[Glossary] Fundamental Analysis & News Terms

CryptoKas

Below is a detailed glossary of terms you’ll encounter in Fundamental Analysis & News discussions. Definitions are clear and jargon-free—ideal for building a strong base in project research.

Project Foundations

Whitepaper: The official document explaining a project’s vision, technology, tokenomics and roadmap.
Roadmap: A timeline of planned milestones and feature releases.
Use Case: The real-world problem a project aims to solve or the service it provides.
Team: The core developers, advisors and contributors behind the project.
Partnership: A formal collaboration with another company, protocol or institution.
Governance Model: How decisions are made—token-weighted voting, council proposals, off-chain voting, etc.
Community Engagement: How a project interacts with its users (forums, social channels, AMAs).

Tokenomics & Supply

Tokenomics: The economic design of a token—issuance schedule, incentives, and deflationary/inflationary mechanics.
Circulating Supply: The number of tokens currently available in the market.
Total Supply: All tokens that exist, including those not yet released.
Max Supply: The absolute cap on how many tokens will ever be created.
Vesting Schedule: A timeline dictating when team, advisor or investor tokens become unlocked.
Inflation Rate: The annual increase in token supply, often expressed as a percentage.
Burn Mechanism: A process that permanently removes tokens from circulation (e.g., buy-back and burn).

Metrics & Ratios

Market Cap: Current price × circulating supply; measures project size.
Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV): Current price × max supply; shows theoretical maximum valuation.
Total Value Locked (TVL): Sum of assets deposited in a protocol’s smart contracts—common in DeFi analysis.
Staked Ratio: Percentage of tokens locked in staking versus total supply; indicates holder commitment.
Treasury Reserves: Holdings controlled by the protocol’s treasury (often used for grants or development).

News & Events

Exchange Listing: When a token becomes tradable on a centralized or decentralized exchange.
Mainnet Launch: When a project moves from testnet (trial) to a live blockchain environment.
Protocol Upgrade / Hard Fork: A backward-incompatible change to a blockchain’s rules, requiring node updates.
Partnership Announcement: News of a new collaboration, often bullish for adoption.
Regulatory News: Government rulings or legal developments affecting crypto operations.
Security Alert: Warnings about hacks, exploits or vulnerable contracts.

️ Analysis Tools & Sources

On-Chain Explorer: A website (e.g., Etherscan) where you view transactions, addresses and contract data.
Data Aggregator: Platforms like CoinMarketCap or Messari that compile market and project metrics.
Research Report: In-depth analysis published by firms or independent analysts.
Security Audit: An independent review of smart-contract code to find vulnerabilities.
Analyst Rating: A qualitative score or grade assigned by an expert or agency.
Social Listening Tool: Services that track mentions and sentiment on Twitter, Reddit, Telegram, etc.

Feel free to pin this thread as a reference. If you’d like more terms added or examples for any definition, drop a comment below!*