Trading glossary

DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) Definition: A directed acyclic graph is a data structure made of records that point to earlier records in one direction only, so no path ever loops back to where it sta... Dai (DAI) Dai Definition: Dai (DAI) is a decentralized stablecoin created by MakerDAO protocol, pegged to US Dollar through cryptocurrency overcollateralization rather than centralized reserve backing. Users... Danksharding Danksharding Definition: Danksharding is Ethereum's scaling design that adds large, temporary data packets called blobs to each block, giving rollups a cheap place to publish their transaction data... DAO DAO Definition: A DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is a blockchain-based organization governed by smart contracts and token holder voting rather than traditional management structures, e... Dark Pool Dark Pool Definition: A dark pool is a private trading venue where large institutional orders can be matched without revealing pre-trade information (price quotes and order sizes) to the broader ma... DAX 40 DAX 40 Definition: The DAX 40 is Germany's benchmark stock index, tracking the 40 largest companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, weighted by the market value of their freely tradable sha... DAX Index DAX Index Definition: The DAX (Deutscher Aktienindex) is Germany's premier stock market index, tracking the performance of the 40 largest and most liquid companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exc... Day Trading Day Trading Definition: Day trading is a short-term trading style where positions are opened and closed within the same trading day, capturing intraday price movements while avoiding overnight risk... DDoS Attack DDoS Attack Definition: A DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack is an attempt to make a website, server or network unavailable by flooding it with traffic from many compromised devices at onc... Dead Cat Bounce Dead Cat Bounce Definition: A dead cat bounce is a brief, temporary price recovery in a declining asset that occurs after a sharp drop, followed by a continuation of the downtrend. The name reflect... Dealer Dealer Definition: A dealer is a financial market participant that trades on its own account, taking the opposing side of client transactions rather than simply acting as an agent. When a dealer qu... Death Cross Death Cross Definition: A death cross is a bearish technical pattern that occurs when an asset's shorter-term moving average crosses below its longer-term moving average — most commonly the 50-day ... Debt-to-GDP Ratio Debt-to-GDP Ratio Definition: The debt-to-GDP ratio is a country's total government debt divided by its gross domestic product for one year, expressed as a percentage. A ratio of 100% means the gov... Decentraland (MANA) Decentraland (MANA) Definition: Decentraland is a virtual world built on Ethereum in which users buy, build on and trade digital land parcels, each recorded as a non-fungible token called LAND. MAN... Decentralization Decentralization Definition: Decentralization is the distribution of authority, decision-making, and operational control across many independent participants rather than concentrating those functio... Decentralized Application Decentralized Application (dApp) Definition: A decentralized application (dApp) is a software application whose backend logic runs on a blockchain or peer-to-peer network rather than on servers con... Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Definition: A Decentralized Exchange (DEX) is a cryptocurrency trading platform that operates through smart contracts on a blockchain, enabling peer-to-peer asset tradi... Decoupling Decoupling Definition: Decoupling is the phenomenon where two previously correlated assets or markets begin moving independently, typically driven by shifts in underlying fundamental drivers or str... Default Default Definition: A default is a borrower's failure to meet the legal terms of a debt, most often by missing a scheduled payment of interest or principal once any grace period has expired. Defaul... DeFi (Decentralized Finance) DeFi (Decentralized Finance) Definition: DeFi refers to financial services built on public blockchain networks that operate through smart contracts without traditional intermediaries like banks, br... Deflation Deflation Definition: Deflation is a sustained decline in the general price level of goods and services, which means the inflation rate falls below 0%. Each unit of money buys more over time, but t... Degen Degen Definition: Degen, short for "degenerate gambler," is crypto slang for a trader who takes extreme risks in pursuit of outsized returns, typically through meme coins, high leverage or newly la... Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) Definition: Delegated Proof of Stake is a blockchain consensus mechanism where token holders vote to elect a small group of delegates (typically 21 to 101 validators... Deleveraging Deleveraging Definition: Deleveraging is the process of reducing debt relative to assets, equity or income, by repaying loans, selling assets or raising new capital. In markets it often happens thr... Delisting Delisting Definition: Delisting is the removal of a security or cryptocurrency from a trading platform or exchange, after which it can no longer be bought or sold on that venue. In traditional equi... Delta in Trading Delta in Trading Definition: Delta is a measure of how much an option's price changes for every $1 move in the price of the underlying asset. It ranges from 0 to 1 for call options and 0 to -1 for ... Depeg Depeg Definition: A depeg is an event in which a stablecoin or other pegged token trades away from the fixed value it is designed to hold, such as $1 per coin. It happens when holders doubt that th... Depression Depression Definition: A depression is a severe and prolonged economic downturn in which output, employment and prices fall far more and for far longer than in a normal recession. A common rule of ... Derivative Derivative Definition: A derivative is a financial contract whose value is derived from the price of an underlying asset — such as a stock, currency, commodity, or cryptocurrency — rather than from... Derivatives Market Derivatives Market Definition: The derivatives market is the global marketplace where financial contracts whose value is derived from underlying assets — including stocks, bonds, currencies, commod... Descending Triangle Descending Triangle Definition: A Descending Triangle is a bearish continuation chart pattern formed when price action creates a horizontal support line (representing consistent demand at a specifi... DEX Aggregator DEX Aggregator Definition: A DEX aggregator is a service that scans prices across many decentralized exchanges and routes a token swap through the pool or combination of pools that returns the most... Diamond Hands Diamond Hands Definition: Diamond hands is trading slang for market participants who hold positions through extreme volatility, drawdowns, and uncertainty — refusing to sell despite emotional press... Digital Asset Digital Asset Definition: A digital asset is any item of value that exists in digital form and whose ownership can be transferred between parties. The category is broad enough to include cryptocurr... Digital Signature Digital Signature Definition: A digital signature is a short string of data, produced with a private key, that proves the key's owner approved a specific message and that the message has not change... Direct Finance Direct Finance Definition: Direct finance is the process by which borrowers obtain funds directly from lenders or investors without the use of a financial intermediary such as a bank. In direct fin... Direct Investment Direct Investment Definition: Direct investment is the commitment of capital into a business, asset, or project with the intention of gaining a lasting interest and degree of control — as opposed t... Discount House Discount House Definition: A discount house is a specialised financial institution that purchases short-term money market instruments — primarily bills of exchange and Treasury bills — at a discoun... Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Definition: Distributed ledger technology is a way of keeping one shared record of transactions across many independent computers, with no single party owning th... Divergence Divergence Definition: Divergence occurs when an asset's price moves in one direction while a technical indicator (RSI, MACD, or other momentum oscillator) moves in the opposite direction, signalin... Diversification Diversification Definition: Diversification is the practice of spreading investments across different assets, sectors, geographies, or asset classes to reduce the impact of any single holding's poo... Dividend Dividend Definition: A dividend is a payment a company makes to its shareholders out of its profits or retained earnings, most often in cash and on a regular schedule such as every quarter. It is s... Do Your Own Research (DYOR) Do Your Own Research (DYOR) Definition: DYOR is a crypto community maxim urging investors to independently verify information and conduct their own due diligence before making any investment decisi... Dogecoin (DOGE) Dogecoin Definition: Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency created in 2013 as a joke by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, featuring a Shiba Inu dog as its mascot. Originally intended as a lighthearted altern... Doji Candlestick Doji Candlestick Definition: A Doji is a single-candlestick pattern characterized by an open price and close price that are virtually equal, producing a candle with little or no body and visible up... Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) Dollar Cost Averaging Definition: Dollar cost averaging (DCA) is an investment strategy in which a fixed dollar amount is invested in an asset at regular intervals — weekly, monthly, or quarterly —... Domestic Market Domestic Market Definition: The domestic market refers to the internal market of a country — the set of buyers, sellers, and economic transactions that occur within a nation's borders, denominated ... Double Bottom Double Bottom Definition: A Double Bottom is a bullish reversal chart pattern consisting of two troughs at approximately the same price level, separated by a peak that forms the "neckline" resistan... Double Spending Double Spending Definition: Double Spending refers to the technical problem of spending the same digital currency unit more than once, which was one of cryptocurrency's fundamental challenges befor... Double Top Double Top Definition: A Double Top is a bearish reversal chart pattern consisting of two peaks at approximately the same price level, separated by a trough that forms the "neckline" support level.... Dovish / Hawkish Policy Dovish / Hawkish Policy Definition: Dovish policy is a central bank stance that favours lower interest rates and easier money to support growth and jobs, while hawkish policy favours higher rates a... Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Dow Jones Industrial Average Definition: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly called "the Dow," is a stock market index tracking 30 large publicly-traded U.S. companies, weighted by st... Downtrend Downtrend Definition: A downtrend is a sustained directional price movement lower characterized by a series of lower lows and lower highs, indicating consistent selling pressure overcoming buying p... Drawdown Drawdown Definition: A drawdown is the peak-to-trough decline in the value of a trading account, portfolio, or asset, typically expressed as a percentage of the previous high. Maximum drawdown capt... Due Diligence Due Diligence Definition: Due diligence is the comprehensive investigation and verification process conducted before entering a significant financial transaction — such as acquiring a company, inve... DXY (US Dollar Index) DXY (US Dollar Index) Definition: The DXY, formally the U.S. Dollar Index, is a weighted geometric mean of the dollar's value against a basket of six major foreign currencies — primarily the euro, ...