Crypto

How to spell crypto

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce crypto

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does crypto mean?

1. nounA digital currency that uses cryptography for security, such as Bitcoin; short for cryptocurrency.
2. nounAn informal short form of cryptography, the practice of securing information through codes and ciphers.

Crypto in a sentence

• He moved most of his savings into crypto during the boom.

• The security team relies on strong crypto to protect customer data.

• The exchange lets users buy crypto with a debit card.

• Her thesis explored the history of military crypto during the war.

Where does crypto come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The element 'crypto' comes from the ancient Greek kruptos, meaning 'hidden' or 'concealed', which in turn derives from the verb kruptein, 'to hide'. For centuries it lived only as a combining form inside longer scholarly words such as 'cryptography' (secret writing) and 'cryptic' (having a hidden meaning), all carrying that core idea of something kept out of sight. In the twentieth century it began to stand alone informally as a clipped form of 'cryptography', a habit common in technical and intelligence circles. After the launch of Bitcoin in 2009 and the rise of digital currencies secured by cryptographic methods, 'crypto' rapidly took on its now dominant sense as a short form of 'cryptocurrency'. The spelling trap is the opening 'cry', which sounds like a long vowel yet keeps the Greek 'y', the same letter that hides inside its relatives 'crypt' and 'cryptic'.

How the word is built

• crypto- (from Greek kruptos: hidden, secret), used as a clipping of 'cryptocurrency' and 'cryptography'