Airdrop
A free distribution of tokens by a project, usually for marketing purposes or to reward early users. Be cautious: phishing schemes are often disguised as airdrops.
See also
Non-custodial wallet
A wallet in which the private keys are fully controlled by the user, with no intermediary. It carries more responsibility, but also more control over the funds.
KYC
Know Your Customer — an identity-verification procedure that users complete on regulated exchanges to comply with the law.
AML
Anti-Money Laundering — a set of policies and procedures that exchanges and financial institutions use to prevent illicit financial activity.
ICO
Initial Coin Offering — a fundraising method where a project sells its tokens to investors, broadly analogous to an IPO on the stock market.
IDO
Initial DEX Offering — a token launch that takes place directly on a decentralized exchange, without a centralized intermediary.
Whitepaper
A project's official document describing its technology, goals, token economics, and team. It is the first thing worth reading before investing in a new project.