Memecoin glossary: from CA to rug pull
The most common terms from X, Telegram and the trenches in plain language.
Key takeaways
- CA is the contract address, the token's real identity
- MC is price times circulating supply, not money in the pool
- Rug pulls and honeypots are the two most common scams
- A KOL is an influential account, often paid to promote
Token and market[1][2]
You will see these terms on every chart and in every post about a new token. Understanding them precisely matters, because risk assessment depends on them.
- CA (contract address): the token's contract or mint address
- Ticker: a short symbol such as BONK, which is not unique
- MC (market cap): price times circulating supply
- FDV: price times total supply
- LP (liquidity pool): the pool swaps execute against
- ATH: the token's all-time high price
- Volume: the value traded over a period
Launch and token lifecycle[3]
Launchpad vocabulary describes the phase in which a token is still on its bonding curve and fighting for liquidity.
- Bonding curve: the pricing curve before migration to a DEX
- Migration or graduation: moving the token into a DEX pool
- Dev: the token creator
- Sniper: a bot that buys in the first seconds
- Bundle: many wallets buying in one transaction or block
- CTO (community takeover): the community adopts an abandoned token
- LP burn: burning LP tokens so nobody can pull liquidity
Scams and threats
Knowing these names is mainly about recognizing the situation before you lose money.
- Rug pull: the creator removes liquidity or dumps a large allocation
- Honeypot: a token you can buy but cannot sell
- Drainer: a site that empties the wallet after a signature
- Pump and dump: coordinated promotion followed by selling
- Wash trading: artificial volume from the trader's own wallets
- Impersonation: a fake account or token copying a known brand
Trenches slang
The memecoin community has its own language. These words come up in every discussion on X and Telegram.
- Trenches: the riskiest part of the market, with brand-new tokens
- Degen: a trader taking very high risk
- Ape: to buy fast without analysis
- Jeet: someone who sells at the first gain
- Diamond hands: holding through drawdowns
- KOL: an influential account, often paid to promote
- CT (Crypto Twitter): the crypto community on X
- DYOR: do your own research
- NFA: not financial advice
Sources
Primary material used to verify the information. A number beside a section points to the related source. A link is not an endorsement of the asset discussed.