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51% Attack

An attack on a blockchain network where a single entity or group gains control of the majority of the network’s mining hashrate, allowing them to manipulate transactions and double spend coins.

A

Absolute Advantage

The ability of an individual, company, region or country to produce more of a good or service with the same amount of resources than another entity. This gives them a competitive advantage in the market.

Active Management

An investment strategy where professional fund managers actively buy and sell assets in an attempt to outperform benchmark indexes through superior insights and analysis.

Ad Hoc

Latin phrase meaning “for this purpose”. Used to describe something that was created or devised for a specific purpose or situation.

Address

A unique string of alphanumeric characters that identifies a specific wallet on a blockchain network and allows the wallet owner to receive cryptocurrency.

Airdrop

A marketing tactic used by cryptocurrency projects to distribute free coins or tokens to a wide audience in order to raise awareness and increase adoption of the project.

Algorithm

A set of instructions or rules designed to solve a problem or complete a computation. Cryptocurrencies rely on cryptographic algorithms to secure networks.

All or None Order (AON)

A type of order that must be filled completely or else canceled. Prevents partial filling of the order. Useful for filling large block orders.

All-Time High (ATH)

The highest price a cryptocurrency has reached in its trading history, when valued against a fiat currency like the US dollar.

Allocation

The portion of coins, tokens or equity assigned to a particular party, such as investors in an ICO or team members of a project. Determines ownership stakes.

Alpha

The first testing version of software with basic functionality, often shared with developers before public release. Allows early feedback.

Altcoin

Any cryptocurrency that launched after Bitcoin. Alternatives to Bitcoin.

Angel Investor

Affluent individuals who provide capital to startups and entrepreneurs in exchange for equity or convertible debt. Provide early funding.

 

Anti Money Laundering (AML)

Regulations and procedures intended to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate income. Required for crypto exchanges.

 

Application Programming Interface (API)

Code that specifies how software components should interact with each other. Allows decentralized apps to access blockchain data.

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)

A microchip designed for a specialized application, such as mining cryptocurrencies. More efficient than general CPUs.

Arbitrage

Taking advantage of price differences across multiple markets and exchanges to secure risk-free profits. Common in volatile crypto markets.

ASIC-resistant

A cryptocurrency protocol designed to prevent ASICs from having significant mining advantages over GPUs and other hardware. Aims to decentralize mining.

Ask Price

 The lowest price a seller is willing to accept when selling an asset in an order book. Represents potential sell liquidity.

Asset Management

Professional management of investments based on objectives like growth or income. Manages risk across diverse assets.

Asynchronous

Not simultaneous. Describes decentralized network communications that can occur independently without coordination. Enables parallel processing.

Atomic Swap

A smart contract technology that allows direct cryptocurrency swaps between users without centralized intermediaries. Enables decentralized trading.

Attack surface

The sum of points in a software environment where an external party can try to enter, access or extract data. Larger attack surfaces mean more vulnerabilities.

Auction

A public sale where assets are sold to the highest bidder. Common for initial NFT sales. Allows price discovery.

B

B-Tokens

Cryptocurrency tokens issued by Binance as fully collateralized representations of other assets, like Bitcoin BTCB. Pegged 1:1 to the underlying asset.

Bags

Crypto slang for the coins and tokens in one’s portfolio, especially low-value holdings investors continue accumulating.

Beacon Chain

The central coordinator for Ethereum’s proof-of-stake validators. Facilitates consensus and Cross-Shard Communication.

Bear Market

A prolonged period of declining prices in a financial market. Indicates negative sentiment and pessimism. The opposite of a bull market.

Benchmark

A standard measurement used as a point of reference to evaluate performance. Common benchmarks in crypto include BTC and ETH.

BEP-2

A technical standard for issuing and managing tokens on Binance Chain, similar to ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum.

BEP-20

A token standard on Binance Smart Chain that is compatible with Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. Enables cross-chain interoperability.

BEP-721

The NFT token standard used on Binance Smart Chain. Equivalent to ERC-721 NFTs on Ethereum.

BEP-95

An evolution proposal introducing a real-time BNB token burning mechanism on Binance Smart Chain. Deflates token supply.

Beta (Coefficient)

Measure of an asset’s volatility in relation to a benchmark index. Higher beta indicates wider price swings than the overall market.

Beta (Release)

A software version released to a limited audience for testing purposes after alpha testing and before public release. Allows bug identification.

Bid Price

The highest price a buyer is willing to pay for an asset. Indicator of demand.

Bid-Ask Spread

The difference between the bid price and the ask price for an asset. Measures liquidity and trading costs.

Binance Community Vote

A voting competition where Binance users vote for blockchain projects to win a free listing on the exchange.

Binance Ecosystem Fund (BEF)

An initiative to provide funding and support blockchain entrepreneurs and projects. Accelerates crypto ecosystem growth.

Binance Labs

An incubator for early-stage blockchain projects providing funding, mentoring and other resources. Part of Binance’s social impact fund.

Bitcoin

The first and most widely adopted cryptocurrency, founded by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Established blockchain technology.

Bitcoin Core

The original Bitcoin client software, maintained by contributors around the world. Provides node functionality.

Bitcoin Dominance

Bitcoin’s total market capitalization as a percentage of the entire crypto market cap. Measures Bitcoin’s market share.

Bitcoin Maximalists

Crypto enthusiasts who believe Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that will accrue value long-term. Reject altcoins.

Bitcoin Pizza

The first known real-world Bitcoin transaction, where programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas in 2010. Worth over $300 million today.

Black Swan Event

A rare and unpredictable event with severe consequences, understood as improbable in hindsight. Creates ripple effects.  

Block

A container that bundles transaction data before being added to the blockchain. Blocks contain metadata and form the blockchain ledger.

Block Explorer

A search engine for the blockchain, allowing users to lookup transaction data, balances, blocks and other analytics. Provides transparency.

Block Header

Component of a block containing metadata like timestamp and cryptographic hash of block data. Block headers are hashed during mining.

Block Height

The number of blocks preceding a given block on the blockchain. An indicator of a block’s position in the chain.

Block Reward

The amount of crypto coins awarded to a miner for successfully adding a block to the blockchain. An incentive for mining.

Blockchain

A chronological database maintained by decentralized nodes. Uses cryptographic hashes to ensure immutability and transparency. Enables cryptocurrency.

Blockchain Charity Foundation

A non-profit using blockchain to increase transparency and efficiency of charitable donations. Advances crypto for social good.

Bloom Filter

An efficient cryptographic data structure for testing membership in a set. Used by Bitcoin SPV wallets to detect payments.

Blue-Chip Token

Established, reputable and reliable cryptocurrency project with a history of value accrual. Analogy to blue chip stocks.

Bounty

A reward offered to incentivize an action. Projects often provide bounties for marketing efforts like referrals.

BRC-20 Tokens

Experimental fungible tokens minted on Bitcoin’s blockchain using the Ordinals protocol. Allows new BTC token functionality.

Break-Even Point (BEP)

The point at which costs and revenues are equal, and there is no profit or loss. Important metric for mining profitability.

Breakeven Multiple

The multiple of the current price required for an asset to reach its previous all-time high. Quantifies potential upside.

Breakout

When the price of an asset breaks through resistance levels on increased volume. Indicates new price discovery.

BUIDL

Crypto slang telling builders to focus on development instead of market fluctuations. Derived from HODL.  

Bull Market

A period of sustained rising prices and positive sentiment. Indicates optimism. The opposite of a bear market.

Buy Wall

A large buy order or multiple buy orders clustered at one price on the order book. Acts as price support.

C

Candidate Block

A tentative block created by a miner before being validated and added to the blockchain. Earns the block reward if accepted.

Candlestick

A style of financial chart used to visualize price movements with color coded bars. Green for up, red for down.

Capitulation

When holders accept losses and sell assets in panic, driving prices sharply lower. Usually marks bottoms.

Censorship-resistance

The inability of a third party to prevent valid transactions from being recorded on a blockchain. Preserves integrity.

Central Bank

Institution responsible for monetary policy and money supply of a nation or territory. Examples are the Federal Reserve and ECB.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Hardware component in computers and mining rigs that performs operations and calculations. Less efficient for mining than GPUs or ASICs.

Centralized

Controlled by a central authority. Opposite of decentralized. Traditional finance is centralized.

Cipher

Cryptographic algorithms used to encrypt and decrypt information. Symmetric ciphers use a shared key. Asymmetric ciphers use public and private keys.

Circulating Supply

The number of tokens that are currently in public hands and circulating freely in the market. Excludes locked funds.

Cloud

Internet-based computing services and storage provided remotely via cloud providers. Blockchain infrastructure is increasingly utilizing cloud technology.

Coin

Cryptocurrency that operates independently on its own blockchain. Coins like Bitcoin and Litecoin create their own units.

Collateral

An asset pledged when borrowing funds, that is forfeit if the loan is not repaid. DeFi loans often use crypto as collateral.

Colocation

A data center facility rented by financial firms to locate their servers proximate to exchanges. Lowers trading latency.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

US regulatory agency that oversees futures, options and derivatives markets, including crypto derivatives.

Compound Interest

Interest calculated on initial principal and accumulated interest. Compounding allows crypto holdings to grow exponentially.

Confirmation Time

The time required for a transaction to be validated by enough blockchain nodes to be considered irreversible. Varies by cryptocurrency.

Confluence

When different analytical methods or indicators provide reinforcing trading signals. Combines evidence for higher conviction trades.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Measurement of the average change in prices over time representing inflation. Rising CPI may spur Bitcoin adoption as an inflation hedge.

Counterparty Risk

The risk that the other party in a transaction won’t fulfill their contractual obligations. Decentralized finance aims to minimize counterparty risk.

Credentials

Any personal information used to confirm identity like usernames, passwords, email addresses or social security numbers. Blockchains use cryptographic keys instead.

Cross-Chain Bridges

Infrastructure allowing the transfer of assets and data between independent blockchains. Enables interoperability between chains.

Crypto Protocol

The rules governing transaction processing, validation and consensus on a blockchain network. Protocols provide structure.

Crypto Winter

A prolonged bear market with falling prices and diminished hype. Can last over a year. The opposite price environment of a crypto spring.

Cryptocurrency

Digital money secured by cryptography and recorded on a blockchain ledger. Enables pseudo-anonymous peer-to-peer transactions.

Cryptography

Techniques for securing communication and information using mathematical puzzles, hashes and digital signatures. Core component of blockchain technology.

Custody

Holding assets on behalf of another party. Crypto custody solutions provide secure, regulated storage for institutional investors.

D

Daemon

A background process or agent program on servers and nodes which waits to be activated by an event or request. Managing daemons is system administration.

Dead Cat Bounce

A short-lived recovery during a falling market before prices resume declining. Provides bull traps for bottom-callers in bear trends.

Decentralized Application (DApp)

Software programs built on decentralized blockchain networks instead of conventional servers. Run on consensus protocols.

Decentralized Autonomous Cooperative (DAC)

Member-owned cooperatives without hierarchical management. Blockchain enables decentralized governance and transparency.

Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)

An organization represented by rules encoded on a transparent blockchain, removing the need for central control. Early experiments in decentralized governance.

Decentralized Blockchain

A decentralized blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that operates without a central authority or intermediary.

Decentralized Exchange (DEX)

Cryptocurrency exchanges allowing trustless direct peer-to-peer trading without centralized custody. Popular on Ethereum.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Financial applications built on public blockchain networks outside traditional finance. Aims to increase accessibility.

Decentralized Indexes

Cryptocurrency indexes for diversified exposure and passive tracking. Indexes use programmatic rules instead of active fund managers.

Decryption

Reversing encryption to convert encrypted information back into readable plaintext. Private keys decrypt and provide access to funds.

Deep Web

Unindexed internet content in databases and dynamically-generated pages, not accessible to search engines. Should not be confused with dark web.

Delisting

Removal of a cryptocurrency from an exchange, either due to regulatory issues, lack of liquidity, or at the project’s request. Can indicate problems.

Design Flaw Attack

Maliciously exploiting vulnerabilities intentionally baked into software, like the DAO hack of Ethereum in 2016. Highlights importance of security audits.

Diamond Hands

Traders who hold through volatility without flinching. Derives from the phrase “hands of diamond” describing resolute determination.  

Difficulty

Measurement of the effort required for miners to add new blocks. Increased difficulty requires more computing power to mine.

Difficulty Bomb

Planned exponential increase in mining difficulty on Ethereum to force transition to PoS. Also known as the Ethereum Ice Age.

Divergence

When an asset’s price diverges from expected trajectory based on related metrics like trading volume. Can signal trend changes.  

Diversification

Distributing investments among different assets and markets to reduce overall risk and volatility in a portfolio.

Do Your Own Research (DYOR)

Mantra encouraging personal due diligence into crypto projects. Reminds investors not to blindly follow tips or hype.

Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)

Accumulating an asset by investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of price. Smooths entry for volatility.

Double Spending

Deceitfully spending the same cryptocurrency twice, exploited in attacks. Blockchains prevent double spending through transaction ordering and confirmation.

Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)

E

Eclipse Attack

Attacking a blockchain peer-to-peer network by flooding nodes with connections to isolate them from honest peers. Temporary network disruption.

Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)

Theory that market prices fully reflect all available information. Contradicted by crypto markets driven by sentiment.  

Encryption

Cryptographic transformation of data into a secure, encoded format to prevent unauthorized access. Vital for securing digital transactions and communication.

Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA)

Advances Ethereum adoption in enterprises through standards and solutions for business use cases like supply chain tracking.

ERC-20.

The most common Ethereum token standard. An interface allowing tokens to be stored, sent and received like Ether. Enabled the 2017 ICO boom.

ERC-721

Ethereum NFT token standard for issuing unique, non-fungible digital assets with proof of ownership tracked on-chain. Powered CryptoKitties and NFT art.

Exchange

A platform enabling the trading of cryptocurrencies. Can be centralized, like Binance, or decentralized like Uniswap.

F

Fakeout

Deceptive market movement trapping traders on the wrong side of the price action. Causes liquidations in leveraged trading.

Falling Knife

Rapidly declining price downtrend where catchers trying to pick the bottom get cut buying too early.

Fan Tokens

Branded cryptocurrency tokens representing affiliation with an organization like a sports team. Offer perks and benefits to loyal fans.

Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)

Urge to invest due to anxiety of missing potential gains. Causes poor emotional decision making in crypto markets.

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD)

Spreading negative or false information to influence perception. Market manipulation tactic.

Fiat

Government currencies like dollars or euros declared as legal tender, whose value is backed by the issuing government.

Fill Or Kill Order (FOK)

A buy or sell order that must fill completely and instantaneously or be canceled. For large block orders requiring immediacy.

Finality

When a blockchain transaction is irreversibly settled. Enables settlement of value transfers without counterparty risk.

First-Mover Advantage (FMA)

Business advantage gained by being first to bring an innovation to market. In crypto, Bitcoin has first-mover advantage.

Fiscal Policy

Government policy controlling taxation and public spending levels to influence economic growth, employment and inflation.

Flappening

Term for Litecoin overtaking Bitcoin Cash in market cap as Litecoin gains in popularity and adoption.

Flippening

Hypothetical scenario where Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin to become the highest valued cryptocurrency.

Forced Liquidation

Mandatory closing of a leveraged position that was unable to meet margin requirements as prices dropped. Exposes traders to liquidation cascades in fast declining markets.

Forex (FX)

Decentralized global market for trading fiat currencies. Largest financial market. Increasingly being disrupted by cryptocurrency.

Formal Verification

Mathematical techniques to prove properties of smart contracts and blockchain consensus protocols. Helps secure mission-critical code from flaws.

Fren

Internet slang for friend. Frequent endearing term of address in crypto communities to establish camaraderie.

Full Node

Software that fully validates all transactions and blocks on a blockchain network according to consensus rules. Maintains a complete local copy of the blockchain ledger. Critical for decentralization.

Fundamental Analysis (FA)

Assessing an asset’s intrinsic value through analysis of related economic, financial and other qualitative and quantitative factors.

Fungibility

Interchangeable property of each individual unit of an asset being identical. Bitcoin is fungible whereas NFTs are non-fungible.

Futures Contract

A standardized agreement to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined future date and price. Enables speculation and risk management.

G

Gas

The fee required to successfully conduct a transaction or execute a contract on Ethereum. Pays for computations and storage.

Gas Limit

Maximum amount of gas you’re willing to pay for a transaction. Transactions fail if the gas limit is insufficient.

General Public License

Permissive open source license allowing free usage, modification and distribution. Promotes collaborative open source development.

Genesis Block

First block of a blockchain. Lays the foundation for the immutable distributed ledger.

GitHub

Popular platform for open source software development and version control using Git. Many crypto projects host code on GitHub.

GM (Good Morning)

Friendly online salutation promoting community spirit in crypto. GM is commonly used in Twitter bios.

Golden Cross

Bullish indicator when a faster moving average crosses above a slower moving average, signalling momentum. The opposite is a death cross.

Gossip Protocol

Method for computers in distributed networks to communicate while only interacting with a few nearby nodes instead of everyone. Scales communication.

Denomination of Ether – 1 Gwei is 10^9 Wei. Gas prices for Ethereum transactions are generally measured in Gwei.

Gwei

Denomination of Ether – 1 Gwei is 10^9 Wei. Gas prices for Ethereum transactions are generally measured in Gwei.

H

Hackathon

Coding competitions where teams rapidly build blockchain applications and demos. Fosters innovation and community.

Hacker

Can refer positively to an expert programmer, or negatively to a cybercriminal breaching computer systems illegally. Grey hats hack ethically.

Haha Money Printer Go Brrrrr

Meme mocking central bank policies like quantitative easing that inflate fiat money supply and drive adoption of hard-capped cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation.

Halving

Programmed reduction of block rewards on Bitcoin and some other proof-of-work blockchains. Cuts issuance rate and inflation in half.

Hard Cap

Maximum number of units of a cryptocurrency that can ever exist. Provides assurances of scarcity to investors.

Hard Fork

Permanent divergence in a blockchain caused by non-backwards compatible upgrades and rule changes. Splits the network.

Hash

Output produced by a hash function. Used in cryptography for fingerprinting data. Hashes play central roles in securing blockchains.

Hash Rate

Measurement of the processing power dedicated to mining and processing transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain network.

Hashed TimeLock Contract (HTLC)

Enables trustless cryptocurrency transfers between parties utilizing hashlocks and timelocks. Underpins atomic swaps and payment channels.

High-Frequency Trading (HFT)

Automated trading involving rapid placement of orders to exploit arbitrage opportunities on very short time frames. Controversial practices.

HODL

Humorous misspelling of “hold” referring to a strategy of holding crypto long-term regardless of volatility instead of actively trading.

Honeypot

Decoy system appearing to be part of a network that actually logs and analyzes activity of bad actors probing and attacking the system. Gathers insights.

I

Iceberg Order

Large single order split into smaller limit orders to conceal full order quantity. Hides trading intentions from the market.

Immutability

Permanent inability to alter or delete data once recorded. A core property of blockchains providing auditability and transparency.

Index

Metric providing exposure to a basket of assets. Index performance reflects the overall market instead of individual components.

Initial Coin Offering (ICO)

Controversial fundraising events where projects sell tokens representing future access to products and services. Prone to scams and hype.

Initial Exchange Offering (IEO)

Token offering conducted through a cryptocurrency exchange instead of directly through the project team. Provides investors more trust through exchange vetting.

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

Milestone liquidity event when a private company first sells shares to public investors on a stock exchange. Rare in crypto markets currently.

Integrated Circuit (IC)

Small electronic circuit comprised of connected components like transistors etched onto a tiny chip of semiconductor material. Crucial for computing.

Interoperability

Capability of diverse systems and organizations to work together and exchange information smoothly. Critical for blockchain adoption and connectivity between chains.

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

Open source decentralized storage network for static files addressed by file content hashes. Enables decentralized websites and apps.

IOU

Informal debt instrument acknowledging money owed. IOUs can be recorded on blockchains like Ripple to represent credit.

Isolated Margin

Amount allocated to collateralize a leveraged trading position. Losses can’t exceed margin allocated to the position.

Issuance

Release of new units of a cryptocurrency through mining, staking, inflation or grants. Impacts circulating supply.

K

Keccak

Cryptographic hash function designed by Guido Bertoni, Joan Daemen, Michaël Peeters, and Gilles Van Assche. Used in Ethereum as replacement for SHA-3 proposal.

Know Your Customer (KYC)

Regulatory process of a business verifying customer identities and assessing potential risks of illegal intentions for services like cryptocurrency trading.

L

Latency

Delay between sending a request or transaction and receiving confirmation. Speed is essential for high frequency trading strategies exploiting arbitrage opportunities.

Law of Demand

Microeconomics principle that as the price of a good or service increases, consumer demand decreases, ceteris paribus. Applies to cryptocurrencies.

Layer 2

Secondary frameworks built on top of base blockchain layers to enable increased transaction throughput while maintaining security guarantees of the underlying blockchain.

Ledger

Book or computer file recording financial transactions and balances over time. Blockchains distribute digital ledgers publicly.

Leveraged Tokens

Derivative products providing leveraged exposure to underlying cryptoassets without margin and liquidation management. Simplifies accessing leverage. Dangerous if misused.

Library

Collection of prewritten code and resources bundled for developers to conveniently integrate into software and applications.

Lightning Network

Layer 2 solution using payment channels and hashed timelock contracts to facilitate high volume micropayments on Bitcoin and some other blockchains.

Linux

Open source operating system kernel first released in 1991. Now widely used from servers to smartphones. Android and most cryptocurrencies rely on Linux.

Liquidity

The degree to which an asset can be quickly bought or sold in a market without significantly impacting the price. High liquidity minimizes slippage.

Liquidity Crisis

Severe liquidity shortage making it difficult for an entity to meet current financial obligations. Can cause market turmoil.

Liquidity Provider

An independent market maker providing buy and sell orders for an asset to increase market liquidity available. Earns trading fees in return.

Liquidity Ratios

Financial metrics calculating the ability of a company to pay short-term obligations and convert assets into cash. Important solvency measures.

Listing

Inclusion of a cryptocurrency on an exchange where it can be traded. Subject to exchange due diligence and project team requests.

M

Mainnet

The live software environment where a cryptoasset is actively used and transacted. Represents the most stable latest version of the protocol.

Mainnet Swap

Transition of a cryptocurrency from an issuing ERC-20 token on Ethereum to a native asset on its own independent blockchain. Requires coin swapping.

Maker

Provider of liquidity placing limit orders that remain on the order book rather than instantly filled. Earns fees from takers for providing liquidity.

Malware

Malicious software with intentions to damage, hack or breach computer systems. Cryptocurrency users must beware of malware like trojans aimed at stealing funds.

Margin Trading

Trading digital assets using borrowed funds to increase buying power. Allows leverage. Highly risky – margin calls liquidate positions unable to cover losses.

Market Capitalization

Aggregate USD value of available supply of a cryptocurrency based on current price. Useful for comparing relative size and market dominance of cryptocurrencies.

Market Momentum

Rate of acceleration of growth or decline in asset prices in a market. Rising momentum indicates strong hands accumulating. Falling momentum panics weak hands into selling.

Market Order

Buying or selling an asset immediately at currently available prices. Simple and fast but doesn’t guarantee exact price. Opposite of limit orders.

Masternode

Mining two or more cryptocurrencies simultaneously if they share the same algorithm. Examples include Dogecoin and Litecoin merged with Bitcoin mining.

Maximalist

Crypto enthusiasts believing in the superiority of one specific coin or blockchain (frequently Bitcoin) over all others. Maximalists reject competing cryptocurrencies.

Maximum Supply

Scarcity measure of the maximum amount of coins that can ever exist for a cryptocurrency. Fixed supply caps provide assurances against inflationary policies.

Mempool

Pending transaction pool maintained by blockchain nodes before inclusion in blocks. Pending transactions in the mempool are unconfirmed.

Merged Mining

Pending transaction pool maintained by blockchain nodes before inclusion in blocks. Pending transactions in the mempool are unconfirmed.

Merkle Tree

Tree data structure composed of hashes of blocks of data used for efficiently verifying content and integrity. Enables simplified blockchain SPV proofs.

Metadata

Data providing information and context about other data. For example, Bitcoin transaction metadata may include time, sender, receiver, amount, etc.

Metaverse

Future iteration of the internet linked into an interconnected virtual world with augmented physical reality. Cryptocurrencies play critical roles in digital metaverse economies.

Mining

Decentralized mechanism of adding transaction records to a cryptocurrency’s blockchain through solving computational puzzles. Rewarded with transaction fees and minted coins.

Mining Farm

Large dedicated data centers operating a pooled fleet of high performance mining rigs at scale. Offer colocation services to miners.

Monetary Policy

Strategies and actions taken by central banks or monetary authorities to regulate money supply, interest rates, and inflation or deflation.

Moon

Parabolic price explosion to new all-time highs. Based on the concept of cryptocurrency prices figuratively reaching the moon due to exponential gains.

Multisignature

Wallet requiring more than one private key signature to authorize transactions. Increases security for institutional cryptocurrency custodians.

N

NFT Floor Prices

Lowest current price for the cheapest NFT of a collection. Floor prices represent minimum investment thresholds.

NFT Mystery Boxes

Bundles containing random NFTs that are only revealed when opened. Mystery boxes take inspiration from collectible blind boxes.

NGMI

Slang initialism meaning “not gonna make it” expressing low confidence in success. Frequent tags in crypto Twitter bios. Counterpoint to “WAGMI”.

Node

Network connected computer running software that interacts with a blockchain to validate transactions and blocks according to consensus rules.

Non-fungible Token (NFT)

Unique non-interchangeable digital asset with blockchain-managed ownership and provenance. Enables proof of authenticity and scarcity.

Nonce

Arbitrary number only used once added to cryptographic communications to prevent replay attacks. Linked to account nonces in smart contracts.

O

OCO Order

Contingent order with two triggered components. If one component fills, the other is cancelled. Allows automated trade plans based on price action.

Off-chain

Computation and data storage happening outside of a blockchain base layer but cryptographically secured by the chain. Improves scalability.

Offshore account

Bank account in a jurisdiction outside one’s country of residence, often utilized for tax advantages or anonymity.

Open-Source Software (OSS)

Software with publicly accessible source code that anyone can inspect, modify or enhance. Empowers decentralization.

Oracle

World data feed aggregated by providers and supplied to smart contracts to enable execution based on real-world state.

ORC-20 Tokens

Experimental standard for fungible tokens implemented on Bitcoin using Ordinals technology. Extends Bitcoin’s functionality.

Order Book

Listing of unmatched limit orders organized by price level for a specific trading market. Displays bid and ask liquidity depth.

Ordinals

Protocol developed by Cash App enabling satoshis to be inscribed with metadata, minting NFT-like entities on Bitcoin’s base layer.

Orphan Block

Block detached and discarded from the main chain due to a blockchain reorganization. Usually occurs naturally when miners find solutions at similar times.

P

Paper Wallet

Physically printed public and private keys. Enables cold storage of cryptocurrency offline. Vulnerable if keys are exposed or transmission of funds to or from the wallet is intercepted.

Passive Management

Investing strategy tracking indexes without active trading or stock picking. Provides simple diversified market exposure for low fees.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

Direct interactions between network participants instead of through a centralized intermediary. Enables decentralized connectivity.

Pegged Currency

Stablecoin or asset with price fixed to another reference asset by governance mechanisms. Maintains consistent value.

Permissionless Blockchain

Open blockchain networks allowing anonymous participation without identity verification. Maximizes accessibility and censorship-resistance.

Phishing

Social engineering attack to steal login credentials or private keys by impersonating trusted entities via email, fake websites, or other methods. Very common – be vigilant.

Plasma

Layer 2 scaling approach originally proposed by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon leveraging side chains anchored to main chains like Ethereum to enable high transaction throughput with inherited security guarantees.

Polkadot Crowdloan

Polkadot’s auction process where DOT is bonded to back projects bidding for parachain slots. Contributors earn rewards in project tokens.

Ponzi Scheme

Fraudulent investment operations paying existing investors with funds from new investors. Rewards come from money paid by subsequent participants. Collapses when new inflows stop.

Portfolio

Collection of cryptocurrency assets held by an individual or organization. Diversification aims to balance risk and reward.

Premine

Allocation of a predetermined portion of a cryptocurrency’s total supply generated immediately with the genesis block instead of gradual mining. Controversial.

Price Action

Sequence of prices at which an asset is traded during a specified time period. Price action analysis attempts to forecast future movements based on past patterns.

Prisoner's Dilemma

Game theory concept demonstrating why rational actors may not cooperate even when in their mutual best interest. Applicable to blockchain governance disputes.

Private Key

Secret cryptographic key allowing access to interact with addresses on a blockchain to sign transactions and messages. Enables ownership of wallets and cryptocurrency.

Private Sale

Early cryptocurrency fundraising round with limited participation from mostly strategic investors. Highest discounts compensating for largest risks.

Progressive Web application (PWA)

Web app developed with modern APIs allowing mobile app-like capabilities adapted for desktop and mobile browsers. Popular for dApps.

Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP)

Issuing Ethereum NFTs as collectible badges to memorialize event attendance and participation. Growing popularity.

Proof of Reserves (PoR)

Cryptographic attestations by exchanges and custodians demonstrating adequate reserves to cover obligations like customer accounts. Provides transparency.

Proof of Stake (PoS)

Consensus models based on bonded economic stakes instead of mining. Many new blockchains adopt PoS for efficiency gains.

Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS)

Partitioning block creation into separate proposing and building roles to increase Ethereum scalability. Proposers compete before builders finalize blocks.

Pseudorandom

Outputs that are randomly distributed but generated deterministically. Essential for randomness in computing where true randomness is unavailable.

Public Key

Publicly sharable cryptographic code uniquely representing participants in blockchain transactions. Allows others to identify and verify owners.

Public Key Cryptography

Use of key pairs consisting of public and private keys to enable privacy and authentication in communications. Core blockchain primitive.

Pump and Dump

Fraudulent market manipulation when assets are hyped and inflated by leaders before values crash – leaving followers holding losses when prices are dumped.

Q

Quantum Computing

Next generation computing based on quantum physics allowing massive parallelism. Poses risks cracking current cryptographic hash functions and signatures.

R

Race Attack

Attempting to exploit the latency of block propagation by sending conflicting transactions spending the same funds simultaneously across different parts of the network.

Ransomware

Malware covertly encrypting files to extort victims by demanding cryptocurrency payments in exchange for decryption keys.

Rekt

Slang exclamation derived from “wrecked” announcing a trader or trade was catastrophically damaged by losses, usually from overleveraged positions being rapidly liquidated.

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

Momentum oscillating indicator measuring overbought/oversold ranges from 0-100 based on an asset’s recent price changes. Signals potential reversals.

Resistance

Price level with significant supply preventing an asset from moving higher. Breaking resistance often leads to further upside. The opposite of support.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Ratio of net profit from an investment relative to its cost. Allows comparing profitability across investments.

Roadmap

Timeline of plans outlining major feature or milestone releases for cryptocurrency and blockchain projects over future quarters and years. Provides transparency.

Routing Attack

Exploiting vulnerabilities or configurations in internet infrastructure to affect connectivity between blockchain nodes and miners – disrupting network communications.

Rug Pull

Abrupt abandonment of a cryptocurrency project by its founders, draining liquidity and causing prices to crash, leaving investors stranded without exit options.

S

Satoshi

Smallest denomination of Bitcoin – 0.00000001 BTC. Named after pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Satoshi Nakamoto

Enigmatic and unknown founder of Bitcoin only known by this pseudonym. Authored seminal Bitcoin white paper and code before disappearing.

Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU)

Emergency insurance fund by Binance to cover losses of users’ digital assets in extreme contingencies like hacks. Provides confidence.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

US regulatory agency responsible for enforcing securities laws, proposing securities rules, and regulating stock exchanges. Policing crypto markets with increasing scrutiny.

Security Audit

Rigorous independent testing of blockchain protocols and smart contract code to identify vulnerabilities before mainnet deployment. Provides assurance of the system’s security and functionality for investors and users.

Seed Phrase

List of typically 12-24 words in a specific order that can regenerate access to cryptocurrency wallets if private keys are lost. Critical personal secret.

Segregated Witness (SegWit)

Bitcoin protocol upgrade that moved transaction signature data into a structure outside the Merkle tree to increase transaction throughput. Lay foundation for Layer 2 scaling solutions.

Selfish Mining

Block withholding attack technique where miners keep mined blocks private to gain head starts on building private chains greater than the public chain, enabling double spending and reorganization attacks.

Sell Wall

Cluster of sell limit orders at the same price on the order book. Acts as resistance for further price appreciation. Requires significant buying pressure to surpass.

Sentiment

Overall attitude and psychology driving market participants’ perceptions and decision making, measured through metrics like social media activity, google searches, surveys and trading patterns.

Sharding

Horizontal partitioning technique to spread database contents across multiple machines while maintaining consistency. Facilitates blockchain scaling.

Sharpe Ratio

Measurement of average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of risk as measured by standard deviation. Assesses reward-to-risk efficiency of investment strategies.

Short Squeeze

Sharp price spike from a wave of buying forcing short sellers into liquidating and covering short positions. Usually follows prolonged downward pressure building up leveraged shorts.

Smart Contract

Programmable blockchain-based application enforcing digital agreements automatically upon meeting coded conditions without downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference. Enables decentralization of computing and finance.

Snapshot

State of a blockchain network recorded at a specific point in time, analogous to a screenshot. Enables forks preserving balances or usage at time of snapshot.

Social Recovery Wallet

Cryptocurrency account access recovered or reset through social consensus of designated friends instead of solely relying on private keys. Provides safety net beyond seed phrases.

Source Code

Human-readable code defining software behavior and functions according to programming languages like Solidity. Must be compiled into machine executable programs.

Stablecoin

Cryptocurrencies employing mechanisms like fiat collateralization and algorithmic expansions/contractions of supply to minimize volatility and maintain price parity to an external reference like fiat.

Staking

Validating and securing a proof-of-stake blockchain by committing assets to bond stakes and participate in consensus governance. Earns staking reward yields on staked assets.

Staking Pool

Grouping stakers’ assets to collectively increase chance of validating blocks and earning staking rewards. Returns are shared pro-rata based on contributions.

State Channel

Communication channel enabling off-chain transactions between participants before the netted result is broadcasted to the underlying blockchain. Throughput and latency improvements.

Store of Value

Any commodity or asset purchased or bartered with the expectation it will preserve economic value into the future. Bitcoin’s limited supply presents a digital store of value.

Submarine Swap

Token swap taking place privately off-chain between parties rendering the transaction undetectable on the public blockchain’s transaction history and movement of funds invisible. Provides anonymity and privacy.

Supply Chain

End-to-end connected network enabling production, distribution and integration of goods, services and information flows from source to consumer. Blockchain enables transparent and efficient supply chain tracking.

Support

Price level on a cryptoasset’s chart with significant buy order interest preventing the price dropping below that level. Forms price floors that when broken often lead to further declines. Opposite of resistance.

T

Taker

Market participant accepting and fulfilling limit orders already on the books rather than placing orders. Pays fees and market impact costs to take liquidity.

Tank

Sudden severe drop in cryptoasset price. Analogy to a tank rapidly taking on water and sinking.

Testnet

Simulated testing environment replicating a blockchain’s live mainnet environment but isolated from carrying real value to experiment pre-launch.

Ticker

Short acronym referencing cryptoassets like BTC for Bitcoin or ETH for Ether. Used universally on exchanges, data providers, indexes and media.

Timelock

Restriction within a cryptocurrency transaction preventing funds from being moved until a specified future time or block height. Enables features like reflexive transactions.

Token

Digital representation of an asset or utility on a blockchain. Can representvalue like cryptocurrencies or functional use cases.

Token Lockup

Restriction prohibiting insiders of a cryptocurrency from accessing or trading tokens to prevent dumping on public markets before full release.

Token Sale

Distribution event or offering where crypto tokens are sold to investors and community members to raise capital and kickstart networks.

Total Supply

Total number of coins in existence for a cryptocurrency, including minted and circulating coins along with any coins locked or reserved.

Total Value Locked (TVL)

Aggregate sum of all assets deposited in DeFi protocols earning rewards, interest, liquidity fees, etc. Signals growth of DeFi ecosystem adoption.

Trade Finance

Financial products and services facilitating transactions like lending capital or providing credit insurance on both domestic and international trades. Ripe for blockchain disruption.

TradFi

Traditional finance industry consisting of traditional banks, lenders, insurance providers and other centralized financial service institutions as opposed to decentralized blockchain-based finance.

Transaction ID (TXID)

Unique publicly viewable alphanumeric identifier representing a confirmed transaction on a blockchain. Enables tracking transactions.

Transactions Per Second (TPS)

Maximum number of transactions a blockchain network can process and finalize each second. Measure of throughput and scalability.

Treasury

Reserve of assets held and managed by a decentralized autonomous organization through programmatic rules executed by smart contracts. Analogy to traditional corporate treasuries.

Trustless

Ability to transact and interact without reliance on trusting counterparties or intermediaries to behave honestly or securely. Enforced by cryptography and code instead of by policies or promises from fallible humans.

Turing Complete

Class of programming languages with computational logic powerful enough for any task computable by algorithms. Allows decentralized smart contract development.

Two-Factor Authentication

Secondary step for login authentication beyond solely passwords, like behavioral biometrics, hardware tokens, OTP codes, etc. Crucial security practice for crypto users.

U

Undercollateralized loan

Loan with collateral valued below the borrowed amount. Riskier form of crypto lending compared to fully collateralized overcollateralized loans.

Uniswap

Leading decentralized Ethereum-based exchange popularizing automated market making. Users supply paired liquidity pools earning trading fees from swaps rather than relying on centralized order books.

Unit of Account

Standard numerical monetary unit used to measure and express market values of goods, services, assets and liabilities.

Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO)

Unused outputs remaining from cryptocurrency transactions which haven’t been consumed as inputs in future transactions. Remain available to new owners. Bitcoin manages coins through UTXO.

V

Validator

Network participants actively participating in blockchain consensus by running nodes that validate transactions and propose blocks according to the protocol’s rules. Earn staking rewards.

Venture Capital

Professional institutional investment firms that pool capital from endowment, corporations and individuals to invest in early-stage high-potential startups in exchange for equity ownership. Major investors in crypto projects and blockchain startups.

Vesting

Locking programmatically enforced release schedule restricting sale of cryptocurrency holdings to align incentives and prevent premature dumping. Common practice for team, investor and treasury holdings.

Volatility

Statistic measuring variability and fluctuations of an asset’s price over time. Calculated using standard deviation or variance between returns.

Volume

Total number or value amount of a cryptocurrency traded during a given time period. High trading volume signals liquidity.

W

WAGMI

Crypto community slogan standing for “We’re All Gonna Make It” expressing long term optimism. Counterpoint to less confident “ngmi”.

Wallet

Software holding private keys that allows accessing the blockchain to manage cryptoasset ownership – enabling balance checking, sending and receiving funds.

Weak Hands

Investors prone to panic selling downturns at a loss instead of holding long term. Contrasts holders with “strong hands”.

Web3

Vision of a decentralized internet built on public blockchains enabling cryptography-based trust and permissions without centralized intermediaries.

Whale

Individual or entity holding a large enough supply of a cryptocurrency to potentially influence its valuation and is capable of impacting the market.

Whitepaper

Foundational descriptive document detailing the technology, vision and plans of a cryptocurrency network at its launch.

Whitelist

List of entities or addresses permitted access to invest in a presale, participate in an airdrop or perform other privileged actions.

X

xDAI

Stablecoin of the xDai chain, an Ethereum sidechain using a Proof of Authority consensus optimized for fast and inexpensive transactions. Helps Ethereum scalability.

Y

Yield Farming

Earning interest and trading fees by providing liquidity to decentralized crypto lending and exchange protocols.

Z

Zero-Knowledge Proof

Proofs confirming validity of statements without conveying any additional information apart from their accuracy. Preserves privacy.

Zk-Rollups

Layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution bundling transactions together, generating cryptographic proofs off-chain before submitting a single transaction to mainnet. Significantly reduces gas costs.

ZK-STARKs

Zero knowledge proof crypto technology with properties of succinctness, transparency, accessibility, and responsiveness. Enhances scalability and privacy.