Definition
Tank is an informal expression used to describe the negative performance of any financial asset in the market at any given moment. When an asset is declining quickly, then it is said to have “tanked.”
Understanding the term
The term “tank” is relevant for all kinds of financial markets and even a particular industry or company that is going through a hard time and is unable to perform well. Investors and traders of crypto, stocks, funds, indices or forex tend to avoid an asset that has “tanned” or displays extreme negative performance in the near future. Traders take it as the opposite of “rallying,” which depicts an asset price going through the roof due to decent market performance.
Tanking is an informal term and somewhat of a kind of slang used by traders and investors alike. There are many other alternatives to it that bear the same meaning. For example, bleeding is used to describe the same condition suffered by any financial asset (i.e., a certain decline in prices but at a slower pace). Usually, the tanking of an asset means a rapid fall in prices in the market.
Takeaway
Tank is a way to describe a sharp drop in the prices of any financial asset, including crypto. Traditional market participants also use the term “in the tank”, which means that the financial state of a particular asset has been going downhill for a long time.