Every staking & DeFi term, in plain English

Custodial vs Non-Custodial

Custodial means a service holds your tokens for you (Coinbase staking). Non-custodial means you keep the keys (Lido, Rocket Pool).

Delegation

Assigning your tokens to a validator without giving up ownership. The validator earns staking rewards and shares them with you minus a commission.

Stablecoin

A token engineered to track $1 — backed by reserves, by other crypto, or algorithmically. Used as cash inside DeFi.

Staking

Locking up a token to help secure its blockchain in exchange for periodic rewards, typically a percentage yield paid in the same token.

TVL (Total Value Locked)

The total dollar value of assets currently deposited in a DeFi protocol. A rough proxy for adoption and trust.

Unbonding Period

The waiting time after you unstake before tokens become liquid again. Ranges from minutes (Ethereum LSTs) to 21+ days (Cosmos chains).

Validator

A computer that processes transactions and votes on the blockchain's state. In return for keeping the network honest it collects fees and staking rewards.

Validator Commission

The fee a validator takes from staking rewards before passing the rest to delegators. Often 5–15%; lower means more of the reward reaches you.

Wrapped Token

A 1:1 representation of an asset usable on a different chain. WBTC is wrapped Bitcoin on Ethereum; WETH is wrapped Ether for DeFi compatibility.

APR

Annual Percentage Rate — the yearly return on a deposit without compounding. Lower than APY for the same underlying rate.

APY

Annual Percentage Yield — the yearly return on a deposit assuming rewards are continuously reinvested. Always slightly higher than APR.

CDP (Collateralised Debt Position)

Locking crypto as collateral to mint a stablecoin against it. You keep upside on the collateral while spending the borrowed dollars.

Lending Protocol

A DeFi app where you deposit a token to be borrowed by others. You earn interest from the borrowers; they post collateral to back the loan.

Liquidity Pool (LP)

A pool of two or more tokens deposited so others can swap between them. LP providers earn trading fees and bear impermanent-loss risk.

Liquid Staking

Staking via a protocol that gives you a tradeable receipt token. You earn staking rewards without locking your capital.

Liquid Staking Token (LST)

A receipt token issued by a liquid staking protocol that represents your staked position and accrues rewards. Examples: stETH, rETH, jitoSOL.

Real Yield

Yield paid in revenue-bearing assets (ETH, USDC, fees) rather than newly minted protocol tokens. The non-inflationary part of the rate.

Restaking

Reusing already-staked tokens to also secure another protocol or service, earning a second layer of rewards on the same capital.

Yield Farming

Earning extra rewards on top of base interest by routing tokens through DeFi protocols that pay incentive tokens.

Audit

An independent security review of a smart contract. More audits and longer track record reduce — but never eliminate — code risk.

Impermanent Loss

A loss LP providers experience when the two pool tokens diverge in price. The loss only crystallises if you withdraw at that ratio.

Slashing

An automatic penalty where part of a validator's stake is destroyed for misbehaviour or extended downtime. Real risk for delegators too.

Bridge

A protocol that moves tokens between two blockchains. Bridges are a frequent source of large hacks; use the chain's native bridge when possible.

Gas

The fee paid to run a transaction on a blockchain. High gas can wipe out yield on small DeFi positions.

MEV (Maximal Extractable Value)

Profit validators capture by ordering or inserting transactions in the blocks they propose. Often shared back to delegators as boosted yield.

Oracle

An on-chain feed of off-chain data — usually prices. Lending and CDP protocols rely on oracles to liquidate positions correctly.

Smart Contract

Code on a blockchain that runs automatically when called. DeFi protocols are smart contracts — bugs in the code can lose user funds.