(
CRYPTOgraphic,
CRYPTOcurrency) From the Latin "cryptic" and Greek "kryptikos," crypto means "concealed." For centuries, the term referred to encryption methods that hide data, and it still does. See
cryptography.
However, today, because of the astronomic growth of Bitcoin, crypto refers more often than not to "cryptocurrency," which is encrypted digital money. See
cryptocurrency and
crypto glossary.