Crypto glossary.

Know-Your-Customer — exchanges verify your government ID before letting you withdraw.

Learn more: You may need to upload an ID; rewards are forfeit if your country blocks the exchange.

Centralized Exchange — a company-run trading venue (Binance, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, MEXC).

Learn more: Custodial: your coins live in their wallet; convenient but trust the operator.

Decentralized Exchange — on-chain smart contracts swap tokens (Uniswap, Jupiter).

Learn more: You hold your own keys; trades are on-chain, fees vary with gas.

Decentralized Finance — open-source protocols replacing banks/exchanges with on-chain code.

Learn more: Higher yields, but smart-contract bugs or exploits can wipe deposits.

Free tokens distributed to qualifying users, often as a marketing or governance launch.

Learn more: Eligibility is usually retroactive — your past activity decides if you get tokens.

Returns earned by lending, staking, or supplying liquidity in DeFi.

Learn more: Quoted as APY; figures are forward-looking estimates, not guarantees.

Locking tokens to secure a network in exchange for protocol rewards.

Learn more: Funds may be locked for days or weeks; price drops still apply during the lock.

Annual Percentage Yield — compounded annual return.

Learn more: A 10% APY on $1000 means roughly $100 over a year if the rate holds.

Proof of Reserves — exchange publishes Merkle-tree proofs that user deposits are backed 1:1.

Learn more: Stronger PoR = lower exchange-bankruptcy risk for your deposits.

Buying or selling the actual token at the current market price (no leverage).

Learn more: You own the asset; no liquidation risk from price movement.

Leveraged contracts that bet on future price; typically perpetual on crypto exchanges.

Learn more: Liquidation risk if price moves against you; high reward, high loss potential.

Stake one token to earn newly-listed tokens during their initial offering window.

Learn more: Free tokens, but listing-day price can crash; sell early or hold long-term.

Liquidity Pool / Liquidity Provider — deposit a pair to enable swaps, earn fee share.

Learn more: Watch impermanent loss: if one side of the pair pumps, you end up holding less of it.

Decentralized perpetual-futures exchange (Hyperliquid, dYdX, GMX).

Learn more: On-chain leverage; market-makers may earn fee rebates by posting orders.

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure — networks that pay you for sharing bandwidth, GPUs, etc.

Learn more: Earn passive tokens by running a node; check device wear and electricity vs reward.

Maker = posts an order that adds liquidity; Taker = fills an existing order.

Learn more: Maker fees are usually lower (sometimes negative — a rebate); takers pay more.