Glossary
The hundred most common crypto terms, each explained briefly with its Icelandic name.
A
- Aave (AAVE)A decentralised lending service on the blockchain where people deposit crypto to earn interest or borrow against collateral. AAVE is its governance token.
- AirdropWhen a project sends free tokens straight to people's wallets, often to promote itself, though fake airdrops are also a common scam.
- All-time high (ATH)In Icelandic: Sögulegt hámark (ATH)The highest price a coin or other asset has ever reached.
- All-time low (ATL)In Icelandic: Sögulegt lágmark (ATL)The lowest price a coin or other asset has ever been recorded at.
- AltcoinA catch-all term for every cryptocurrency other than bitcoin, short for "alternative coin".
- Anti-money laundering (AML)In Icelandic: Peningaþvættisvarnir (AML)Rules and measures meant to stop the financial system, including crypto, from being used for money laundering or terrorist financing.
- Asset-referenced token (ART)In Icelandic: Eignatengdur tóki (ART)A crypto-asset that aims to keep a stable value by referencing other assets or a mix of them, such as several currencies, gold or other crypto-assets.
- Automated market maker (AMM)In Icelandic: Sjálfvirkur viðskiptavaki (AMM)A smart contract that prices tokens on a decentralised exchange with a fixed formula, based on how much of each token sits in the pool.
- Avalanche (AVAX)A blockchain where transactions become final in about a second and anyone can launch their own chain. AVAX is its cryptocurrency.
B
- Bear marketIn Icelandic: BjarnarmarkaðurA long period when market prices mostly fall and investors are pessimistic.
- Beneficial ownerIn Icelandic: Raunverulegur eigandiThe individual who ultimately owns or controls a company, for example through a stake of more than 25%, held directly or through other companies.
- BitcoinThe first and largest cryptocurrency: a digital currency that no single party controls, with a fixed limit of 21 million coins.
- Bitcoin dominanceIn Icelandic: Yfirburðir bitcoinBitcoin's share of the combined market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies, given as a percentage.
- BlockIn Icelandic: BálkurA batch of transactions added to a blockchain in one go, together with a reference to the block before it.
- Block explorerIn Icelandic: BálkakönnuðurA website where anyone can look up transactions, wallet addresses and blocks on a blockchain.
- Block rewardIn Icelandic: BálkaumbunWhat a miner receives for adding a block to the chain: newly created bitcoin plus the network fees in the block.
- BlockchainIn Icelandic: BálkakeðjaA public ledger where transactions are grouped into blocks, each linked to the one before, so past records can't be altered without it showing.
- Blockchain networkIn Icelandic: NetkerfiThe blockchain a cryptocurrency or token is recorded and sent on, such as the Bitcoin network or the Ethereum network.
- Borrow APRIn Icelandic: LántökuvextirThe interest you pay on a loan from a DeFi lending service. It is usually variable and depends on supply and demand.
- BridgeIn Icelandic: BrúA service that moves crypto or tokens between two blockchain networks, usually by locking the asset on one network and issuing an equivalent on the other.
- Bull marketIn Icelandic: NautamarkaðurA long period when market prices mostly rise and investors are optimistic.
C
- Capital gainsIn Icelandic: SöluhagnaðurThe profit from selling an asset for more than it cost you; for individuals in Iceland, gains on crypto are taxed as capital income.
- Capital incomeIn Icelandic: FjármagnstekjurIncome that individuals earn from assets, such as interest, dividends and capital gains. Gains from selling crypto count as capital income.
- Cardano (ADA)A blockchain that uses proof of stake and is built on peer-reviewed research. Its currency is ADA, and there will never be more than 45 billion of it.
- CASP (crypto-asset service provider)In Icelandic: CASP (þjónustuveitandi sýndareigna)A company licensed under MiCA to provide crypto-asset services, such as buying, selling, custody or transfers.
- Central bank digital currency (CBDC)In Icelandic: Stafrænn seðlabankagjaldmiðill (CBDC)Digital money issued directly by a central bank, the electronic equivalent of banknotes and coins.
- Centralised exchange (CEX)In Icelandic: Miðlæg kauphöll (CEX)A crypto exchange run by a company that carries out the trades and holds the crypto on behalf of its customers.
- Chainlink (LINK)A network of oracles that bring outside information, such as prices, into smart contracts. LINK is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, with 1 billion in total.
- Circulating supplyIn Icelandic: Framboð í umferðHow many units of a cryptocurrency already exist and are in holders' hands, the figure used to calculate its market capitalisation.
- Cold walletIn Icelandic: Kalt veskiA way of storing the keys to your crypto completely offline, so hackers on the internet can't reach them.
- CollateralIn Icelandic: VeðAn asset pledged as security for a loan. In DeFi, the collateral usually has to be worth more than the loan.
- ConfirmationIn Icelandic: StaðfestingA sign that a transaction has been included in a block; each new block added on top counts as one more confirmation and makes it more secure.
- Consensus mechanismIn Icelandic: SamstöðuaðferðThe rules that let thousands of computers agree on a single version of a blockchain without trusting any one party.
- Cost basisIn Icelandic: StofnverðWhat an asset cost you, meaning the purchase price plus commission. A capital gain is the sale price minus the cost basis.
- Crypto exchangeIn Icelandic: RafmyntamiðlunA company or platform where you buy, sell and swap crypto, for example with krónur.
- Crypto walletIn Icelandic: RafmyntaveskiAn app or device that holds the keys to your crypto and lets you receive, store and send it.
- Crypto-assetIn Icelandic: SýndareignThe legal term for cryptocurrencies and tokens, meaning a digital representation of value or rights that can be transferred and stored on a blockchain.
- CryptocurrencyIn Icelandic: RafmyntA digital currency secured by cryptography and recorded on a shared ledger, with no bank or government issuing or controlling it.
- CryptographyIn Icelandic: DulritunMathematical methods that protect information and prove who sent it, forming the basis of security in crypto.
- Custodial walletIn Icelandic: VörsluveskiA crypto wallet where a company holds the private keys for you, so you don't have to look after keys or a seed phrase.
- CustodianIn Icelandic: VörsluaðiliA company that holds crypto and the keys to it on behalf of customers, such as a licensed crypto exchange.
D
- DAOAn organisation run by rules in smart contracts, where token holders vote on decisions instead of a board or chief executive.
- dApp (decentralised app)In Icelandic: dApp (dreifstýrt forrit)An app that runs on smart contracts on a blockchain instead of one company's servers, such as a decentralised exchange or lending service.
- DecentralisationIn Icelandic: DreifstýringWhen power and responsibility are spread across many participants, instead of one bank, company or government controlling a system.
- Decentralised exchange (DEX)In Icelandic: Dreifstýrð kauphöll (DEX)An exchange run by smart contracts, where people swap crypto straight from their own wallets with no company in the middle.
- DeFi (decentralised finance)In Icelandic: DeFi (dreifstýrð fjármál)Financial services, such as lending, saving and trading, that run on smart contracts on a blockchain instead of through a bank or other middleman.
- DerivativesIn Icelandic: AfleiðurContracts whose value comes from another asset, such as shares, a currency or a cryptocurrency.
- Distributed ledgerIn Icelandic: Dreifð færsluskráA ledger that many computers hold at the same time and keep in sync under shared rules, with no single party holding the master copy.
- DiversificationIn Icelandic: ÁhættudreifingSpreading your money across different assets so that a fall in one of them has less effect on the whole.
- Dogecoin (DOGE)A cryptocurrency created as a joke in 2013, with a Shiba Inu dog from a meme as its logo, and with no maximum supply.
- Dollar-cost averaging (DCA)Buying the same amount at regular intervals, for example monthly, instead of investing everything at once.
- Double spendingIn Icelandic: TvíeyðslaSpending the same digital money twice; the problem Bitcoin was the first system to solve without a bank or other middleman.
E
- E-money token (EMT)In Icelandic: Rafeyristóki (EMT)A stablecoin that tracks a single official currency, such as the dollar or the euro. Under MiCA, only banks and e-money institutions may issue one.
- ERC-20A standard for tokens on the Ethereum network that lets every wallet and service receive and send them in the same way.
- Ether (ETH)The currency of the Ethereum network, used to pay network fees, as a stake under proof of stake and to send value between people.
- EthereumAn open blockchain that can run applications and smart contracts, with its own cryptocurrency called ether (ETH).
- Exchange-traded fund (ETF)In Icelandic: Kauphallarsjóður (ETF)A fund traded on a stock exchange like an ordinary share, which can for example track the price of bitcoin.
F
- Fiat currencyIn Icelandic: Fiat-gjaldmiðillGovernment-issued money whose value rests on law and trust rather than gold, like the Icelandic króna.
- Flash loanA loan with no collateral that is borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction. If it isn't repaid, the whole transaction is undone.
- FOMOThe fear of missing out, which pushes people to buy in a hurry when prices rise fast, often close to the top.
- ForkIn Icelandic: KvíslunA change to a blockchain's rules; if not every node follows the change, the chain can split into two separate chains, each with its own coin.
- FUDFear, uncertainty and doubt: negative news or rumours, true or not, that make people want to sell.
- Funding rateA rate that sets the regular payments between long and short positions in perpetual futures.
G
- GasThe unit that measures the computing work a transaction or smart contract needs on Ethereum, which sets how high the network fee is.
- Genesis blockIn Icelandic: UpphafsbálkurThe first block in a blockchain; Bitcoin's genesis block was created on 3 January 2009 and contains a headline from The Times.
- Governance tokenIn Icelandic: StjórnunartókiA token that gives voting rights over a DeFi service's rules and treasury. It is not a share and gives no ownership stake or right to dividends.
H
- HalvingIn Icelandic: HelmingunThe event roughly every four years when the number of new bitcoin that miners receive for each block is cut in half.
- Hardware walletIn Icelandic: VélbúnaðarveskiA small device that keeps private keys offline and signs transactions inside the device, so the keys never reach your computer or phone.
- HashIn Icelandic: TætigildiA short fingerprint calculated from data, which changes completely if the data is altered by even a single character.
- Hash functionIn Icelandic: TætifallA mathematical function that turns data of any size into a short fingerprint of fixed length, called a hash.
- HashrateIn Icelandic: ReiknigetaThe total number of guesses a network's mining computers make each second, and a measure of how well the network is protected from attack.
- Health factorA number that shows how well the collateral covers a DeFi loan. If it falls below 1, part of the collateral can be sold to repay the debt.
- Hedera (HBAR)A network for payments, tokens and smart contracts built on hashgraph rather than a blockchain. Its currency is HBAR, and a council of companies governs it.
- HODLCrypto slang for holding on to your crypto for the long term instead of selling when the price swings.
- Hot walletIn Icelandic: Heitt veskiA crypto wallet on an internet-connected device such as a phone or computer, convenient for everyday use but more exposed to attacks.
- Hyperliquid (HYPE)A blockchain built for trading, best known for its exchange for perpetual futures. HYPE is the network's token.
I
- Impermanent lossThe loss that occurs when token prices in a liquidity pool move apart, leaving your share worth less than if you had simply held the tokens.
- InflationIn Icelandic: VerðbólgaA general rise in prices over time, which means each króna buys less than before.
- Investment scamIn Icelandic: FjárfestingasvikA scam that promises big, safe returns on an investment, often in crypto, while the scammers simply take the money paid in.
K
L
- Layer 1In Icelandic: Grunnlag (layer 1)The base network itself, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, which records transactions and settles them for good on its own blockchain.
- Layer 2In Icelandic: Lag 2 (layer 2)A system built on top of a blockchain such as Ethereum or Bitcoin to make transactions faster and cheaper than on the base network itself.
- LeverageIn Icelandic: SkuldsetningTrading with borrowed money, which multiplies both gains and losses and can wipe out your whole stake in a short time.
- Lightning NetworkIn Icelandic: LeifturnetiðA payment network on top of Bitcoin that makes bitcoin payments almost instant and cheap, without recording each payment on the blockchain.
- Liquid stakingStaking where you receive a token as a receipt for your stake. The token can be sold or used while the crypto itself stays locked.
- LiquidationIn Icelandic: Þvinguð salaWhen a loan or leveraged position is closed automatically because the collateral or margin no longer covers the debt.
- Liquidation priceIn Icelandic: Verð við þvingaða söluThe price of a crypto at which a loan or leveraged position is closed automatically. The closer it is to the current price, the higher the risk.
- LiquidityIn Icelandic: SeljanleikiHow easily an asset can be bought or sold quickly at a fair price, without the trade moving the price much.
- Liquidity poolA shared pot of tokens held in a smart contract, which people trade against on decentralised exchanges. Those who fund it earn a share of the fees.
- Loan-to-value ratio (LTV)In Icelandic: Veðhlutfall (LTV)The size of a loan as a share of the value of its collateral. The maximum LTV sets how much you can borrow against it.
M
- Market capitalisationIn Icelandic: MarkaðsvirðiThe total value of all units of a coin in circulation, calculated as the price of one unit times the number of units.
- Maximum supplyIn Icelandic: HámarksframboðThe largest number of units of a cryptocurrency that can ever exist under its rules, such as 21 million for bitcoin.
- MemecoinA cryptocurrency born from an internet joke or meme, usually with little or no practical use, whose price rests almost entirely on hype.
- MempoolThe holding area where unconfirmed transactions wait to get into a block; every node on the network keeps its own.
- MiCAThe EU regulation on markets in crypto-assets, in force in Iceland since 1 January 2026, which sets the same rules for crypto services across the EEA.
- MiningIn Icelandic: NámuvinnslaThe process in which computers compete to solve a puzzle so they can add the next block to the blockchain and earn new bitcoin and fees.
- Mining difficultyIn Icelandic: ErfiðleikastigA measure of how hard it is to find a new block; Bitcoin adjusts it every 2,016 blocks so that blocks are found about every ten minutes on average.
- MPC (multi-party computation)In Icelandic: MPC (fjölaðilaútreikningur)A technique that splits a private key into shares on separate systems, so transactions are signed jointly without the full key existing anywhere.
- MultisigIn Icelandic: Fjölundirskrift (multisig)A wallet set-up that needs signatures from more than one key before crypto can be sent, for example two out of three.
N
- Network feeIn Icelandic: FærslugjaldA fee paid to a crypto network, not to a bank or company, for including your transaction in a block.
- NFT (non-fungible token)In Icelandic: NFTA unique token on a blockchain that records who owns a specific item, such as a piece of digital art, a ticket or an item in a game.
- NodeIn Icelandic: NóðaA computer that runs a crypto network's software, keeps a copy of the blockchain and checks that new transactions and blocks follow the rules.
- Not your keys, not your coinsA crypto saying meaning that if you don't hold the private keys to your crypto, you don't fully control it.
O
- Open sourceIn Icelandic: Opinn hugbúnaðurSoftware whose source code is open to everyone, so anyone may read it, use it, change it and share it.
- OracleIn Icelandic: VéfréttA service that brings outside information, such as prices or weather data, into smart contracts on a blockchain.
- Order bookIn Icelandic: TilboðabókA list of all open buy and sell orders for an asset, sorted by price. A trade happens when a buy order and a sell order meet.
P
- Perpetual futures (perps)In Icelandic: Ótímabundinn framvirkur samningurA derivative with no expiry date that tracks the price of a crypto. Regular payments keep it close to the market price, and it allows leverage.
- PhishingIn Icelandic: VefveiðarA scam where criminals pretend to be a trusted company or authority to get you to hand over passwords, card details or your seed phrase.
- Polkadot (DOT)A network that connects specialised blockchains, known as parachains, which share security. DOT is the network's cryptocurrency.
- Ponzi schemeIn Icelandic: SvikamyllaA fraud that pays earlier investors with money from new investors, while no real business generates any profit.
- Private keyIn Icelandic: EinkalykillA secret number that proves you own the crypto in your wallet. Whoever holds the private key controls the crypto.
- Proof of stakeA consensus method where crypto is locked up as a stake for the right to create blocks, and anyone who cheats can lose part of that stake.
- Proof of workA consensus method where the right to add the next block to a blockchain goes to whoever first solves a hard computing puzzle.
- Public keyIn Icelandic: DreifilykillA key calculated from your private key that others use to verify your signatures, and that is safe to share.
- Pump and dumpA scam in which the price of a small coin is hyped up so the organisers can sell high and leave others with the losses.
R
S
- Satoshi (sats)The smallest unit of bitcoin: one satoshi is one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin, or 0.00000001 BTC.
- Satoshi NakamotoThe pseudonym of Bitcoin's creator, who published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008, launched the network in 2009 and disappeared soon after.
- Seed phraseIn Icelandic: EndurheimtarorðA list of 12 or 24 words that backs up every key in your wallet, so whoever has the words can restore the wallet and take the crypto.
- SegWit and TaprootIn Icelandic: SegWit og TaprootTwo Bitcoin upgrades, from 2017 and 2021, that lowered fees, improved privacy and gave users wallet addresses starting with bc1.
- Self-custodyIn Icelandic: Eigin varslaHolding the private keys to your crypto in your own wallet, so nobody else controls it but all the responsibility for the keys is yours.
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)A memecoin token on the Ethereum network from 2020, named after the same dog breed that features in Dogecoin's logo.
- Short sellingIn Icelandic: SkortsalaSelling an asset you don't own in the hope of buying it back for less. A short seller profits if the price falls.
- SIM swapIn Icelandic: SIM-skiptiWhen a scammer gets your phone number moved to a new SIM card so they receive your SMS codes and can break into your accounts.
- SlashingA penalty on proof-of-stake networks. A validator that breaks the rules loses part of its stake and is removed from the network.
- SlippageIn Icelandic: VerðskriðThe difference between the price you expected and the price your trade was actually carried out at.
- Smart contractIn Icelandic: SnjallsamningurA program that runs on a blockchain and automatically carries out what it was written to do once certain conditions are met.
- Social engineeringWhen scammers manipulate people, rather than hacking computer systems, to get them to reveal information or send money.
- Solana (SOL)A blockchain designed for fast, low-cost transactions. SOL is the network's cryptocurrency, used for network fees and staking.
- SpreadIn Icelandic: VerðbilThe difference between the buying and selling price of the same asset at the same time, often used to charge for crypto trades.
- StablecoinIn Icelandic: StöðugleikamyntA cryptocurrency designed to keep a steady price, usually by tracking the US dollar or another currency.
- StakingLocking up crypto on a proof-of-stake network to help confirm transactions, in return for rewards paid in the same crypto.
- Store of valueIn Icelandic: VerðmætageymslaAn asset that keeps its purchasing power over a long time, so it can be saved now and used later, as gold has done for centuries.
- Sui (SUI)A blockchain that stores everything as separate objects, so many transactions can run at the same time. SUI is its cryptocurrency.
- Supply APYIn Icelandic: InnlánsvextirThe return you earn for depositing crypto in a DeFi lending service. It comes from the interest borrowers pay and it varies.
T
- Tax returnIn Icelandic: SkattframtalThe yearly report to Skatturinn on last year's income and your assets and debts at year end. Crypto must be declared, even if you sold nothing.
- TokenIn Icelandic: TókiA digital asset created with a smart contract on another cryptocurrency's blockchain, rather than on a blockchain of its own.
- Tokenisation (RWA)In Icelandic: Táknvæðing (RWA)When an asset outside the blockchain, such as a government bond, gold or property, is issued as a token that can be held and sent on a blockchain.
- TokenomicsIn Icelandic: TókenomíkThe rules for a cryptocurrency's or token's supply, issuance and distribution, and what it is used for.
- Total supplyIn Icelandic: HeildarframboðHow many units of a cryptocurrency already exist, whether in circulation or still locked, minus any that have been destroyed.
- Total value locked (TVL)The total value of crypto that users have deposited in a DeFi service's smart contracts. A common yardstick for its size.
- Trading volumeIn Icelandic: ViðskiptamagnThe total value of all trades in a particular coin over a set period, usually the last 24 hours.
- TransactionIn Icelandic: FærslaA record of crypto moving from one wallet address to another, signed with the sender's private key and stored permanently on the blockchain.
- Transaction ID (TXID)In Icelandic: Færsluauðkenni (TXID)The unique identifier of a transaction, a long string of letters and numbers that anyone can look up in a block explorer.
- Travel ruleIn Icelandic: FerðareglanA rule requiring crypto-asset service providers to send information about the sender and recipient with every crypto transfer.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)In Icelandic: Tvíþætt auðkenningA login that needs two different proofs of who you are, such as a password and a code from an app, so a stolen password isn't enough.
U
- USDCA stablecoin issued by the US company Circle that tracks the US dollar, so one USDC should always be worth about one dollar.
- Utilisation rateIn Icelandic: NýtingarhlutfallThe share of the money in a lending pool that is lent out. A high utilisation rate pushes rates up and can delay withdrawals.
- UTXOAn unspent amount from an earlier transaction; Bitcoin tracks what people own as a collection of these, like notes in a wallet, rather than as one balance.
V
W
- Wallet addressIn Icelandic: VeskisfangA string of letters and numbers you give out to receive crypto, much like a bank account number.
- Web3The idea of an internet where users own their data and assets through blockchains and crypto, instead of large tech companies.
- WhaleIn Icelandic: HvalurSomeone who holds so much of a particular coin that their buying or selling can move the price.
- WhitepaperIn Icelandic: HvítbókA document in which the creators of a cryptocurrency or project describe how it works, what it is for and which rules apply to it.
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Everything in Myntkaup Learn is written and regularly reviewed by the Myntkaup editorial team. It is for education and is not investment advice. Editorial policy.