA Jito tip is a SOL payment to a validator running Jito's software, so a transaction or bundle lands quickly and in a set order.
- SPL tokenAn SPL token is any token made with Solana's shared Token Program. It is Solana's standard in the way ERC-20 is Ethereum's.
- Token-2022Token-2022, also called Token Extensions, is Solana's newer token program that lets issuers add features like transfer fees, hooks and metadata.
- Liquid staking tokenA liquid staking token stands for staked assets plus their rewards, so you earn staking yield and still hold a token you can trade.
- Sanctum InfinitySanctum Infinity is one Solana pool holding many liquid staking tokens. Its INF token earns their staking yield plus the fees from LST swaps.
- Bonding curveA bonding curve is a formula that prices a token by how much supply has been sold, so every buy raises the price for the next buyer.
- Raydium LaunchLabRaydium LaunchLab is Raydium's Solana launchpad. New tokens trade on a bonding curve there, then move to a Raydium pool once it fills.
- pump.funpump.fun is the Solana memecoin launchpad where anyone can create a token that trades on a bonding curve before graduating to an AMM pool.
- Token graduationToken graduation is the moment a launchpad token completes its bonding curve and its liquidity moves into a regular AMM pool.
- LamportsA lamport is the smallest unit of SOL. One SOL is one billion lamports, and the name honors the computer scientist Leslie Lamport.
Stablecoins
- StablecoinA stablecoin is a crypto token built to hold a fixed value, almost always one US dollar, backed by cash reserves, crypto collateral or a hedge.
- DepegA depeg is when a stablecoin or other pegged token trades clearly away from its target, like a dollar stablecoin sitting at $0.95 instead of $1.
- Stablecoin supplyStablecoin supply is the dollar value of all stablecoins in circulation, the usual gauge of how much dollar liquidity is sitting on-chain.
- Yield-bearing stablecoinA yield-bearing stablecoin is a dollar token that passes income from its backing, such as Treasury interest or perp funding, on to the holder.
- Stablecoin pegA stablecoin peg is the price a stablecoin aims to hold, usually $1, plus the mint and redeem mechanism that pulls the market price back to it.
- StablechainA stablechain is a blockchain built mainly for stablecoin payments, usually charging gas in a stablecoin and settling in about a second or less.
- USDGUSDG, or Global Dollar, is a Paxos-issued US dollar stablecoin redeemable one for one, and the dollar Lighter's Robinhood Chain exchange quotes in.
On-chain
- Trending poolsTrending pools are DEX pools that a data site ranks by recent activity, such as volume, trades and page views, to show where traders are piling in.
- Gas feesGas fees are what you pay a blockchain to process a transaction, set by how much computation it uses and how busy the network is at that moment.
- Block heightBlock height is the number of the latest block on a chain, counted from block 0. Explorers use it to pin down when a transaction landed.
- Block timeBlock time is the average gap between new blocks on a chain. It sets how long you wait before a transaction is first included on-chain.
- RPC endpointAn RPC endpoint is the URL of a blockchain node that wallets and apps call to read chain data and send transactions, using remote procedure calls.
- Layer 2A layer 2 is a chain that runs transactions on its own and settles them to a base chain such as Ethereum, borrowing most of that chain's security.
- EVMThe EVM, or Ethereum Virtual Machine, is the runtime that executes smart contracts on Ethereum and on the many chains that copied its design.
- Chain IDA chain ID is the number that identifies an EVM network. Wallets use it to connect to the right chain and to stop transactions being replayed elsewhere.
- Blockchain explorerA blockchain explorer is a website that lets anyone search a chain's blocks, transactions, addresses and tokens in readable form, with no login.
- Token contract addressA token contract address is the on-chain address that identifies one specific token (the mint address on Solana) and separates the real one from copies.
- FinalityFinality is the point after which a blockchain transaction can no longer be reversed or reorganized, so it counts as permanently settled.
- TPSTPS, or transactions per second, is how many transactions a blockchain includes each second, averaged over a window such as a few blocks or a day.
- Blob feesBlob fees are what Ethereum rollups pay to post data in blobs, the short-lived data space EIP-4844 added, priced in a fee market separate from gas.
- ETH burnThe ETH burn is the base fee Ethereum destroys on every transaction since EIP-1559. When it outpaces new issuance, the supply of ETH shrinks.
- L2BEAT stagesL2BEAT stages rate how much an Ethereum rollup still depends on its team, from Stage 0 to Stage 2, judged by its proofs, exit window and Security Council.
- DexScreener boostsDexScreener boosts are paid packs that lift a token's trending score on DexScreener for 12 to 24 hours. They buy visibility, not buyers.
- SequencerA sequencer is the node that orders transactions on a rollup, confirms them almost at once and later posts them to Ethereum in batches.
- Data availabilityData availability means the data behind a chain's blocks is published where anyone can download it, so they can check the chain and rebuild its state.
- MEVMEV, or maximal extractable value, is the extra profit from choosing which transactions go into a block and in what order, beyond normal fees and rewards.
Wallets
- Watch-only walletA watch-only wallet follows a public address and shows its balances and history, but holds no private key, so it can never move the funds.
- Public addressA public address is the shareable ID of a crypto account. People send funds to it, and anyone can look up its balance and full history.
- Seed phraseA seed phrase is 12 or 24 words encoding a wallet's master key. Anyone with the words (and any passphrase you set) can restore the wallet and drain it.
- Self-custodySelf-custody means you hold your own private keys, so you control your crypto directly instead of trusting an exchange or custodian with it.
- Connect walletConnect wallet is the step where a site asks your wallet for its public address. Connecting moves nothing; the risk starts with what you sign next.
- Portfolio trackerA portfolio tracker pulls your crypto from several wallets and exchanges into one view and prices it at current market rates.
- Net worthCrypto net worth is the current value of everything you hold across wallets, chains, perp accounts and manual entries, minus what you owe.
- ERC-20ERC-20 is the standard interface for fungible tokens on Ethereum and other EVM chains. It defines how balances, transfers and approvals work.
Tokenization
- Tokenized stocksTokenized stocks are tokens that follow a listed company's share price, usually backed one to one by real shares an issuer keeps with a custodian.
- xStocksxStocks are tokenized US stocks and ETFs issued by Backed, each backed one to one by the real security and tradable on-chain around the clock.
- Stock TokensStock Tokens are Robinhood's tokenized US stocks and ETFs for eligible non-US customers, first issued on Arbitrum One and now also on Robinhood Chain.
- Real-world assetsReal-world assets (RWAs) are tokens that stand for a claim on something held off-chain, such as Treasury bills, shares, private credit or gold.
- HIP-3HIP-3 is a Hyperliquid upgrade that lets any builder that stakes HYPE list its own perp markets on Hyperliquid's order book, starting with stock perps.
- Stock perpsStock perps are perpetual futures on a stock or index that let you go long or short with leverage at any hour, without owning a share or a token.
- 24/7 markets24/7 markets trade every hour of every day, as crypto always has, while US stock exchanges close at night, on weekends and on market holidays.
- Pre-IPO perpsPre-IPO perps are perpetual futures on a private company such as OpenAI that trade before it lists, with no public share price for them to track.
- Stock token premiumA stock token premium is how far a tokenized stock trades above or below the share it tracks, after adjusting for how many shares one token stands for.
Prediction markets
- Prediction marketsPrediction markets are exchanges for contracts that pay $1 if an event happens, so the price reads as the crowd's odds on that event.
- PolymarketPolymarket is the largest crypto prediction market, where Yes or No shares on real events trade and the winning side redeems for $1.
- KalshiKalshi is a CFTC-regulated US exchange for event contracts: Yes or No positions that pay $1 if right, on CPI prints, Fed decisions, elections and sports.
- Implied probabilityImplied probability is the chance a market price suggests, so a 60 cent share that pays $1 if right implies about 60 percent.
- Event contractsEvent contracts pay a fixed amount if a named event happens and nothing if it does not, and every prediction market is built out of them.
Memecoins
- MemecoinA memecoin is a token priced on jokes and attention, with little or no product or cash flow behind it, so it is worth whatever the next buyer pays.
- The trenchesThe trenches is slang for trading brand-new on-chain memecoins minute by minute, mostly on Solana, and trenchers are the people who do it every day.
- Rug pullA rug pull is when a token's creators or insiders pull the liquidity or dump their supply, leaving everyone else holding a token nobody will buy.
- SnipingSniping is buying a token in the first block or first seconds after it goes live, almost always with a bot, to get the cheapest supply.
- DegenDegen is crypto slang for a trader who takes wild risks, like hour-old memecoins or extreme leverage, and for that style of trading itself.
- Memecoin launchpadA memecoin launchpad lets anyone create a token and trade it within seconds, usually on a bonding curve that graduates to a DEX pool once it fills.
- Zora coinsZora coins are tokens on Base made through Zora: a creator coin for each profile, a content coin for each post, and trend coins for topics.
- ClankerClanker is a token launcher, mostly on Base: tag @clanker in a Farcaster cast or use clanker.world, and it deploys an ERC-20 with its own Uniswap v4 pool.
- Honeypot tokenA honeypot token lets you buy but not sell: its contract blocks sales, or taxes them close to 100 percent, for everyone except the wallets it exempts.
Infrastructure
- HyperliquidHyperliquid is a layer 1 blockchain built for trading, with a fully on-chain order book for perps and spot plus the HyperEVM contract layer.
- HyperEVMHyperEVM is the Ethereum-compatible contract layer of Hyperliquid, chain ID 999, secured by the same HyperBFT consensus as its order books.
- Robinhood ChainRobinhood Chain is Robinhood's Ethereum layer 2, built on Arbitrum for tokenized assets such as Stock Tokens. Mainnet went live on July 1, 2026.
- BaseBase is Coinbase's Ethereum layer 2, chain ID 8453. Fees are paid in ETH and usually cost cents, and funds arrive from Coinbase as a plain withdrawal.
- Local-first softwareLocal-first software keeps the main copy of your data on your own device, so it works without an account or a server. Sync and sharing are optional.
- Market data APIA market data API is a service apps query for prices, volumes, order books and funding rates instead of collecting that data themselves.
- HIP-1HIP-1 is Hyperliquid's native token standard: capped-supply spot tokens that live in HyperCore and trade on its order books, starting with a USDC pair.
- HYPE stakingHYPE staking means delegating HYPE to the validators that secure Hyperliquid, in return for rewards, with a 1-day lockup and a 7-day unstaking queue.
- Arbitrum OrbitArbitrum Orbit, also called Arbitrum chains, lets a team launch its own chain on Arbitrum's Nitro stack, as an L2 on Ethereum or an L3 on Arbitrum One.
- OP StackThe OP Stack is Optimism's open-source code for running an Ethereum rollup. OP Mainnet runs on it, and so do Unichain, Ink, Soneium and World Chain.
Last reviewed . Market data in Cashboard comes from the providers named on each widget and may be delayed. Nothing here is financial advice.