Web3 Glossary
AMM
Automated Market Maker. A type of DEX that uses liquidity pools and a math formula instead of an order book. Uniswap and Raydium are classic AMMs.
Bridge
A tool that moves assets from one blockchain to another, usually by locking the asset on chain A and minting a representation on chain B.
DEX Aggregator
A router that splits your trade across multiple DEXs and pools to find the best overall price, accounting for slippage, gas, and fees.
Funding Rate
A periodic payment between long and short traders on a perpetual contract. It nudges the perp price back toward the spot price.
Gas
The fee paid to a blockchain network to process your transaction. On Ethereum it's paid in ETH; on Solana in SOL. Gas rises when the network is busy.
Gwei
A tiny denomination of ETH used to price gas. 1 ETH = 1,000,000,000 gwei. Gas prices are usually quoted in gwei (e.g. '20 gwei').
Liquidation
When a leveraged position is force-closed because the collateral can no longer cover potential losses. The trader loses the posted margin.
Liquidity Pool
A smart contract holding two or more tokens that traders swap against. Liquidity providers (LPs) deposit tokens and earn a share of the swap fees.
MEV
Maximal Extractable Value. Profit that can be extracted by reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions in a block. Often shows up as front-running or sandwich attacks.
Perpetual Futures
A leveraged derivative contract with no expiry date. Funding rate payments keep its price tethered to the spot market.
Private Key
The secret string that proves you own a wallet address and lets you sign transactions. Your seed phrase generates and recovers it.
Rug Pull
A scam where a project's creators drain the liquidity or token supply and disappear. Common in unaudited memecoins.
Seed Phrase
A 12 or 24-word backup that can recreate your entire wallet. Anyone with it controls your funds — never share or photograph it.
Slippage
The difference between the price you expected and the price you actually got. Common in fast markets or thin liquidity. Most apps let you set a max slippage tolerance.
Smart Contract
Code deployed to a blockchain that runs automatically when called. It powers swaps, lending, NFTs, and almost every Web3 app.
Stablecoin
A crypto token designed to track the value of a real-world asset, usually the US dollar. Examples: USDC, USDT, DAI.
TEST-DO-NOT-USE
Temporary test entry - will be deleted
TVL
Total Value Locked — the dollar value of assets deposited in a protocol's smart contracts. A rough measure of trust and traction.