the chart-reader's glossary

Learn to read the water

Crypto explained in plain language, no jargon for its own sake. Each term links to its neighbours, so the whole thing reads like a chart, not a dictionary.

What this page answers

Bathymark's crypto glossary explains liquidity, TVL, stablecoins, depegs, perps, DEXes, bridges, staking, gas, MEV, and other DeFi terms in plain language, with links to live market readings.

What liquidity means What TVL means Stablecoin peg monitor

crypto terms people search

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47plain-language terms

When someone searches what is TVL, what is liquidity in crypto, what are perps, what is a depeg, or how to tell if a bull run has real depth, this glossary gives the short answer and the live page behind it.

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At a glance

reading level: plain
advice: none
links: live pages

Breakdown

depth: 5
risk: 5
yield: 5
trading: 5

Token trust vocabulary

These are the recurring words Bathymark uses when it separates a product claim from public proof and exit risk.

Term	Plain meaning	Where it matters
TVL	Money currently sitting in an app, chain, or protocol.	/chains and /protocols
Liquidity depth	How much money can absorb trades or exits before prices move badly.	/waterline and /risk
Peg	A promised target price, usually one dollar.	/stablecoins
Peg stress	How far a token is trading from its promised target.	/stablecoins and /risk
Basis point	One-hundredth of one percent. 50 bps means 0.50%.	/stablecoins and /learn/basis-point
RWA	A token that points to a real-world asset claim, such as gold, Treasuries, credit, or a fund.	/rwa
Redemption	The route for turning the token back into cash or the underlying asset.	/products and /compare
Issuer claim	What the company says is true.	/products and /methodology
Observable data	What can be seen from public APIs, blockchains, markets, or documents.	/data-sources
Off-chain gap	The part that depends on banks, custodians, contracts, or private records.	/risk
Wrapper	A token layer around another asset, chain, fund, or legal claim.	/compare
Open interest	The amount of leveraged bets still open.	/perps
Funding rate	The fee one side of a leveraged market pays the other.	/perps
Token unlock	Previously locked tokens becoming available to sell or transfer.	/tide-table

LiquidityHow much can move before the price does.TVL (Total Value Locked)The dollar value of assets sitting inside a protocol.SlippageThe gap between the price you expected and the price you got.StablecoinA token that promises to always be worth one unit of something.RWA (Real-World Asset)A token that points to a claim on an asset outside crypto.Issuer ClaimWhat the company or product says the token represents.Observable DataWhat public sources, markets, or chains can actually show.Source FreshnessHow current the evidence behind a reading is.RedemptionTurning a token back into cash or the asset it claims to represent.Off-Chain GapThe part of a product that public chain data cannot prove.WrapperA token layer around another asset, chain, fund, or legal claim.Basis PointOne-hundredth of one percent.Peg StressHow far a token trades from its promised anchor.DepegWhen a stablecoin stops being worth its anchor.CollateralWhat you lock up to back a loan or a promise.LiquidationForced selling when collateral no longer covers a position.BridgeA way to move assets between blockchains.YieldThe return paid for putting capital to work.FeesWhat users actually pay to use a protocol.RevenueThe share of fees the protocol keeps.Market CapPrice times the supply in circulation.FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)Market cap if every future token already existed.DEX (Decentralised Exchange)A marketplace that runs as code, with no company in the middle.AMM (Automated Market Maker)A formula that prices trades against a pool.Impermanent LossThe cost of providing liquidity when prices move.LendingSupplying assets for others to borrow, at interest.Perpetuals (Perps)Leverage bets with no expiry, kept honest by funding.Open InterestThe amount of leveraged contracts still open.Funding RateThe fee one side of a perpetual market pays the other.Token UnlockPreviously locked tokens becoming available to sell or transfer.GasThe fee you pay to have a blockchain do work.BlockThe heartbeat of a blockchain.MempoolThe waiting room for unconfirmed transactions.MEV (Maximal Extractable Value)Profit from controlling the order of transactions.WalletYour keys, your account, your address on-chain.EOA (Externally Owned Account)A wallet controlled by a private key, not by code.Smart ContractA program that runs on a blockchain.OracleHow a blockchain learns the outside world's prices.StakingLocking tokens to help secure a network, for a reward.Liquid StakingStaking without locking your capital away.ValidatorA node that proposes and checks blocks.Layer 2 (L2)A faster, cheaper chain that settles to a base chain.RollupThe most common kind of Layer 2.AirdropFree tokens handed to past users.GovernanceHow a protocol's token holders make decisions.WhaleA holder large enough to move the water.DormancyHow long a holding has sat untouched.

sounding open dataReading the waterlineLive sources are loading. Nothing is filled with placeholder market data.