đź“– Guide to NFT terms: an NFT glossary.
NFT lingo can be overwhelming. As the NFT market matures and expands so does its own jargon, slang, colloquialisms or acronyms.
This ever-growing NFT glossary goal is to unpack key NFT terms to help you better understand the NFT market or at least not feel like a total n00b in a conversation about NFTs on Reddit, Discord or Twitter.
#
1:1 Art
Art where each piece is one of a kind (1 of 1). Unlike 10K projects, PFP or Generative Art collections have a cap of NFTs released that can range from a few hundreds to 10K.
1/1 of X
Contrary to 1:1 Art, 1/1 of X means each NFT is unique, but part of a large and cohesive collection. E.g: Fidenzas by Tyler Hobbs or Crypto Punks (each Punk is 1/1 of 10,000).
10K Project
A type of NFT collection that consists of approximately 10,000 NFTs (but not strictly).
A
AB
ArtBlocks, the most important platform for generative art currently.
AFAIK
As Far As I Know.
Airdrop
Distribution of an NFT token directly into a crypto wallet for free. Can be used as a marketing campaign or as scam by airdropping fake tokens to empty someone’s wallet.
Alpha
The first or very primitive release of a project. Or Investment term to track how a certain investment outdoes the market. E.g: Alpha of 1.0 = 1% improvement or Alpha of 20.0 = 20% improvement.
Altcoin
Any other crypto that is not Bitcoin. Bitcoin Maximalists can also refer to them as shitcoins.
AMA
Ask Me Anything. NFT creators or artists do sessions where anyone can ask questions about the NFT project, team, vision, etc. Usually hosted on Discord, but also on Reddit or even Youtube.
Ape
Someone can be aping, ape in or aped on an NFT meaning someone is taking a large position relative to its own portfolio size. Some argue that when someone apes can mean that they're following the hype, out of FOMO or without due diligence. Not related directly to the Bored Ape Yatch Club.
ATH
All-Time High. When a NFT project or token reaches the highest price to date.
Avatar project
An NFT collection that consists of avatars that people can use as their profile picture (see PFP) in social media to show they are part of an NFT community like Crypto Punks.
Axie Infinity
ETH blockchain-based game where players battle and trade Axies (digital pets). The main ERC-20 tokens used are Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potions (formerly Small Love Potion) (SLP).
Axie Infinity Shards
AXS is an Eth token that powers the Axie Infinity game.
B
Bag Holder
Someone who holds its position in a crypto or keeps an NFT until it's worthless.
BAYC
Bored Ape Yacht Club. A very successful PFP 1/1 of 10,000 individual ape characters collection. People use BAYC as a Twitter profile picture to brag about being part of this NFT community.
Bearish
Borrowed finance slang meaning someone is doubtful about the current market and that it will crash.
Bear Market
When the Crypto or NFT market is going down in value.
Bitcoin (BTC)
First and original cryptocurrency as outlined in a whitepaper by the anonymous creator(s) Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin Maximalist
Believer that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency needed. All other cryptocurrencies are altcoins or shitcoins.
Blockchain
Distributed, decentralized, immutable database that is the basis of trust in Web 3.0 technology.
Bluechip
When an NFT project has a long track record of success and its value is sustained over time, therefore considered a solid investment.
BTD
Buy The Dip. A bear market can be an opportunity for crypto investors to buy a crypto or NFT at a lower price.
Bullish
Borrowed finance slang meaning someone is optimistic that a market will increase in value aka moon.
Bull market
When the Crypto or NFT market is going up and up in value.
Burn
Common crypto strategy to destroy or delete tokens from the circulation supply intentionally and permanently in order to limit supply and increase the value.
Buying on secondary
Whenever you don’t mint an NFT directly from the project, you can always buy it in secondary NFT marketplaces like OpenSea. Most NFT sales are secondary market sales.
C
Cappin or Capping
Slang for lying or faking. Opposed to no cap which means “no lie”.
Coinbase
Nasdaq listed US cryptocurrency exchange. Coinbase Wallet is one of Coinbase’s products where users can use a Chrome extension or app hot wallet to store crypto and NFTs.
Cold wallet
Otherwise called hardware wallet or cold storage. It’s a physical device to store your cryptocurrencies and/or NFTs offline. They are not connected to the Internet so are at less risk of being compromised.
Collection
A set of NFTs under a common theme as part of a NFT drop or an auction sale in marketplaces like OpenSea or Rarible.
Collectible
A collectible is an NFT that is a part of a wider NFT collection, usually part of a 10k project, PFP project or NFT Game.
Collector
Someone who buys NFTs to build an NFT collection, be part of a NFT community or for speculative purposes to make a profit.
Cope
The opposite of FOMO. When someone doesn’t buy an NFT because one is still dealing with a previous mistake of not FOMOing at a fraction of the price. So choosing to stay out.
Consensus mechanism
Method of authenticating and validating a transaction on a blockchain without the need to trust or rely on a central authority. Examples of consensus mechanisms are Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS).
Cozomo de’ Medici
Twitter alias used by Snoop Dogg for crypto and NFT chat.
Creator
An NFT creator is a person that creates the asset for the NFT idea, vision and in many cases the art (e.g. a jpeg, audio file, video file).
Crowsale
Where a crowdsale is the sale of a token that will be used in the business, an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is the sale of a token that’s linked to the value of the business. Buying an ICO token is akin to buying stock in the company because it entitles you a share of the earnings and profits. Also, some tokens give you voting rights similar to holding stock in the business. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently ruled that ICOs, but not crowdselling, will be treated as the sale of a security. This basically means that all ICOs must be registered like IPOs and offered only to accredited investors. This dramatically increases the costs and limits the pool of potential buyers.
Crypto Bags/Bags
Refers to how much cryptocurrencies someone holds, as in their bag of coins.
Cryptocurrency
The native coin of a blockchain (or protocol coin), secured by cryptography to be exchanged within a Peer 2 Peer economic system. E.g: Bitcoin (BTC) for the Bitcoin blockchain, Ether (ETH) for the Ethereum blockchain, etc.
Crypto community
The community of a specific crypto or NFT project. NFT communities use Twitter and Discord as their primary social media to hang out.
Crypto exchange
Where someone can buy, sell or trade cryptocurrencies and tokens.
Cryptography
The foundation of blockchain technology. The use of mathematical theory and computer science to encrypt or decrypt information.
CryptoKitties
One of the first and most popular NFT based blockchain games. In 2017, the NFT project almost broke the Ethereum blockchain and increased the gas prices dramatically.
CryptoPunk
Currently one of the most valuable blue chip NFT projects. It was created by Larva Labs. Crypto Punk holders flex their NFT as their profile picture on Twitter.
CT
Crypto Twitter, the crypto-community on Twitter.
Cypherpunks
Movement in the 1980s, advocating for the use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. The movement contributed and shaped blockchain tech as we know today.
D
DAO
Stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. When a NFT project is structured like a DAO, it grants all the NFT holders voting rights, control over future actions and the NFT’s project direction and vision. Many NFT projects are also organized as DAO to be a community-driven project.
Dapp
Mobile or web based decentralized application that interacts on a blockchain via smart contracts. E.g: Dapp is the frontend and the smart contract is the backend.
DCA
Acronym for Dollar Cost Averaging. An investment strategy to reduce the impact of crypto market volatility. E.g: buying into a crypto asset on a regular monthly basis rather than a big one time purchase.
Ded
Abbreviation for dead like "I sold my Punk for 90 ETH. I am ded."
DeFi
Short for Decentralized Finance. Blockchain alternative for traditional finance, where intermediaries like banks or brokerages are replaced by smart contracts to offer financial services like trading, lending, earning interest, insure, etc.
Degen
Short for degenerate, a gambler who buys into unaudited or unknown NFT or DeFi projects, without proper research hoping to chase high profits.
Delist
No longer offer an NFT for sale on a secondary market like Opensea. NFT Marketplaces can delist an NFT that infringes their rules. Or NFT owners can choose to delist their NFTs (has long as they have sufficient funds for the gas fees) due to price surges to avoid their NFT being bought or sold for a higher price.
Derivative
Projects derived from the original project that reinforces the value and importance of the original NFT. E.g: "alternative" punks.
Dev
A skilled professional who can build NFT projects using smart contracts and blockchain technology.
Dex
Decentralised Exchange that allows for peer-to-peer trustless transactions that don’t rely on a centralized authority to take place. E.g: Uniswap, PancakeSwap, dYdX, Curve Finance, SushiSwap, 1inch, etc.
Diamond Hands
Someone who believes and holds a cryptocurrency or NFT regardless of the crypto or NFT market fluctuations.
Discord
Chat app heavily used by crypto and NFT communities for knowledge sharing and shilling.
DLT
Acronym for Distributed Ledger Technology. It’s a protocol that allows the secure functioning of a decentralized database, through cryptography. This technological infrastructure scraps the need for a central authority to keep in check manipulation or exploitation of the network.
Dog coin
It’s a memecoin based on the Japanese dog breed, Shiba Inu, first popularised by Dogecoin. Other notable coins are Shiba Inu or Floki Inu. These dog coins are frequently subjected to pump and dumps and are extremely volatile. The original dog coin DOGE was created as a joke in 2013. Elon Musk is one of Dogecoin's most famous supporters.
Doxxed/Doxed
When the identity of an NFT team member, dev or creator is public, known or verifiable. In the NFT market, when a NFT team is doxed it’s a usually sign of confidence and transparency for NFT collectors to ensure they will not be scammed for an anonymous creator.
Drop
The release of an NFT (single or collection) into the NFT market.
DYOR
Acronym for Do Your Own Research. A common expression used in the crypto or NFT community to disclaim responsibility for the financial/strategy advice someone is providing the community and to avoid being called out by others in theNFT or crypto community.
E
EIP-1559 EIP
Referring to Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, commonly known as the London Fork. It’s an upgrade to the Ethereum protocol code to improve the blockchain security and scalability. The major change consists in shifting from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism (PoW) to a low energy and lower gas fees proof-of-stake system (PoS).
ERC-1155
Stands for Ethereum Request for Comment-1155. A multi-token standard that can represent any number of fungible (ERC-20) and non-fungible tokens (ERC-721).
ERC-20
Ethereum Request for Comment-20 is a standard defining a fungible token like a cryptocurrency.
ERC-721
Ethereum Request for Comment-721 is a standard defining a non-fungible token (NFT).
ETH
Aka Ether, the currency symbol for the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain.
ETH2.0
Also known as the London Fork or EIP-1559 EIP. It’s an upgrade to the Ethereum network to improve the network’s security and scalability. The most dramatic change is the shift from the proof-of-work consensus mechanism (PoW) to proof-of-stake system (PoS).
Ether
Or ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum
Network protocol that allows users to create and run smart contracts over a decentralized network.
F
FCFS
Acronym for First Come First Served. Commonly used strategy in a NFT collection drop when the demand surpasses the supply.
Few
Short for "few understand". Similar to the irony behind the "probably nothing" expression. Like X person bought into a popular NFT, because it understands its long term value.
Fiat Currencies or Money
National government-issued currencies like the US Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR) or Great British Pound (GBP) that are not backed by a commodity like silver or gold. FIAT means an authoritative or arbitrary order like a government decree.
Flex
Slang for showing off. In the crypto community, it’s a Lamborghini or a gold Rolex. In the NFT world, it’s a CryptoPunk or BAYC PFP on Twitter.
Flip
Quickly buying and selling crypto or NFTs to make a profit.
Flippening
Colloquial expression coined in 2017 for when Ethereum’s market capitalisation surpasses Bitcoin’s.
Floor Price
It means the lowest asking price for an NFT collection or subset of a collection on a secondary market like OpenSea.
Floor Sweep
Refers when a NFT collector or investor buys all the lowest listed NFTs on a secondary NFT marketplace.
FOMO
Acronym for Fear Of Missing Out. Buying a crypto or NFT out of fear of missing out on the next big thing.
FOMO-in
Buying a crypto or NFT regardless if it's at the top of the market for FOMO.
Fractionalize
Turning one NFT like a Crypto Punk into X number of fractions ERC-20 tokens that prove ownership of that Punk. This allows for i) collective ownership of an NFT, ii) making an expensive NFT affordable for the common NFT collector and iii) adds more liquidity to a very illiquid NFT market.
FR
Abbreviation for For Real?
Fren
Means Friend and what people in the NFT community call each other in an endearing and positive way.
Foundation
An exclusive, by invitation only, NFT marketplace that specializes in NFT art.
Fungible
Means X can be traded for another X and still hold the same value. E.g: My dollars = your dollars. My 1 ether = your 1 ether. My casino chip = your casino chip. On Ethereum, fungible tokens are defined by the ERC-20 standard.
FUD
Acronym for Fear Uncertainty Doubt. It can be a) when someone spreads negative and sometimes false news to discredit a certain crypto or NFT project. Or b) the overall negative feeling regarding the future of the NFT/Crypto project or market, especially when going through a bear market.
Fudder
Someone who has FUD or engages in FUD about a NFT project.
Fudding your own bags
When an NFT collector or crypto investor speaks negatively about an NFT or crypto project he/she has invested in or has a stake in. Usually negative comments about the team or vision.
G
G
Means Gangster. A term of endearment used amongst the NFT Community.
Gas/Gas fees/Gas prices
The fee charged to complete a transaction in a blockchain. These gas prices vary tremendously between the blockchains, the consensus mechanism used to validate transactions or the number of transactions being made at a specific time.
Gas war
When a lot of NFT collectors (or bots) are trying to mint an NFT at once and therefore resulting in gas price surge.
Generative art
Artwork that is algorithmically created by code with unique traits and rarity.
Genesis drop
It refers to the first NFT drop a creator makes on an NFT auction platform.
GG
Interjection for Good Game.
GM
Interjection for Good Morning.
GMI
Acronym for Going to Make It. Opposite of NGMI (NOT Going to Make It).
GOAT
Acronym for Greatest Of All Time.
GTD
Acronym for Going To Dust. When a token or NFT project turns out to be a bad investment.
GTFO
Get The F*ck Out, as in “gtfo with that fud dude” if someone is talking bull.
GWEI
One billionth of an Ether (ETH) also known as a Shannon / Nanoether / Nano — unit of account used to price Ethereum gas transactions.
H
HEN (Hic Et Nunc)
A popular NFT art marketplace for art built on the Tezos blockchain. Big NFT marketplace for inexpensive NFTs but not a very user-friendly UI/website.
HODL
Misspelling of HOLD coined in an old Reddit post. Synonym with “Hold On for Dear Life” meaning hold your coin or NFT until the end, whether that they’ll moon or dust.
Hot wallet
Wallets connected to the Internet, less secure than cold wallet because they’re more susceptible to hacks.
Hype
Term used to show excitement or anticipation about an upcoming crypto project or NFT.
I
ICO
Acronym for Initial Coin Offering. It’s the crypto equivalent to a stocks’ IPO (Initial Public Offering) but with far less scrutiny or regulation (leading to a lot of scams). ICO’s are a popular way for crypto projects to raise funds.
IDO
Acronym for Initial Dex Offering. To put it simply it means to launch NFTs or tokens via a decentralized liquidity exchange. It’s a common fundraising method used by upcoming crypto or NFT projects. Many consider IDOs a far better fundraising alternative to ICOs.
IDK
Acronym for I Don’t Know.
IDEK
Acronym for I Don’t Even Know.
Imma
Short for I’m going to be.
IRL
Acronym for In Real Life. Refers to the physical world outside of the online/virtual world of crypto, NFTs, gaming or social media.
IPFS
Acronym for Interplanetary File System. A peer-to-peer file storage system using hashes to recall and preserve the integrity of the file, commonly used to store NFTs outside of the blockchain.
It’s Money Laundering
Someone can use this expression to suggest that NFT prices aren’t real and that actually people are using NFTs to launder money, without providing much proof or explanation on how it works.
IYKYK
Stands for If You Know, You Know This. Similar to the expression "few", used when someone buys into a popular crypto or NFT project, slightly because of FOMO but also because it believes in its long term value.
J
JPEG/JPG
File format typically used to encode NFT art. Some people also use Jpeg to mock people buying NFTs as in “All that money for a jpeg”.
K
KMS
Short for Kill MySelf.
L
Larva Labs/ LL
NFT Creators behind the popular NFT projects like Cryptopunks,Meebits or Autoglyphs.
Laser eyes
Bitcoin meme signalling support for BTC and/or it will break the $100k per coin valuation.
LFG
Acronym for Let’s F*cking Go! A common rallying call used in the crypto or NFT community to lead people into buying an NFT or a crypto.
Liquidity
Term that means that a token or NFT has a high volume activity in the crypto/NFT market. It’s easily sold and resold. But usually the NFT market it’s illiquid when compared to the general crypto market, due to the non-fungibility nature of an NFT (there are less buyers for every NFTs out there).
LMFAO
Stands for Laughing My F*cking Ass Off.
Looks Rare
Ironic expression commonly used in the NFT Community. Rarity is a driver of an NFT’s value.
London Hard Fork
Known as EIP-1559, was an Ethereum code upgrade proposal designed to improve the blockchain security and scalability. It’s major change is to shift from PoW to PoS consensus mechanism.
Long run
Means someone is committed to the NFT market or an NFT project in the long term.
M
Maximalist
Typically refers to Bitcoin Maximalists. People who only believe that Bitcoin is the most secure and resilient blockchain. For Maximalists, all other cryptocurrencies are shitcoins therefore a waste of time, development and money.
McDonald's
Common and ironic expression amongst the crypto community. It means that Mcdonald’s is always a valid backup plan or career in the case all cryptocurrencies crash and disappear.
Meatspace
Synonymous with IRL - In Real Life.
Memecoin
Cryptocurrency like Dogecoin that is based on an internet joke or meme.
Metamask
Popular crypto hot wallet platform to store crypto and NFTs.
Metaverse
Term was coined by writer Neal Stephenson in the 1992 dystopian novel “Snow Crash”. It’s an immersive and digital place where people interact via their avatars. Big tech players like Meta (formerly known as Facebook) and other independent players have been designing their own version of a metaverse. NFTs can have utility for users like buying, trading, winning, accessing, experiencing or interacting with things inside a metaverse.
Mfer
Short for “mother fker”.
Miners
Single person or company that mines one or more cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Both blockchains need computing power for their Proof of Work consensus mechanism. Miners provide the computing power and receive coins/tokens in return as payment.
Mining
Mining is the process by which new tokens enter in circulation as for example in the Bitcoin blockchain. Also, mining ensures the validity of new transactions happening in a given blockchain that uses the PoW consensus mechanism. Therefore, the ones who mine are rewarded by ensuring the validity of a blockchain.
Mint/Minting
Mint an NFT is the act of publishing your unique instance to a specific blockchain like Ethereum or Tezos blockchain. In simpler terms, a creator is adding a one-of-kind token (NFT) into circulation in a specific blockchain.
Once the NFT is minted - aka created - NFT collectors can i) direct mint, therefore purchase the NFT by paying the specified amount directly into the project’s wallet. Or ii) buy it via an intermediary like an NFT marketplace (e.g: OpenSea, Foundation, Rarible, etc.). Later, the NFT owner can choose to resell the NFT, most NFT creators set up a royalty for every time their NFT is resold.
Minting interval
How often an NFT creator can mint or create tokens.
MOAR
A misspelling that means “more”.
Moon/Mooning
When a coin (e.g. ETH), or token, like an NFT goes exponential in price and the price graph sees a vertical climb. Crypto or NFT users then use the expression that “X token is going to the moon!”.
Moon boys
Slang for crypto or NFT holders who are looking to pump the price dramatically - taking a token to the moon - for short term gains and with no real long term vision or commitment.
N
Never trust, always verify
Treat everyone or every project like something potentially malicious.
New coiner
Crypto slang for someone new to the cryptocurrency space. Usually newcomers can be more susceptible to FUD or scammers.
NFA
Acronym for Not Financial Advice.
NFT
Acronym for Non-Fungible Token. The type of token that can be created, bought, sold, resold and viewed in different dapps. The ERC-721 smart contract standard (Ethereum blockchain) is the most popular amongst NFTs.
NFT Marketplace / NFT Auction platform
Platforms where people can sell and buy NFTs, either via an auction or pay the seller’s price. The largest NFT marketplace is OpenSea. But there are other popular NFT marketplace examples like Foundation, SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Rarible, Hic et Nunc (HeN), etc.
NFT Whale
A NFT collector or investor who buys a large amount of NFTs.
NGMI
Acronym for Not Going to Make It. For example, something said to someone who has paper hands.
NMP
Acronym for Not My Problem.
Nocoiner
It can be someone who simply doesn’t hold cryptocurrencies, mistrust the crypto market or believes that crypto is either a scam or a ponzi scheme.
Noob/N00b/Newbie
Slang for someone new or not experienced in cryptocurrency or NFTs. These people are more susceptible to scams, drawn into pump and dumps or getting rekt on bad coins.
Normie/Normy
Similar expression for a nocoiner.
NSFW
Acronym for Not Suitable For Work. Referring to online content inappropriate for viewing in public or at work. It began as mostly a tag for sexual content, nudity, or violence, but it has envolved to range a number of other topics that might be delicate or trigger viewers.
Nuclear NFTs
An NFT or collectible with more than 1,000 owners. For the NFT to be sold or resold, every co-owners must give their permission beforehand. Otherwise, the NFT transaction can’t be made.
O
OG
Acronym for Original Gangster and it popularized by 90s Hip Hop culture. It means the first, the original or the person who has been around since the very start and earned respect in the community. In NFT terms, Cryptopunks are the OG of NFTs.
On-chain vs Off-chain
An on-chain NFT is when the artwork (like a jpeg, video or music file) is stored directly into the blockchain making it more secure and less susceptible to being stolen. But, note that most blockchains can only store small amounts of data.
Off-chain NFTs means that the high quality image, music or video file is not stored in the blockchain. But, the NFT data is stored on an external party like a) a centralized server, highly vulnerable to the server being shut down/exploited. Or b) an InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), also an external party but more secure way of finding data because it utilizes a distributed, decentralized system.
OpenSea
By far the largest NFT marketplace in the world, currently.
P
Paper Hands
A crypto or NFT holder who is permeable to negative market sentiment or FUD. And does not hold their crypto or NFT for long. Expression used to describe someone who sells as soon as NFTs enter a bear market.
PFP
Stands for Picture For Profile. Twitter users who hold popular NFTs like Crypto Punk or BAYC use their punk or monkey avatar as their profile picture.
POAP NFT
Stands for Proof of Attendance Protocol. These types of NFTs are awarded to attendees of events, regardless if they’re physical or virtual, as proof you attended.
PoS
Stands for Proof of Stake. A consensus mechanism used by blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum to achieve agreement, trust and security in every transaction and keep the integrity of the blockchain intact. PoS mechanisms are considered more environmentally friendly than PoW as they’re lower energy and in emissions.
PoW
Stands for Proof of Work. A consensus mechanism used by blockchains like Bitcoin to achieve agreement, trust and security and keep the transactional integrity of the blockchain intact. PoW mechanism requires a lot of computational power, therefore uses more energy resources and higher CO2 emissions than the PoS mechanism.
Private Key
It can be similar to a password. It’s a secret number that allows users to access their cold or hot wallet funds, prove ownership of a certain address and sign transactions on the blockchain.
It’s not advisable to share a private key with anyone as it makes a person vulnerable to thefts. In case someone loses or forgets its private key, it can use a recovery phrase to restore access to a crypto or NFT wallet.
Pre-mine
A term used in crypto to refer to the act of creating a set amount of tokens before their public launch. It can also be known as a Genesis Sale and is usually associated with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in order to compensate founders, developers or early investors.
Probably nothing
It’s an ironic expression used by NFT enthusiasts to refer to an important or soon to be big news, project or person in the NFT space. Meaning when someone says probably nothing it actually means that it is probably something.
Protocol Coin
Stands for the native coin of a blockchain. As in Ether for the Ethereum blockchain or BTC on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Pump & Dump
The term pump means when a person or a group of people buy or convince others to buy large quantities of a crypto or an NFT with the single goal to drive the price to a peak. When the price peaks, these people sell their position high and for a hefty profit, therefore dumping the price and leaving other slower investors or newbies rekt or at a loss.
R
Rarity
Rarity in NFT terms refers to how rare an NFT is. The rarity can be defined by the number of traits, scarcity or properties of an NFT.
Reaching
Slang for an exaggeration over something to make it sound worse than what it actually is or to take a point/scenario too far.
Recovery phrase
A 12-word phrase that acts like backup for your crypto private keys. A person can recover all of the crypto wallet accounts’ private keys from the recovery phrase. Is not advisable to share the recovery phrase with anyone.
Rekt
Slang for wrecked. When a crypto or NFT project goes wrong or down in value sharply. Or more broadly, when something goes wrong like a person is price out by the gas surge or an NFT floor price goes down.
Right Click Save As
An Ironic expression used by people who don’t understand the value or potential unlocked by NFTs. Person who makes fun that she/he can easily get a digital artwork by Right Click Save As and mock the NFT space and its hype.
Roadmap
The strategy outlined by an NFT project. A way to explain to the NFT community or a potential NFT investor, the different stages, value and the long term vision of the NFT project.
Royalties
NFT creators can set up their NFT so each time their NFT is resold, the creator gets paid a percentage of the sale price.
RN
Acronym for Right Now.
Rug Pull/Rugged
Slang for a scam when the founders, team or developers suddenly leave a crypto project and run away with all the investors’ funds leaving them with nothing.
S
Satoshi Nakamoto
The anonymous creator of the Bitcoin whitepaper and whose identity has never been verified.
Scammer
Someone actively trying to steal other people’s crypto or NFTs.
Secondary
Secondary refers to secondary NFT marketplaces, where NFT collectors or investors can resell NFTs after they’ve been minted. The price of an NFT or NFT collection is determined by those who list them.
Seed phrase
Another name for recovery phrase is the 12-word phrase that allows you to recover all of the crypto wallet accounts’ private keys and regain control of the wallet. Is not advisable to share the seed phrase with anyone.
Seems legit
When an NFT project or a person in the NFT community looks promising and the real deal, meaning seems legitimate. Depending on the context can also be used ironically.
Seems rare
An ironic expression or dismissive comment used by the NFT community. For example, It can be used sarcastically when someone asks for feedback on an NFT they own or created.
Ser
Slang for sir and a polite way of addressing others in an NFT community.
Shill
Expression when someone wants to promote or get exposure to an NFT they own or created.
Shill Thread
It’s a common Twitter strategy to gain traction by encouraging NFT creators to share a link to their NFT project in the hopes of getting bought or noticed by the NFT Community and potential buyers.
Simp/Simping
A NFT holder or creator who comes off as trying to hard impress an NFT whale or investor.
Sh*tposter
A person who mostly posts meme content on Twitter for fun.
SLP
Acronym for Smooth Love Potion. It’s a token players can earn as a reward in the NFT game Axie Infinity.
Smart Contract
A self-executing contract where the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller are directly written into the code and without third party or human intervention. Ethereum is a blockchain that can execute smart contracts, on the contrary to Bitcoin which does not have that capability.
SMFH
Acronym for Shaking My F*cking Head. Common reply to a person showing unbelievable idiocy.
Sock Puppet
Scam account used to lure noob investors into fake investment services.
Snag
It means to buy an NFT quickly and for a very low price. Can also be known as sniping.
Sotheby’s
Very famous auction house that has recently auctioned Beeple’s NFTs or Bored Ape Yacht Club and Crypto Punks’ NFT collections.
Stake
Crypto term for locking up a certain amount of crypto tokens for a set period of time to earn interest. In the NFT space, there are popping up a lot of projects or services that allow NFT holders to earn interest for holding a certain NFT.
Szn
Stands for season referring to crypto or NFT market cycles.
T
TINA
Acronym for There Is No Alternative. Example: someone asks “why are you investing in BTC?”, to which the reply is “TINA”.
TINA RIF
Acronym for There Is No Alternative Resistance Is Futile.
This is the way
A commendation for positive behavior by someone in the NFT Community.
Tokenomics
Referring to the economics of cryptocurrencies, DeFi or NFT projects.
V
Valhalla
Ironic use of the Viking “heaven”. Meaning someone’s NFT collection is either going to be a profitable and blue chip project, therefore they can ascend to Valhalla or is going to tank and that person will have to work at a Mcdonald’s.
Vibe
Term used to express a positive emotional state.
Volatile/Volatility
Term used to describe rapid market fluctuations and crypto or NFT prices go up and down quickly in a short period.
W
WAGMI
Acronym for We Are Going to Make It. Rally cry to build momentum for a crypto or NFT project and lead even more people into buying, shilling or supporting a specific project.
Wallet
There can be a hot or cold wallet, but both are a place where someone can store their cryptocurrency and tokens. Hot wallets are always connected to the Internet like MetaMask, Trust wallet or Phantom. On the contrary cold wallets are hardware wallets to store crypto or NFTs offline like Nano Ledger.
Weak Hands
Synonymous with Paper Hands. Someone who immediately sells their crypto or NFT because of a bear market, FUD or any other negative sentiment.
Web 1.0
Refers to the beginning of the Web. A period from around 1990 to 2005, also known as the read-only web.
Web 2.0
Refers to an iteration of Web 1.0. From 2005 to the present moment, where social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, Twitter, etc reshaped the web, therefore becoming the read-write web.
Web 3.0
A term coined by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood and it’s an idea of what the future of the web could look like. Most peoples’ data, info or content would no longer be centralized in Web 2.0 giants - the Big Tech - but decentralized, mostly thanks to blockchain technology. Web 3.0 could be known as read-write-trust web.
Wen
As in When.
Wen Moon
Popular expression from crypto Twitter not so much in the NFT space. Refers to the still distant future when a token will moon.
Whitepaper
Document released by a crypto or NFT project where it lays the technical information behind the concept, vision, roadmap and plans to grow a certain project.
Whale
Someone who owns a large position on a specific or many cryptos or NFTs.
Y
Yodo
Acronym for You Only Die Once. The opposite of Yolo.
Yolo
Acronym for You Only Live Once. A person can use this when they just realized they bought a shitcoin or crap NFT and they’re getting rekt.
Original post
More on NFTs & Art
Boris MĂĽller
2 years ago
Why Do Websites Have the Same Design?
My kids redesigned the internet because it lacks inventiveness.
Internet today is bland. Everything is generic: fonts, layouts, pages, and visual language. Microtypography is messy.
Web design today seems dictated by technical and ideological constraints rather than creativity and ideas. Text and graphics are in containers on every page. All design is assumed.
Ironically, web technologies can design a lot. We can execute most designs. We make shocking, evocative websites. Experimental typography, generating graphics, and interactive experiences are possible.
Even designer websites use containers in containers. Dribbble and Behance, the two most popular creative websites, are boring. Lead image.
How did this happen?
Several reasons. WordPress and other blogging platforms use templates. These frameworks build web pages by combining graphics, headlines, body content, and videos. Not designs, templates. These rules combine related data types. These platforms don't let users customize pages beyond the template. You filled the template.
Templates are content-neutral. Thus, the issue.
Form should reflect and shape content, which is a design principle. Separating them produces content containers. Templates have no design value.
One of the fundamental principles of design is a deep and meaningful connection between form and content.
Web design lacks imagination for many reasons. Most are pragmatic and economic. Page design takes time. Large websites lack the resources to create a page from scratch due to the speed of internet news and the frequency of new items. HTML, JavaScript, and CSS continue to challenge web designers. Web design can't match desktop publishing's straightforward operations.
Designers may also be lazy. Mobile-first, generic, framework-driven development tends to ignore web page visual and contextual integrity.
How can we overcome this? How might expressive and avant-garde websites look today?
Rediscovering the past helps design the future.
'90s-era web design
At the University of the Arts Bremen's research and development group, I created my first website 23 years ago. Web design was trendy. Young web. Pages inspired me.
We struggled with HTML in the mid-1990s. Arial, Times, and Verdana were the only web-safe fonts. Anything exciting required table layouts, monospaced fonts, or GIFs. HTML was originally content-driven, thus we had to work against it to create a page.
Experimental typography was booming. Designers challenged the established quo from Jan Tschichold's Die Neue Typographie in the twenties to April Greiman's computer-driven layouts in the eighties. By the mid-1990s, an uncommon confluence of technological and cultural breakthroughs enabled radical graphic design. Irma Boom, David Carson, Paula Scher, Neville Brody, and others showed it.
Early web pages were dull compared to graphic design's aesthetic explosion. The Web Design Museum shows this.
Nobody knew how to conduct browser-based graphic design. Web page design was undefined. No standards. No CMS (nearly), CSS, JS, video, animation.
Now is as good a time as any to challenge the internet’s visual conformity.
In 2018, everything is browser-based. Massive layouts to micro-typography, animation, and video. How do we use these great possibilities? Containerized containers. JavaScript-contaminated mobile-first pages. Visually uniform templates. Web design 23 years later would disappoint my younger self.
Our imagination, not technology, restricts web design. We're too conformist to aesthetics, economics, and expectations.
Crisis generates opportunity. Challenge online visual conformity now. I'm too old and bourgeois to develop a radical, experimental, and cutting-edge website. I can ask my students.
I taught web design at the Potsdam Interface Design Programme in 2017. Each team has to redesign a website. Create expressive, inventive visual experiences on the browser. Create with contemporary web technologies. Avoid usability, readability, and flexibility concerns. Act. Ignore Erwartungskonformität.
The class outcome pleased me. This overview page shows all results. Four diverse projects address the challenge.
1. ZKM by Frederic Haase and Jonas Köpfer
Frederic and Jonas began their experiments on the ZKM website. The ZKM is Germany's leading media art exhibition location, but its website remains conventional. It's useful but not avant-garde like the shows' art.
Frederic and Jonas designed the ZKM site's concept, aesthetic language, and technical configuration to reflect the museum's progressive approach. A generative design engine generates new layouts for each page load.
ZKM redesign.
2. Streem by Daria Thies, Bela Kurek, and Lucas Vogel
Street art magazine Streem. It promotes new artists and societal topics. Streem includes artwork, painting, photography, design, writing, and journalism. Daria, Bela, and Lucas used these influences to develop a conceptual metropolis. They designed four neighborhoods to reflect magazine sections for their prototype. For a legible city, they use powerful illustrative styles and spatial typography.
Streem makeover.
3. Medium by Amelie Kirchmeyer and Fabian Schultz
Amelie and Fabian structured. Instead of developing a form for a tale, they dissolved a web page into semantic, syntactical, and statistical aspects. HTML's flexibility was their goal. They broke Medium posts into experimental typographic space.
Medium revamp.
4. Hacker News by Fabian Dinklage and Florian Zia
Florian and Fabian made Hacker News interactive. The social networking site aggregates computer science and IT news. Its voting and debate features are extensive despite its simple style. Fabian and Florian transformed the structure into a typographic timeline and network area. News and comments sequence and connect the visuals. To read Hacker News, they connected their design to the API. Hacker News makeover.
Communication is not legibility, said Carson. Apply this to web design today. Modern websites must be legible, usable, responsive, and accessible. They shouldn't limit its visual palette. Visual and human-centered design are not stereotypes.
I want radical, generative, evocative, insightful, adequate, content-specific, and intelligent site design. I want to rediscover web design experimentation. More surprises please. I hope the web will appear different in 23 years.
Update: this essay has sparked a lively discussion! I wrote a brief response to the debate's most common points: Creativity vs. Usability
1eth1da
3 years ago
6 Rules to build a successful NFT Community in 2022
Too much NFT, Discord, and shitposting.
How do you choose?
How do you recruit more members to join your NFT project?
In 2021, a successful NFT project required:
Monkey/ape artwork
Twitter and Discord bot-filled
Roadmap overpromise
Goal was quick cash.
2022 and the years after will change that.
These are 6 Rules for a Strong NFT Community in 2022:
THINK LONG TERM
This relates to roadmap planning. Hype and dumb luck may drive NFT projects (ahem, goblins) but rarely will your project soar.
Instead, consider sustainability.
Plan your roadmap based on your team's abilities.
Do what you're already doing, but with NFTs, make it bigger and better.
You shouldn't copy a project's roadmap just because it was profitable.
This will lead to over-promising, team burnout, and an RUG NFT project.
OFFER VALUE
Building a great community starts with giving.
Why are musicians popular?
Because they offer entertainment for everyone, a random person becomes a fan, and more fans become a cult.
That's how you should approach your community.
TEAM UP
A great team helps.
An NFT project could have 3 or 2 people.
Credibility trumps team size.
Make sure your team can answer community questions, resolve issues, and constantly attend to them.
Don't overwork and burn out.
Your community will be able to recognize that you are trying too hard and give up on the project.
BUILD A GREAT PRODUCT
Bored Ape Yacht Club altered the NFT space.
Cryptopunks transformed NFTs.
Many others did, including Okay Bears.
What made them that way?
Because they answered a key question.
What is my NFT supposed to be?
Before planning art, this question must be answered.
NFTs can't be just jpegs.
What does it represent?
Is it a Metaverse-ready project?
What blockchain are you going to be using and why?
Set some ground rules for yourself. This helps your project's direction.
These questions will help you and your team set a direction for blockchain, NFT, and Web3 technology.
EDUCATE ON WEB3
The more the team learns about Web3 technology, the more they can offer their community.
Think tokens, metaverse, cross-chain interoperability and more.
BUILD A GREAT COMMUNITY
Several projects mistreat their communities.
They treat their community like "customers" and try to sell them NFT.
Providing Whitelists and giveaways aren't your only community-building options.
Think bigger.
Consider them family and friends, not wallets.
Consider them fans.
These are some tips to start your NFT project.
Anton Franzen
3 years ago
This is the driving force for my use of NFTs, which will completely transform the world.
Its not a fuc*ing fad.
It's not about boring monkeys or photos as nfts; that's just what's been pushed up and made a lot of money. The technology underlying those ridiculous nft photos will one day prove your house and automobile ownership and tell you where your banana came from. Are you ready for web3? Soar!
People don't realize that absolutely anything can and will be part of the blockchain and smart contracts, making them even better. I'll tell you a secret: it will and is happening.
Why?
Why is something blockchain-based a good idea? So let’s speak about cars!
So a new Tesla car is manufactured, and when you buy it, it is bound to an NFT on the blockchain that proves current ownership. The NFT in the smart contract can contain some data about the current owner of the car and some data about the car's status, such as the number of miles driven, the car's overall quality, and so on, as well as a reference to a digital document bound to the NFT that has more information.
Now, 40 years from now, if you want to buy a used automobile, you can scan the car's serial number to view its NFT and see all of its history, each owner, how long they owned it, if it had damages, and more. Since it's on the blockchain, it can't be tampered with.
When you're ready to buy it, the owner posts it for sale, you buy it, and it's sent to your wallet. 5 seconds to change owner, 100% safe and verifiable.
Incorporate insurance logic into the car contract. If you crashed, your car's smart contract would take money from your insurance contract and deposit it in an insurance company wallet.
It's limitless. Your funds may be used by investors to provide insurance as they profit from everyone's investments.
Or suppose all car owners in a country deposit a fixed amount of money into an insurance smart contract that promises if something happens, we'll take care of it. It could be as little as $100-$500 per year, and in a country with 10 million people, maybe 3 million would do that, which would be $500 000 000 in that smart contract and it would be used by the insurance company to invest in assets or take a cut, literally endless possibilities.
Instead of $300 per month, you may pay $300 per year to be covered if something goes wrong, and that may include multiple insurances.
What about your grocery store banana, though?
Yes that too.
You can scan a banana to learn its complete history. You'll be able to see where it was cultivated, every middleman in the supply chain, and hopefully the banana's quality, farm, and ingredients used.
If you want locally decent bananas, you can only buy them, offering you transparency and options. I believe it will be an online marketplace where farmers publish their farms and products for trust and transparency. You might also buy bananas from the farmer.
And? Food security to finish the article. If an order of bananas included a toxin, you could easily track down every banana from the same origin and supply chain and uncover the root cause. This is a tremendous thing that will save lives and have a big impact; did you realize that 1 in 6 Americans gets poisoned by food every year? This could lower the number.
To summarize:
Smart contracts can issue nfts as proof of ownership and include functionality.
You might also like
Jared Heyman
2 years ago
The survival and demise of Y Combinator startups
I've written a lot about Y Combinator's success, but as any startup founder or investor knows, many startups fail.
Rebel Fund invests in the top 5-10% of new Y Combinator startups each year, so we focus on identifying and supporting the most promising technology startups in our ecosystem. Given the power law dynamic and asymmetric risk/return profile of venture capital, we worry more about our successes than our failures. Since the latter still counts, this essay will focus on the proportion of YC startups that fail.
Since YC's launch in 2005, the figure below shows the percentage of active, inactive, and public/acquired YC startups by batch.
As more startups finish, the blue bars (active) decrease significantly. By 12 years, 88% of startups have closed or exited. Only 7% of startups reach resolution each year.
YC startups by status after 12 years:
Half the startups have failed, over one-third have exited, and the rest are still operating.
In venture investing, it's said that failed investments show up before successful ones. This is true for YC startups, but only in their early years.
Below, we only present resolved companies from the first chart. Some companies fail soon after establishment, but after a few years, the inactive vs. public/acquired ratio stabilizes around 55:45. After a few years, a YC firm is roughly as likely to quit as fail, which is better than I imagined.
I prepared this post because Rebel investors regularly question me about YC startup failure rates and how long it takes for them to exit or shut down.
Early-stage venture investors can overlook it because 100x investments matter more than 0x investments.
YC founders can ignore it because it shouldn't matter if many of their peers succeed or fail ;)
Dung Claire Tran
3 years ago
Is the future of brand marketing with virtual influencers?
Digital influences that mimic humans are rising.
Lil Miquela has 3M Instagram followers, 3.6M TikTok followers, and 30K Twitter followers. She's been on the covers of Prada, Dior, and Calvin Klein magazines. Miquela released Not Mine in 2017 and launched Hard Feelings at Lollapazoolas this year. This isn't surprising, given the rise of influencer marketing.
This may be unexpected. Miquela's fake. Brud, a Los Angeles startup, produced her in 2016.
Lil Miquela is one of many rising virtual influencers in the new era of social media marketing. She acts like a real person and performs the same tasks as sports stars and models.
The emergence of online influencers
Before 2018, computer-generated characters were rare. Since the virtual human industry boomed, they've appeared in marketing efforts worldwide.
In 2020, the WHO partnered up with Atlanta-based virtual influencer Knox Frost (@knoxfrost) to gather contributions for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Lu do Magalu (@magazineluiza) has been the virtual spokeswoman for Magalu since 2009, using social media to promote reviews, product recommendations, unboxing videos, and brand updates. Magalu's 10-year profit was $552M.
In 2020, PUMA partnered with Southeast Asia's first virtual model, Maya (@mayaaa.gram). She joined Singaporean actor Tosh Zhang in the PUMA campaign. Local virtual influencer Ava Lee-Graham (@avagram.ai) partnered with retail firm BHG to promote their in-house labels.
In Japan, Imma (@imma.gram) is the face of Nike, PUMA, Dior, Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, and Valentino. Imma's bubblegum pink bob and ultra-fine fashion landed her on the cover of Grazia magazine.
Lotte Home Shopping created Lucy (@here.me.lucy) in September 2020. She made her TV debut as a Christmas show host in 2021. Since then, she has 100K Instagram followers and 13K TikTok followers.
Liu Yiexi gained 3 million fans in five days on Douyin, China's TikTok, in 2021. Her two-minute video went viral overnight. She's posted 6 videos and has 830 million Douyin followers.
China's virtual human industry was worth $487 million in 2020, up 70% year over year, and is expected to reach $875.9 million in 2021.
Investors worldwide are interested. Immas creator Aww Inc. raised $1 million from Coral Capital in September 2020, according to Bloomberg. Superplastic Inc., the Vermont-based startup behind influencers Janky and Guggimon, raised $16 million by 2020. Craft Ventures, SV Angels, and Scooter Braun invested. Crunchbase shows the company has raised $47 million.
The industries they represent, including Augmented and Virtual reality, were worth $14.84 billion in 2020 and are projected to reach $454.73 billion by 2030, a CAGR of 40.7%, according to PR Newswire.
Advantages for brands
Forbes suggests brands embrace computer-generated influencers. Examples:
Unlimited creative opportunities: Because brands can personalize everything—from a person's look and activities to the style of their content—virtual influencers may be suited to a brand's needs and personalities.
100% brand control: Brand managers now have more influence over virtual influencers, so they no longer have to give up and rely on content creators to include brands into their storytelling and style. Virtual influencers can constantly produce social media content to promote a brand's identity and ideals because they are completely scandal-free.
Long-term cost savings: Because virtual influencers are made of pixels, they may be reused endlessly and never lose their beauty. Additionally, they can move anywhere around the world and even into space to fit a brand notion. They are also always available. Additionally, the expense of creating their content will not rise in step with their expanding fan base.
Introduction to the metaverse: Statista reports that 75% of American consumers between the ages of 18 and 25 follow at least one virtual influencer. As a result, marketers that support virtual celebrities may now interact with younger audiences that are more tech-savvy and accustomed to the digital world. Virtual influencers can be included into any digital space, including the metaverse, as they are entirely computer-generated 3D personas. Virtual influencers can provide brands with a smooth transition into this new digital universe to increase brand trust and develop emotional ties, in addition to the young generations' rapid adoption of the metaverse.
Better engagement than in-person influencers: A Hype Auditor study found that online influencers have roughly three times the engagement of their conventional counterparts. Virtual influencers should be used to boost brand engagement even though the data might not accurately reflect the entire sector.
Concerns about influencers created by computers
Virtual influencers could encourage excessive beauty standards in South Korea, which has a $10.7 billion plastic surgery industry.
A classic Korean beauty has a small face, huge eyes, and pale, immaculate skin. Virtual influencers like Lucy have these traits. According to Lee Eun-hee, a professor at Inha University's Department of Consumer Science, this could make national beauty standards more unrealistic, increasing demand for plastic surgery or cosmetic items.
Other parts of the world raise issues regarding selling items to consumers who don't recognize the models aren't human and the potential of cultural appropriation when generating influencers of other ethnicities, called digital blackface by some.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram's parent corporation, acknowledges this risk.
“Like any disruptive technology, synthetic media has the potential for both good and harm. Issues of representation, cultural appropriation and expressive liberty are already a growing concern,” the company stated in a blog post. “To help brands navigate the ethical quandaries of this emerging medium and avoid potential hazards, (Meta) is working with partners to develop an ethical framework to guide the use of (virtual influencers).”
Despite theoretical controversies, the industry will likely survive. Companies think virtual influencers are the next frontier in the digital world, which includes the metaverse, virtual reality, and digital currency.
In conclusion
Virtual influencers may garner millions of followers online and help marketers reach youthful audiences. According to a YouGov survey, the real impact of computer-generated influencers is yet unknown because people prefer genuine connections. Virtual characters can supplement brand marketing methods. When brands are metaverse-ready, the author predicts virtual influencer endorsement will continue to expand.
Alexandra Walker-Jones
3 years ago
These are the 15 foods you should eat daily and why.
Research on preventing disease, extending life, and caring for your body from the inside out
Grapefruit and pomegranates aren't on the list, so ignore that. Mostly, I enjoyed the visual, but those fruits are healthful, too.
15 (or 17 if you consider the photo) different foods a day sounds like a lot. If you're not used to it  — it is.
These lists don't aim for perfection. Instead, use this article and the science below to eat more of these foods. If you can eat 5 foods one day and 5 the next, you're doing well. This list should be customized to your requirements and preferences.
“Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it” -Heather Morgan.
The 15 Foods That You Should Consume Daily and Why:
1. Dark/Red Berries
(blueberries, blackberries, acai, goji, cherries, strawberries, raspberries)
The 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study is the greatest definitive analysis of death and disease risk factors in history. They found the primary cause of both death, disability, and disease inside the United States was diet.
Not eating enough fruit, and specifically berries, was one of the best predictors of disease (1).
What's special about berries? It's their color! Berries have the most antioxidants of any fruit, second only to spices. The American Cancer Society found that those who ate the most berries were less likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
2. Beans
Soybeans, black beans, kidney beans, lentils, split peas, chickpeas.
Beans are one of the most important predictors of survival in older people, according to global research (2).
For every 20 grams (2 tablespoons) of beans consumed daily, the risk of death is reduced by 8%.
Soybeans and soy foods are high in phytoestrogen, which reduces breast and prostate cancer risks. Phytoestrogen blocks the receptors' access to true estrogen, mitigating the effects of weight gain, dairy (high in estrogen), and hormonal fluctuations (3).
3. Nuts
(almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts)
Eating a handful of nuts every day reduces the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Nuts also reduce oxidation, blood sugar, and LDL (bad) cholesterol, improving arterial function (4).
Despite their high-fat content, studies have linked daily nut consumption to a slimmer waistline and a lower risk of obesity (5).
4. Flaxseed
(milled flaxseed)
2013 research found that ground flaxseed had one of the strongest anti-hypertensive effects of any food. A few tablespoons (added to a smoothie or baked goods) lowered blood pressure and stroke risk 23 times more than daily aerobic exercise (6).
Flax shouldn't replace exercise, but its nutritional punch is worth adding to your diet.
5. Other seeds
(chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, fennel seeds)
Seeds are high in fiber and omega-3 fats and can be added to most dishes without being noticed.
When eaten with or after a meal, chia seeds moderate blood sugar and reduce inflammatory chemicals in the blood (7). Overall, a great daily addition.
6. Dates
Dates are one of the world's highest sugar foods, with 80% sugar by weight. Pure cake frosting is 60%, maple syrup is 66%, and cotton-candy jelly beans are 70%.
Despite their high sugar content, dates have a low glycemic index, meaning they don't affect blood sugar levels dramatically. They also improve triglyceride and antioxidant stress levels (8).
Dates are a great source of energy and contain high levels of dietary fiber and polyphenols, making 3-10 dates a great way to fight disease, support gut health with prebiotics, and satisfy a sweet tooth (9).
7. Cruciferous Veggies
(broccoli, Brussel sprouts, horseradish, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, boy choy, arugula, radishes, turnip greens)
Cruciferous vegetables contain an active ingredient that makes them disease-fighting powerhouses. Sulforaphane protects our brain, eyesight, against free radicals and environmental hazards, and treats and prevents cancer (10).
Unless you eat raw cruciferous vegetables daily, you won't get enough sulforaphane (and thus, its protective nutritional benefits). Cooking destroys the enzyme needed to create this super-compound.
If you chop broccoli, cauliflower, or turnip greens and let them sit for 45 minutes before cooking them, the enzyme will have had enough time to work its sulforaphane magic, allowing the vegetables to retain the same nutritional value as if eaten raw. Crazy, right? For more on this, see What Chopping Your Vegetables Has to Do with Fighting Cancer.
8. Whole grains
(barley, brown rice, quinoa, oats, millet, popcorn, whole-wheat pasta, wild rice)
Whole-grains are one of the healthiest ways to consume your daily carbs and help maintain healthy gut flora.
This happens when fibre is broken down in the colon and starts a chain reaction, releasing beneficial substances into the bloodstream and reducing the risk of Type 2 Diabetes and inflammation (11).
9. Spices
(turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, cloves, cardamom, chili powder, nutmeg, coriander)
7% of a person's cells will have DNA damage. This damage is caused by tiny breaks in our DNA caused by factors like free-radical exposure.
Free radicals cause mutations that damage lipids, proteins, and DNA, increasing the risk of disease and cancer. Free radicals are unavoidable because they result from cellular metabolism, but they can be avoided by consuming anti-oxidant and detoxifying foods.
Including spices and herbs like rosemary or ginger in our diet may cut DNA damage by 25%. Yes, this damage can be improved through diet. Turmeric worked better at a lower dose (just a pinch, daily). For maximum free-radical fighting (and anti-inflammatory) effectiveness, use 1.5 tablespoons of similar spices (12).
10. Leafy greens
(spinach, collard greens, lettuce, other salad greens, swiss chard)
Studies show that people who eat more leafy greens perform better on cognitive tests and slow brain aging by a year or two (13).
As we age, blood flow to the brain drops due to a decrease in nitric oxide, which prevents blood vessels from dilatation. Daily consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables like spinach and swiss chard may prevent dementia and Alzheimer's.
11. Fermented foods
(sauerkraut, tempeh, kombucha, plant-based kefir)
Miso, kimchi, and sauerkraut contain probiotics that support gut microbiome.
Probiotics balance the good and bad bacteria in our bodies and offer other benefits. Fermenting fruits and vegetables increases their antioxidant and vitamin content, preventing disease in multiple ways (14).
12. Sea vegetables
(seaweed, nori, dulse flakes)
A population study found that eating one sheet of nori seaweed per day may cut breast cancer risk by more than half (15).
Seaweed and sea vegetables may help moderate estrogen levels in the metabolism, reducing cancer and disease risk.
Sea vegetables make up 30% of the world's edible plants and contain unique phytonutrients. A teaspoon of these super sea-foods on your dinner will help fight disease from the inside out.
13. Water
I'm less concerned about whether you consider water food than whether you drink enough. If this list were ranked by what single item led to the best health outcomes, water would be first.
Research shows that people who drink 5 or more glasses of water per day have a 50% lower risk of dying from heart disease than those who drink 2 or less (16).
Drinking enough water boosts energy, improves skin, mental health, and digestion, and reduces the risk of various health issues, including obesity.
14. Tea
All tea consumption is linked to a lower risk of stroke, heart disease, and early death, with green tea leading for antioxidant content and immediate health benefits.
Green tea leaves may also be able to interfere with each stage of cancer formation, from the growth of the first mutated cell to the spread and progression of cancer in the body. Green tea is a quick and easy way to support your long-term and short-term health (17).
15. Supplemental B12 vitamin
B12, or cobalamin, is a vitamin responsible for cell metabolism. Not getting enough B12 can have serious consequences.
Historically, eating vegetables from untreated soil helped humans maintain their vitamin B12 levels. Due to modern sanitization, our farming soil lacks B12.
B12 is often cited as a problem only for vegetarians and vegans (as animals we eat are given B12 supplements before slaughter), but recent studies have found that plant-based eaters have lower B12 deficiency rates than any other diet (18).
Article Sources: