A
AML (Anti-Money Laundering) A set of regulations and checks designed to prevent the use of financial systems for illegal activity.
B
Bridge A tool or protocol that moves tokens from one blockchain to another. For example, bridging USDC from Ethereum to Solana moves the same asset across two different chains.
C
CLI (Command Line Interface) A text-based interface for interacting with software by typing commands. The MoonPay CLI (mp) lets you manage wallets and execute trades directly from your terminal.
Custodial A setup where a third party (such as an exchange) holds your private keys and controls your funds on your behalf. Contrast with non-custodial.
D
DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging) An investment strategy where you buy a fixed dollar amount of an asset at regular intervals, regardless of price. This reduces the impact of volatility by spreading purchases over time.
DeFi (Decentralised Finance) Financial services and products built on blockchain networks that operate without centralised intermediaries like banks. Examples include token swaps, lending, and yield strategies.
Deposit link A multi-chain payment link generated by MoonPay CLI that accepts crypto from any supported chain and automatically converts it to a stablecoin.
E
EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) The runtime environment for smart contracts on Ethereum and compatible blockchains. EVM-compatible chains — including Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB, and Avalanche — share a single wallet address when using MoonPay CLI.
F
Fiat Government-issued currency, such as USD, EUR, or GBP. MoonPay CLI supports fiat on-ramps (converting fiat to crypto) and off-ramps (converting crypto back to fiat).
Fiat on-ramp The process of converting fiat currency into cryptocurrency. MoonPay supports on-ramps via virtual accounts, Apple Pay, Venmo, and PayPal.
H
HD Wallet (Hierarchical Deterministic Wallet) A wallet that generates all its addresses from a single seed phrase (mnemonic). MoonPay CLI uses HD wallets, meaning one mnemonic derives addresses for all supported chains.
Honeypot A malicious token contract designed to let buyers in but prevent them from selling. The maiat-token-safety skill checks for honeypots before executing a swap.
I
Iron MoonPay's virtual account product that lets you receive fiat via bank wire (IBAN or ACH) and automatically convert it to stablecoin. Used to fund DCA strategies through MoonPay CLI.
K
KYB (Know Your Business) A verification process for business customers, similar to KYC but applied to companies rather than individuals. Required for B2B access to certain MoonPay products.
KYC (Know Your Customer) An identity verification process required by financial regulations. MoonPay requires KYC for virtual accounts and fiat on-ramps.
L
Limit order An instruction to buy or sell a token only when it reaches a specific price. MoonPay CLI supports limit orders via the moonpay-trading-automation skill.
Liquidity The availability of funds or assets for trading or spending. High liquidity means an asset can be bought or sold quickly without significantly affecting its price.
M
MCP (Model Context Protocol) An open standard that allows AI assistants to call external tools through a consistent interface. MoonPay CLI runs as an MCP server, making its financial tools available to any MCP-compatible AI assistant such as Claude or Cursor.
MCP server A server that exposes tools to AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol. Running mp mcp starts the MoonPay CLI as a local MCP server.
Mnemonic (seed phrase) A sequence of 12 or 24 words that serves as the master key to an HD wallet. Anyone with access to your mnemonic can control your wallet — store it securely and never share it.
MoonPay Agents MoonPay's non-custodial software layer that gives AI agents access to crypto-specific tools across wallets, trading, market data, and fiat on/off ramps.
MoonPay CLI The MoonPay command-line interface (mp), which exposes MoonPay's full financial stack to AI assistants and developers. It functions as an MCP server and supports wallets, swaps, bridges, DCA, and more.
N
Non-custodial A setup where you hold your own private keys and maintain full control of your funds. MoonPay CLI is non-custodial — your keys never leave your machine.
O
On-chain Activity that is recorded directly on a blockchain. On-chain transactions are transparent, immutable, and settled without a central authority.
OpenClaw A self-hosted personal AI assistant that runs on your own hardware and connects to messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage. MoonPay CLI can be connected to OpenClaw via MCP.
P
PEP (Politically Exposed Person) An individual who holds or has held a prominent public position. Financial institutions are required to apply enhanced checks to PEPs as part of AML compliance.
Prediction market A market where participants trade on the outcome of future events. MoonPay CLI supports trading on Polymarket, Kalshi, and Myriad via dedicated skills.
Private key A cryptographic key that proves ownership of a wallet and authorises transactions. Never share your private key — anyone who has it can access and move your funds.
R
Rug pull A scam where token creators abandon a project and take investor funds. The maiat-token-safety skill checks for rug pull signals before executing a swap.
S
Skill A modular extension to MoonPay CLI, each purpose-built for a specific workflow. Skills install like plugins and work immediately inside any supported AI assistant. Examples include moonpay-swap-tokens, moonpay-trading-automation, and maiat-token-safety.
Skills layer The architecture that makes MoonPay CLI composable. Skills package together the right sequence of tool calls, prompts, and logic for a common task, and expose them as slash commands inside your AI assistant.
Slippage The difference between the expected price of a trade and the price at which it executes. High slippage can occur in low-liquidity markets.
Stablecoin A cryptocurrency pegged to the value of a fiat currency, typically USD. Examples include USDC and USDT.
Stop loss An instruction to automatically sell a position if its value drops below a specified threshold. MoonPay CLI supports stop losses via the moonpay-trading-automation skill.
T
Token A digital asset that exists on a blockchain. Tokens can represent currencies (like USDC), governance rights, or other assets.
Token safety check A pre-trade analysis that checks a token contract for red flags such as honeypots, rug pull signals, high-tax traps, and suspicious patterns. Run via the maiat-token-safety skill.
U
USDC A USD-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, widely used across DeFi and supported by MoonPay CLI for swaps, bridges, and deposits.
USDT A USD-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether. Supported by MoonPay CLI for swaps, bridges, and deposits.
V
Virtual account A personal fiat account provided by MoonPay (via Iron) that accepts bank transfers and automatically converts them to stablecoin. Used to fund DCA strategies and other automated workflows.
W
Wallet A software tool that stores private keys and allows you to send, receive, and manage cryptocurrency. MoonPay CLI uses HD wallets that support multiple chains from a single mnemonic.
WebSocket A communication protocol that enables real-time, two-way data exchange between a client and server. Used by PumpPortal to stream live Pump.fun token launch data to the memecoin sniper skill.
X
x402 A payment protocol that enables machine-to-machine micropayments over HTTP. MoonPay CLI supports x402 payments via the moonpay-x402 skill, allowing AI agents to pay for API access automatically.