Glossary
DeFi
Decentralized Finance — lending, trading and earning rebuilt on smart contracts without banks.
Decentralised finance rebuilds lending, trading, and earning on smart contracts. Instead of a bank deciding your rate, a pool of code sets it based on supply and demand.
The appeal is access and transparency — anyone can audit the contract, and no one can freeze your position. The cost is that bugs are permanent, exploits are common, and there is no support line when something breaks.
Related terms
Airdrop
Free tokens distributed to wallet addresses, usually to reward early users of a protocol.
AMM
Automated Market Maker — a protocol that prices assets with a formula instead of an order book.
APR vs APY
APR is the yearly rate without compounding; APY includes compounding and is always higher.
ATH
All-Time High — the highest price an asset has ever traded at.
Bear Market
A prolonged decline, conventionally 20% or more from recent highs.
Bull Market
A prolonged rise driven by new demand, easy credit and rising confidence.