Glossary
Whale
An entity holding enough of an asset to move its price.
A whale is an entity holding enough of an asset to move its price. On thin altcoin pairs, a single whale exit can cut the price in half.
Whale watching is popular because large wallets are visible on-chain. The caveat: visible accumulation may be an exchange's cold wallet, and visible selling may be a routine rebalance. On-chain data shows movement, not intent.
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.