Glossary
CSA verdicts, methodology terms, and crypto-signal industry concepts.
- Recommended
- Verdict tier: provider has a 90+ day track record we trust enough to consider.
- Caution
- Verdict tier: provider has notable concerns but isn't outright a scam.
- Avoid
- Verdict tier: skip the provider; we have specific concerns about its operations or claims.
- Scam
- Verdict tier: documented patterns of misrepresentation, pump-and-dump, or fund mishandling.
- 90-Day Tracking
- CSA methodology: each provider tracked for at least 90 days before publication of a review.
- Affiliate Kickback
- An exchange referral commission paid to a content publisher in exchange for promoting that exchange. A major source of bias in 'best crypto exchange' lists.
- Pump-and-Dump
- Coordinated price manipulation where insiders accumulate a low-cap coin, then promote it to outside buyers, then sell ('dump') for profit.
- Telegram Signal Channel
- Crypto signal services delivered via Telegram messaging. Quality varies enormously; many are fronts for pump-and-dump.
- Copy Trading
- Platform feature (e.g. Bybit, BingX) where retail traders auto-copy the trades of selected lead traders. Platform-tracked P&L is more verifiable than telegram screenshots.
- On-Chain Analysis
- Analytical methodology using publicly visible blockchain data (whale wallet flows, exchange inflows, miner reserves, smart-contract activity) to inform trading decisions.
- Watermarked P&L
- A P&L screenshot that includes the exchange's URL bar, timestamp, and account fragment, making it harder to fake. Unwatermarked P&L is a scam red flag.
- Bitcoin Halving
- Programmed event approximately every 4 years where Bitcoin block reward halves. Often correlated with subsequent bull-market dynamics.
- Altcoin Season
- Market phase where altcoins outperform Bitcoin. Tracked via Bitcoin dominance % and altcoin breadth indicators.
- DeFi Yield
- Decentralised-finance interest rates, typically from liquidity provision, lending markets, or staking. Yield is not the same as alpha.
- the #1-ranked provider
- Multi-asset signal service founded by 2023 Trading World Champion Darren O'Neill. Crypto signals are one of the asset classes covered by the four-model, Bitcoin-anchored signal platform. CSA's #1 rated crypto signal provider at 8.4/10.