If you are a Twitter user and/or follow cryptocurrency closely enough, you might have come across terms like #HODL and #WAGMI. These are just two of the common catchphrases that the crypto community has created.

This community is a mixed bag of investors, innovators, artists, entrepreneurs, and youngsters. Therefore, when this group of people comes together on Twitter or any other forum, they often create terms and acronyms that might sound weird to outsiders. Here’s a look at some of these terms that see increased usage during bear markets.

What is a bear market?

A bear market is a downtrend in crypto prices, defined by a more than 20 percent drop and widespread pessimism. During these times, supply is more than demand, hitting prices and investor confidence alike.

NYKNYC: 'Not your keys, not your crypto' is a very popular expression in the crypto community. It is a reference to custodial wallets, where a crypto firm controls the wallet's private key and therefore controls your holdings.

This phrase has a lot to do with the recent spike of customer withdrawals from crypto-related firms. Afraid these companies would tank, taking investor holding along with them, many users began withdrawing their assets. This caused company coffers to go dry.

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Over the last couple of weeks, several firms have declared bankruptcy, frozen withdrawals and even laid off staff due to massive investor withdrawals, all triggered by the fear of losing their holdings.

BTFD: Or 'buy the f*****g dip' is an aggressive strategy that encourages investors to buy tokens when the market is down. The aim of this strategy is to accumulate coins when prices are low.

Therefore, when markets rise once again, as they usually do, investors stand to gain massive profits. As you could expect, this term is very popular during bear markets. In fact, it has become a trading strategy for some.

The term also encourages investors who already own a particular coin to buy more of it during a bear market. This helps investors lower their average purchase cost.

WAGMI: WAGMI stands for ‘we are gonna make it’. While it is a commonly used term, it didn't originate from the crypto community. Rather, it was one of the many catchphrases from 4chan's fitness board and was initially popularised by an Australian bodybuilder Zyzz.

Then, in late 2020, it was picked by the crypto community as a way to indicate that the market was going up. During the bear market, it is used as an expression of camaraderie and a prediction of future success. It is often used to build confidence and encourage the community not to lose hope even as they see their portfolio thinning.

NGMI: It is the complete opposite of WAGMI, and it means 'not gonna make it’. It is a negative term used to generally describe crypto projects that are going to fail. But it is used quite generously when bears grip the markets, and people are scared they will not make it out this time.

DYOR: It means 'do your own research' and is often used as a disclaimer on social media by people who do not want to be held accountable for their crypto or NFT trading advice. They usually say, 'not financial advice, do your own research.' It fits in perfectly during a bear market when everyone is an expert, providing predictions and offering investment advice. However, during such times, it is prudent to DYOR.

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Many other slangs and catchphrases are used in the crypto community, and IYKYK (if you know, you know – another slang). And the new ones will keep popping up as the community grows and expands