Dive into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency with our easy-to-understand glossary. Whether you're new to the scene or a seasoned explorer, we break down complex terms clearly and concisely.
Discover the evolution of blockchain from its early days to today's cutting-edge technologies. Explore key concepts like smart contracts, consensus mechanisms, and decentralized finance, all simplified for your understanding.
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A
Address
Your digital identity in the blockchain world – think of it as your virtual home.
Altcoin
Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.
Application-specific integrated Circuit (ASIC)
The powerhouse of mining – specialized hardware designed for peak blockchain performance.
B
Bitcoin (BTC)
Digital currency that enables peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries like banks.
Block
A data package containing transaction information. Blocks form the basis of blockchain technology.
Block, Canonical
A universally agreed-upon version of a block in a blockchain, ensuring consistency across the network.
Block, Genesis
The first block in a blockchain, marking its inception.
Blockchain
A decentralized, secure digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers.
Blockchain 1.0
The pioneer era – where it all began, introducing digital currencies like Bitcoin.
Blockchain 2.0
Smart contracts take the stage – self-executing agreements bringing automation to the blockchain
Blockchain 3.0
The future unfolds – advanced techs like Web-of-Trust and cross-chain capabilities redefine what's possible.
Block Depth
The number of blocks preceding a specific block in a blockchain.
Block Explorer
Online tool to view and track transactions on a blockchain.
Block Height
The position of a block in a blockchain indicates the number of blocks preceding it.
Block Reward
Cryptocurrency is given to miners for successfully adding a new block to the blockchain.
Banking Secrecy Act (BSA)
U.S. law requires financial institutions to assist government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering.
Byzantine Fault Tolerance
System's ability to function securely even if some participants act maliciously or fail.
C
Certificate Authority (CA)
Entity that issues digital certificates, validating the ownership of public keys.
Closed Source
Software whose source code is not freely available, limiting user modifications.
Coin
Digital or physical currency used in transactions.
Coin, Stable
Cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value, often pegged to traditional currencies.
Coinbase (Company)
Cryptocurrency exchange and platform for buying, selling, and storing digital assets.
Coinbase (Mining)
The first transaction in a new block, rewarding miners with newly created coins.
Command-Line Interface (CLI)
Text-based user interface to interact with software through commands.
Confirmation
Approval of a cryptocurrency transaction by miners, adding it to the blockchain
Consensus
Unanimous agreement among network participants on the validity of transactions.
Consortium
Group of organizations working together on a blockchain project.
Cryptocurrency
Digital or virtual currency is secured by cryptography, enabling secure transactions.
Cryptography
Techniques for secure communication, typically involve encoding and decoding information.
Currency
Medium of exchange for goods and services.
D
DApp (Decentralized Application)
An application that operates on a decentralized network, avoiding central points of control.
Decentralization
Distribution of control across a network, reducing reliance on central authorities.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)
Organizations run by smart contracts without centralized control.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Financial services are built on blockchain technology, aiming for inclusivity and transparency.
Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)
Alternative to the blockchain, arranging transactions in a graph without cycles.
Double Spend Attack
Attempt to use the same cryptocurrency for multiple transactions, exploiting its digital nature.
E
EOSIO
The blockchain protocol is designed for decentralized applications.
Ether (ETH)
Cryptocurrency used on the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum
Blockchain platform supporting smart contracts and decentralized applications.
Etherscan
Online tool for exploring and analyzing the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA)
Consortium of organizations supporting Ethereum for enterprise use.
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
Runtime environment for executing smart contracts on the Ethereum network.
eWASM
Ethereum's planned upgrade to use the WebAssembly virtual machine for improved performance.
Exchange
A platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
Exchange, Decentralized
Cryptocurrency exchange operating without a central authority.
F
Fiat
Traditional currencies are issued by governments, not backed by a physical commodity.
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
U.S. agency combating financial crimes, including money laundering.
Fork
Divergence in a blockchain's protocol creates two separate chains.
Fork, Hard
Irreversible split in a blockchain, often due to significant protocol changes.
Fork, Soft
Temporary divergence in a blockchain, resolved without creating a new chain.
G
Gas
Unit measuring computational effort in Ethereum transactions.
Gas Price
Amount paid to execute operations on the Ethereum network.
Gossip Protocol
Communication method where nodes share information with neighbors.
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Visual interface for interacting with software.
H
Hash
Output of a hash function, unique to the input data.
Hash Collision
Occurs when two different inputs produce the same hash output.
Hashgraph
Distributed ledger technology utilizing directed acyclic graphs for consensus.
Hashrate
The speed at which a miner solves a mathematical problem in cryptocurrency mining.
Hash Function
Algorithm generating fixed-size output (hash) from variable-size input.
Hexadecimal Notation
Base-16 numerical system, often used in computing.
Hyperledger
Open-source blockchain project for cross-industry collaboration.
I
Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
Fundraising method where new cryptocurrency is sold to investors.
Initial Token Offering (ITO)
Early offering of tokens before a blockchain project's launch.
Immutability
Unchangeable nature of data recorded on a blockchain.
J
Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
Software for running Java applications.
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
Lightweight data interchange format.
K
Key Pair
Pair of cryptographic keys (public and private) for secure communication.
KYC (Know Your Customer)
Process for verifying customer identities to prevent fraud.
L
Lamport Signature
Cryptographic digital signature scheme.
Layer 2 Scaling Solutions
Technologies addressing scalability issues by processing transactions off the main blockchain.
Ledger
Record of financial transactions.
Lightning Network
Off-chain scaling solution for faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions.
Liquidity
Ease with which an asset can be bought or sold without affecting its price.
Litecoin (LTC)
Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, similar to Bitcoin.
M
MAINNET
The primary blockchain network is where real value transactions occur.
MERKLE PROOF
Verification method using a Merkle tree structure.
MERKLE TREE
Hierarchical data structure is used in blockchain to organize and verify data.
MERKLE ROOT
A cryptographic hash of all transaction hashes in a Merkle tree.
MINECRAFT
Video game unrelated to blockchain technology.
METAMASK
Software wallet for the Ethereum blockchain.
MINER
Participants in a blockchain network validate and add new blocks.
MINER, CPU
Miner using the central processor for block validation.
MINER, GPU
Miner using the graphics processor for block validation.
MINER, ASIC
Miner using specialized hardware (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) for block validation
MINING
Process of validating transactions and adding them to a blockchain.
MINING POOL
Group of miners combining computational power to increase the chances of successfully mining a block.
MONERO (XMR)
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
MONEY TRANSMITTING
Process of transferring money between parties.
N
NETWORK
System of interconnected nodes or computers.
NODE
Individual computer participating in a blockchain network
NODE, FULL
Node storing the entire blockchain's transaction history.
NODE, LIGHT
Node with a partial copy of the blockchain, relying on full nodes for information.
O
OPCODE
Operation code specifying operations in blockchain scripts.
OPEN SOURCE
Software with a publicly available source code for collaborative development.
ORACLE (COMPANY)
Software and cloud services provider.
ORACLE (SERVICE)
Third-party provider supplying real-world data to smart contracts.
P
PEER-TO-PEER (P2P)
Direct interaction between parties without intermediaries.
PRIVATE KEY
Confidential cryptographic key granting access to cryptocurrency holdings.
PRIVATE KEY INFRASTRUCTURE (PKI)
Set of protocols securing communication using public and private keys.
PROOF-OF-LIQUIDITY
Consensus mechanism validating transactions based on available liquidity.
PROOF-OF-STAKE (POS)
Consensus algorithm where participants with more cryptocurrency have increased chances of creating blocks.
PROOF-OF-STAKE, DELEGATED (DPOS)
Variant of POS where participants vote for delegates to create new blocks.
PROOF-OF-WORK (POW)
Consensus algorithm requiring computational work to validate transactions and create new blocks.
PROOF-OF-WORK, DELEGATED (DPOW)
Hybrid consensus algorithm combining POW and another method.
PUBLIC KEY
Cryptographic key shared publicly for receiving encrypted messages.
R
RING SIGNATURE
Digital signature protecting the anonymity of transaction signers.
RIPPLE
Digital payment protocol and cryptocurrency.
S
SCALABILITY
Ability of a blockchain to handle increasing transaction volume.
SCATTER
EOS blockchain wallet and identity management solution.
SECURE HASH ALGORITHM (SHA)
Cryptographic hash function generating fixed-size output.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC)
U.S. regulatory body overseeing securities markets.
SECURITY TOKEN OFFERING (STO)
Fundraising method using blockchain-based securities.
SHA256
Specific implementation of the SHA algorithm used in Bitcoin mining.
SIMPLE AGREEMENT FOR FUTURE TOKENS (SAFT)
Investment contract for future delivery of tokens.
SKYCOIN
Cryptocurrency focused on privacy, security, and ecosystem sustainability.
SOLIDITY
Programming language for creating smart contracts on the Ethereum platform.
SMART CONTRACT
Self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement directly written into code.
STATE MACHINE
Conceptual model for representing the sequences of states an object goes through.
T
TANGLE
Directed acyclic graph used in the IOTA cryptocurrency.
TESTNET
Blockchain environment for testing without using real assets.
TOKEN
Digital or physical representation of value on a blockchain.
TOKEN, NON-FUNGIBLE (NFT)
Unique digital assets on a blockchain, are not interchangeable.
TOKEN, SECURITY
Blockchain-based asset representing ownership in an investment.
TOKEN, STABLE
Cryptocurrency is designed to maintain a stable value, often pegged to traditional currencies.
TOKEN, UTILITY
Cryptocurrency grants access to a specific blockchain application.
TOKENIZATION
Process of converting rights to an asset into a digital token.
TOTAL-COMPLETE
Term not recognized in the blockchain context; may be unrelated or misspecified.
TRANSACTION
Transfer of cryptocurrency between participants on a blockchain.
TRANSACTION FEE
Amount paid for processing a cryptocurrency transaction.
TRANSACTION POOL
Collection of unconfirmed transactions waiting to be added to a block.
TRUSTLESS
A system where parties can interact without needing to trust each other.
TURING-COMPLETE
System or language capable of simulating a Turing machine.
TURING-MACHINE
Theoretical computing device defining the limits of computability.
U
UNSPENT TRANSACTION OUTPUT (UTXO)
Unspent cryptocurrency in a transaction waiting to be used as an input.
V
VIRTUAL MACHINE (VM)
Software environment simulating a physical computer.
VYPER
Python-based programming language for Ethereum smart contracts.
W
WALLET
Digital tool for storing and managing cryptocurrency.
WALLET, MULTISIGNATURE
Wallet requires multiple private keys to authorize a transaction.
WEB ASSEMBLY (WASM)
Binary instruction format enabling high-performance execution on
web browsers.
Z
ZERO-KNOWLEDGE (ZK) PROOF
Cryptographic method proving the authenticity of information without revealing the information itself.
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