DAG: DAG stands for Directed Acyclic Graph, and it is an ever-important element within the structure of Ethereum mining. DAG is a dataset over 1GB in size that is used by all Ethash coins to find solutions along the blockchain.

dApp: Shorthand for “decentralized application”

DAO: Acronym for “Decentralized Autonomous Organisation”. A DAO is founded upon and governed by a set of computer-defined rules and blockchain-based smart contracts.

DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging): An investment strategy using a fixed amount of dollars (or any other currency) to buy an asset at regular intervals. For bitcoin investing, this means buying BTC with a fixed amount of fiat currency at regular intervals, regardless of what the price is at any given interval.

Dead Cat Bounce: A temporary recovery in prices after a prolonged decrease.

Dead Coin: A cryptocurrency that is no longer in existence.

DeFi: DeFi is short for “decentralized finance,” it is umbrella term for a variety of financial applications in cryptocurrency or blockchain geared toward disrupting financial intermediaries.

Decentralized: Decentralization refers to the property of a system in which nodes or actors work in concert in a distributed fashion to achieve a common goal.

Decryption: The process of transforming encrypted data back into a format that is readable by a user or machine.

Derivative: A financial instrument deriving its value from the value of an underlying asset.

DEX (Decentralized Exchange): A cryptocurrency exchange where people can trade cryptocurrencies without a central company (exchange). These are usually run by a smart contract and can ensure that nobody besides yourself holds the private keys to the funds being traded. e.g. Bisq, PancakeSwap, SushiSwap, UniSwap.

Diamond Hands: Diamond Hands is a popular term on social media platforms. It refers to people who hold their coins even if their portfolio drops in value by more than 20%.

Difficulty: Difficulty in the cryptocurrency space refers to the cost of mining in that moment in time. The more transactions that are trying to be confirmed at any single moment in time, divided by the total power of the Nodes on the network at that time, defines the difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the greater the transaction fee.

Digital Commodity: A commodity that exists digitally, as opposed to in “meatspace.”

Digital Currency: A currency that exists only in digital form, as opposed to traditional physical currencies.

Digital Identity: Information used by a person or entity to identify themselves to a computer or network.

Digital Signature: A method for proving the authenticity of a digital communication.

Dip: A dip is when markets experience a short or protracted downturn.

Distributed Consensus: Collective agreement reached among nodes in a network.

Distributed Ledger: A ledger that is stored in multiple locations so that any entries can be accessed and checked by multiple parties. In cryptocurrency, this refers to the blockchain being held on multiple Nodes on the network, all of which are checked simultaneousl

Dolphin: Someone with a moderate holding of cryptocurrency.

Dorian Nakamoto: Dorian Nakamoto is a Japanese-American physicist who some believe to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

Double Spend: This is when a malicious actor tries to send their bitcoins to 2 or more different recipients at the same time, this is double spending. Bitcoin mining and the blockchain are used to create a consensus on the network about which of the two transactions will confirm and be considered valid, thus avoiding a double spend.

Dump: A sudden sell-off of digital assets.

Dumping: A collective market sell-off that occurs when large quantities of a particular cryptocurrency are sold in a short period of time.

Dust Transactions: Miniscule amounts of Bitcoin in a wallet — with a value that would be outweighed by the cost of a transaction fee.

Dusting Attack: An attack that aims to uncover the identity of a wallet’s owner, information that can subsequently be used in phishing scams.

DYOR: Short for “Do Your Own Research”, and is defined as the process of doing research before making an investment in a cryptocurrency.

Glossary written by Stephen Whitelaw (https://bringbackmycrypto.com)