Glossary

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51% Attack
The event in which the miners that hold more than 50% of a blockchain’s computational power combine their forces to impose a drastic change on a network.
A
Absolute Advantage
The position that a system or an individual has over a similar entity concerning the production or supply of a particular product.
Active Management
The financial set of tactics that investors use when they wish to outplay an index or a market to increase gains rapidly.
Address
Short for “Public Address,” this term defines the exclusive location of a cryptocurrency wallet on a blockchain. Users share a hashed version of it when they engage in a crypto exchange.
Airdrop
The mechanism that enables a user or a company to distribute cryptos from their active wallet on the blockchain.
Algorithm
A chain of puzzle-solving guidelines that computers use to solve a complex problem.
All or None Order (AON)
A type of order that requires all its stages to be completed before it closes. If it remains incomplete, the order is canceled.
All-Time High (ATH)
The maximum cost at which a cryptocurrency has been the subject of trade in all its history.
Allocation
The process of reserving assets for a specific user or group of users to earn or buy at or after a particular moment.
Alpha
The very first rendition of a software program or a product that an organization releases for testing to a select group of users.
Altcoin
An alternative digital asset to Bitcoin.
Angel Investor
An investor or an organization that aims to invest substantial funds in the development of a promising project or company.
Anti Money Laundering (AML)
A system of legal rules and regulations constructed to reduce money-siphoning by criminal organizations.
Application Programming Interface (API)
The accumulation of standards, rules, and regulations that creates a two-way communication channel between an application and its users.
Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)
An extremely powerful, fast-processing computer that is often used to mine for cryptocurrency.
Arbitrage
A strategy that investors use to trade the same asset on different markets to benefit from the fluctuations in price that it has on each of them.
Asic-resistant
A cryptocurrency that has been specifically designed to reject mining by ASIC machines, and to provide infinitesimal benefits to users who attempt to mine it.
Ask Price
The lowest value that a trader is willing to take for an asset available for sale on an exchange.
Asset Management
A structure that enables users to administer their assets on their own or delegate a company specialized in this service.
Asynchronous
The characteristic that defines functions or processes taking place at a different speed or time than the main program in which they activate.
Atomic Swap
A mechanism based on smart contracts or multi-signature protocols that enables two users to interchange two different cryptocurrencies from two different blockchains without using the services of a crypto exchange.
Attack Surface
The vulnerabilities of a software program that hackers can exploit to steal system information.
Auction
The act of putting a product or an asset up for sale, which is conducted by an auctioneer, and which ends with the highest bidder gaining possession of said goods.
Automated Market-Maker (AMM)
Is a type of decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol that relies on a pricing algorithm to price assets instead of an order book like a traditional exchange.
B
Bags
A derogatory nickname that is usually given to a cryptocurrency portfolio that is poorly constructed or which is performing badly on the market.
Bear Market
A period in the evolution of a financial system when most of the assets are following a downward trend. The opposite of a bull market.
Benchmark
A value asset indicator that is used to assess its performance throughout a particular period.
Bep-2
The technical indicator that Binance uses to regulate the release and administer assets on the Binance chain.
Beta (Coefficient)
The metric that traders use to assess the value fluctuations of an asset analogical to a particular portfolio or market index, and which helps them predict their future trajectory.
Beta (Release)
The next step in the development of a project after the Alpha stage, and to which users get access to test and solve issues that might have escaped the developers.
Bid Price
The initial price that a buyer is willing to pay for an asset.
Bid-Ask Spread
The value array between the lowest price that a seller is willing to accept for an asset and the highest cost that a buyer is willing to pay for it.
Binance Blockchain Charity Foundation (BCF)
The platform that Binance created under the slogan “blockchain for social good,” and which functions as a charity foundation.
Binance Community Vote
The mechanism that enables Binance community members to cast their votes and reward a project out of many others with a free listing status on the exchange.
Binance Ecosystem Fund (BEF)
An enterprise in which Binance and its strongest supporters team up to create and fund new projects that would benefit the Binance ecosystem.
Binance Labs
A platform created by Binance where community members like traders, users, or entrepreneurs can pitch their project ideas and benefit from funding and support to develop them.
Bitcoin (BTC)
The cryptocurrency that started it all. Created by one or more people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, Bitcoin offers a digital alternative to traditional fiat currency. It is the first virtual asset of its kind that spurred the development and use of blockchain technology and the creation of thousands of altcoins.
Bitcoin Core
The first client developed and released by Bitcoin that enables users to interact with the Bitcoin blockchain.
Bitcoin Dominance
The correlation between Bitcoin’s market capitalization and the total value of market caps of the ensuing altcoins.
Bitcoin Pizza
The historical event in which a Bitcoin owner traded BTC for a real product. It happened in May 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz spent 10,000 tokens on 2 pizzas from Papa John’s.
Black Swan Event
A negative side effect of a planned operation that appears unexpectedly and results in further adverse consequences.
Block
The basic component of a blockchain that can store transaction details.
Block Explorer
The directory page where users can observe and browse information regarding transactions, blocks, and the history of the blockchain.
Block Header
The part of the block containing the hash data of the mining report and the transactions that led to its formation.
Block Height
The figure describing the current block and the number of blocks that separate it from the genesis block on the blockchain.
Block Reward
The number of coins that a miner obtains for mining and validating a new block on the blockchain.
Blockchain
The chronological string of transaction records that develop on an ever-expanding, decentralized network.
Bloom Filter
A data mechanism that users can employ to identify if an element is part of a set of elements or whether it stands alone.
Bnb
The native coin of the Binance crypto exchange that enables users to make on-platform payments and to obtain trading fee reductions.
Bollinger Bands
The graphic indicator of market volatility that is represented by two sidelong bands and an oscillating average.
Bounty
The earnings that an organization is willing to offer in exchange for referral work or other support activities.
Break-Even Point (BEP)
The moment when an ongoing project or activity has earned enough to cover its development costs.
Breakeven Multiple
The term refers to how many times the current value of a product has to increase by to equal its record-high selling price.
Breakout
The point where an asset contradicts all the predictions on its value and breaks beyond a resistance barrier or a support level.
Buidl
A term that developers use to incentivize the work on a project as opposed to investing time and resources on multiple operations.
Bull Market
A period in the evolution of a financial system when most of the assets are following an upward trend. The opposite of a bear market.
Buy Wall
The appearance of an extremely large purchase or a collection of several large purchases in the order book of a single market.
C
Candidate Block
A provisional block that a miner generates to receive the block reward before adding the finished block to the blockchain.
Candlestick
A basic, graph-like representation of a cryptocurrency’s fluctuation throughout a determined period.
Capitulation
When crypto owners put their assets for sale to get rid of them as fast as possible.
Censorship Resistance
A protection feature of a crypto platform that impedes any users, traders, or miners from modifying transactions on it.
Central Bank
The financial authority of a state that is in charge of administering currency, money supply, and interest rates within the country’s jurisdiction.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
A fundamental element of a computing machine that executes commands and manages programming performance.
Centralized
The feature of a system that operates under the command of a central authority that has its say on every action taking place within the system.
Cipher
A mechanism that helps encrypt or decrypt data. Depending on its model, it can be symmetric or asymmetric.
Circulating Supply
The closest estimated amount of crypto tokens present on the market at a particular moment.
Cloud
An on-demand, online supply of computing resources that is available to several users simultaneously and without considering their geographical positions.
Coin
In cryptocurrency, a coin is a digital asset that is not limited to a single platform, and which owners can exchange for other currencies.
Cold Wallet
A cold wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that IS NOT connected to the internet. Generally, cold wallets are more secure, but a bit harder to use.
Collateral
A valuable asset that the loaner pledges to ensure that the loaner is compensated in the event the loan is not repaid.
Collocation
The area in a stock exchange that is designated to high-frequency traders.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The US Government Agency that regulates the derivative markets and ensures that swaps, trades, and futures operations take place legally.
Confirmation Time
The precise moment when a transaction expires and when a new block is integrated within the blockchain.
Confluence
A set of investment tactics, metrics, signals, and methods that an investor uses to improve the odds of a successful transaction.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The benchmark is used to determine and record the consequences of inflation throughout a specific period.
Credentials
The set of personal information that identifies an individual in a particular environment like a network, an exchange, or a platform. Examples of credentials include name, email address, and username among others.
Cryptocurrency
A digital asset that is protected by strong cryptography that can be used for transaction purposes or various operations on a decentralized, peer-to-peer network.
Cryptography
The scientific method that employs mathematics and computing technology to encrypt or decrypt data.
Custodial Wallet
A Custodial Wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that doesn’t provide you access to private keys. Usually, the service providers are in charge of storing your assets safely. The main advantage of custodial wallets is that you can restore your account access if you’ve lost your password. The bad news is they can freeze your funds for any reason and there is always a risk that your money may be stolen in case of hacking attacks.
Custody
The term refers to having ownership over assets or keeping control of specific assets on the behalf of the owner.
D
Daemon
In computer programming, it refers to a dormant process that requires a particular event to activate.
Dead Cat Bounce
The term refers to a zigzag evolution of a down-trending asset that briefly increases in value only to resume its downward spiral again.
Decentralized Application (DApp)
An application running on a decentralized, peer-to-peer network and using its resources for a specific purpose that benefits both developers and users. The absence of a central point of failure means that it won’t disappear if one or more of the developers pull out of the project.
Decentralized Autonomous Cooperative (DAC)
An interdependent system where the members have more control than the central authority.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)
A network that is guided by a set of transparent rules hard-coded as a computer program, and in which the members replace the central government in terms of control and organization. An association of shareholders that is governed by hard-coded, transparent rules, and not by a central authority.
Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
A cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to trade coins straight from their pockets, and without holding their funds in the process.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
An environment in which cryptocurrency users can rebuild classic financial tools and procedures, but in a decentralized system where companies and governments cannot intervene.
Decryption
The mechanism through which encrypted data becomes readable information.
Deep Web
A considerable chunk of the internet that is concealed from most users mainly because the search engines do not index it.
Delisting
The procedure that exchanges use when they remove an asset from their listing either because the developer asked for it, or due to irregularity.
Design Flaw Attack
A data theft strategy that hackers use to launch an attack on users of a specific type of program. They build an application or a smart contract, and intentionally conceal an error or malicious software in it before releasing it to the public.
Diamond Hands
“Diamond hands” is a colloquial term that refers to investors who hold onto their assets stubbornly. In crypto, it refers to traders who do not sell their digital assets when the price drops. Also, it is the opposite of “Paper Hands.”
Difficulty
A parameter that Bitcoin and other mined cryptos use to establish a consistently average time between blocks and in correlation with the fluctuating hash power on the blockchain.
Difficulty Bomb
This term refers to the staggering increase in Ethereum mining during its transition to a Proof-of-Stake protocol.
Divergence
In cryptocurrency, this term refers to when the value of an asset and one of its market indicators start trending oppositely to each other.
Diversification
An investment strategy that requires distributing funds across several assets in your portfolio to decrease the risk of losing all your money on the devaluation of a single good.
Do Your Own Research (DYOR)
One of the golden rules of investing in cryptocurrency, and which compels you to research the market and a coin in-depth before making an investment in it.
Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)
An investment strategy through which you fund a specific sum of dollars in a particular coin over a long period whether its value changes or not.
Double Spending
An error that may occur on a blockchain that has recently gone through a hard fork, and which causes user transactions to duplicate on both of the resulting chains.
E
Eclipse Attack
The event in which the malicious nodes on a network combine to obtain a majority and prevent the other, honest nodes from communicating productively or receiving data.
Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)
A theory from traditional economics stating that investors only need to look at the value of an asset at any given time to discover all that there is to know about it. The hypothesis considers that an asset changes its price only when impacted by new information.
Encryption
The mechanism through which readable data becomes encrypted information.
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA)
An initiative from the Ethereum network that seeks to create a world scale standards organization that would facilitate the adoption of blockchain applications globally.
Erc-20
A technical protocol and a set of features that are used to create a token, and which enables all future ERC-20 tokens to interact seamlessly with each other.
Erc-721
The technical protocol that identifies unique, non-fungible, and non-exchangeable tokens.
Exchange
An online platform where crypto users can go to trade or swap their coins.
F
Fakeout
A case in which an investor sets up a purchase anticipating a price movement that never takes place, or moves in the opposite direction.
Falling Knife
The practice of investing in an asset that is on a downward trend in the likelihood that it will increase again in the future.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
An intense feeling of worry and angst that a good deal is on the cards, but you are missing out on it by failing to be proactive.
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)
A well-conceived marketing plan that businesses or other entities use to instill anxiety, distrust, and confusion among customers or investors.
Fiat
The legal tender of a state that is made official by the country’s government for both internal and international use.
Fill Or Kill Order (FOK)
In cryptocurrency, FOK refers to an order that has to be bought or sold in its entirety or face cancellation.
Finality
The property of a cryptocurrency transaction that makes it entirely irreversible and immune to alteration or cancellation.
First-Mover Advantage (FMA)
An advantage that someone or something gains by being the first producer or distributor of a product or a service on a virgin market. Bitcoin has the FMA for the cryptocurrency market.
Fiscal Policy
A set of rules and regulations that a government uses to organize the distribution of public funds and for tax collection purposes.
Flappening
The occasion in which Litecoin (LTC) surpassed Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in market capitalization.
Flippening
The occasion, yet to happen, when or if Ethereum (ETH) will exceed Bitcoin (BTC) in market capitalization.
Forced Liquidation
When a trader fails to meet the margin requirements of a deal, they lose their position of influence, and all of their assets are put up for sale by the broker.
Forex (FX)
The short name for Foreign Exchange Markets, which is a worldwide marketplace where traders meet to exchange national fiat currencies.
Formal Verification
The practice of ensuring the functionality of a blockchain mechanism through a standard process of complex mathematical methods.
Full Node
A computer that conforms to all the demands of a blockchain to take up the role of a validation agent for transactions and newly-created blocks on that network.
Fundamental Analysis (FA)
A method of measuring the intrinsic value of an asset by analyzing relevant economic and financial factors.
Fungibility
In cryptocurrency, it refers to the typical feature of multiple assets that are identical in value and use, and which combine to create a larger asset or coin.
Futures Contract
The legal agreement through which two entities decide the trading of an asset for an agreed price at a later date.
G
Gas
The system of payment on the Ethereum blockchain that the miners decide, and which applies to transaction fees and the creation and execution of smart contracts.
Gas Limit
The upper limit of payment that a crypto user establishes when dealing with a transaction or a smart contract.
General Public License
A binding agreement between the developers of a program and its users that allows the latter to modify it freely as long as they deliver the resulting work under the same license.
Genesis Block
The initial block at the basis of a blockchain network. Some may refer to it as block 0 or block 1.
GitHub
A platform that enables developer teams and its members to work together concomitantly and save their progress from remote locations.
Golden Cross
In cryptocurrency, it is a market movement that takes place under the influence of bulls and happens when a short-term moving average (MA) crosses above a longer-term one.
Gossip Protocol
A type of peer-to-peer exchange of information between the computer nodes of a blockchain.
Gwei
A tiny unit of measure for gas prices on the Ethereum network.
H
Hacker
A person who has in-depth expertise in computer architecture, programming, and data security in cyberspace.
Haha Money Printer Go Brrrrr
A satirical meme from 2020 that mocks the U.S. Federal Reserve and its ambitious claim that printing more money will help the economy recover after the COVID-19 crisis.
Halving
In cryptocurrency, halving is the event that reduces the creation rate of an asset in half. Subsequently, miners see their rewards diminish by 50%. This mechanism is in place for digital assets like Bitcoin, which have been created with a preset finite supply.
Hard Cap
The most money a project aims to raise through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) before launching it.
Hard Cap
A hard cap is the maximum amount of money a company hopes to raise in an a token sale.
Hash
The hash is a fundamental function of blockchain management. It is responsible for converting a string of numbers and letters into an encrypted output by using a specific algorithm.
Hash Rate
The metric that defines a computer’s capacity of calculating new hashes, and which it is measured in hashes per second.
Hash TimeLock Contract (HTLC)
A type of payment channel that is active outside the blockchain, and which two traders can use to benefit from a safe, and cheap off-chain transaction. To employ it, they use timelocks and hashlocks, which limit the smart contract to a specific deadline for completion.
High-Frequency TradingHODL (HFT)
A form of trading that enables a large number of transactions to take place in fractions of a second.
Hodl
A cryptocurrency term that cautions investors to hold on to their assets instead of selling them. The term grew in popularity because of a typo. The original advice was “HOLD,” and it referred to Bitcoin trading in the crypto’s early beginning. It alternatively developed into an acronym for “Hold On for Dear Life!”
Honeypot
A protection mechanism through which a security program identifies and blocks unauthorized access attempts.
Hot Wallet


A hot wallet refers to any cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet. Generally, hot wallets are easier to set up, access, and send/receive tokens. 
I
IGO or Inital Gaming Offer
IGO or Inital Gaming Offer is a way for investors to get in on the ground floor of a new gaming company. IGOs let investors buy tokens at a discounted price and give investors access to exclusive early-access game content.
IMO – Initial Metaverse Offering
Initial Metaverse Offering is a way for blockchain companies to raise money without going through an initial coin offering (ICO). With an IMO, a company sells tokens that represent ownership in the company.
Iceberg Order
A single order that has been secretly broken down into smaller orders to obscure its actual size from the buyer.
Immutability
A fundamental property of cryptocurrencies and blockchains that protects them from retroactive modifications.
Index
A tool used in finance to record the evolution of an asset.
Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
A fundraising practice that developers of a cryptocurrency may use to attract funds from investors while the project is still incomplete. In exchange, they offer the future coin at a smaller price than its forecasted market value.
Initial Decentralized exchange Offering (IDO)
An Initial Decentralized exchange Offering (IDO) is the practice of launching a token through a decentralized exchange. Projects can use IDO to release cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other assets. Contrary to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), an IDO offers immediate liquidity and trading at low listing costs.

Initial Exchange Offering (IEO)
A fundraising method similar to an ICO, but it is more reliable because a crypto exchange organizes and hosts it.
Initial Liquidity Offering (ILO)
An Initial Liquidity Offering (ILO) is a method of raising funds in decentralized finance. Startups can use an ILO to sell tokens on a decentralized exchange and attract funding without having to use an Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
Initial Public Offering (IPO)
A fundraising method through which a company invites public investors to buy its shares. It is also the inspiration for ICO.
Integrated Circuit (IC)
A small, computer component that upholds other electronic components, such as transistors.
InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)
A decentralized platform where users can store and share distributed data in a peer-to-peer system.
Interoperability
The next step in blockchain development that will allow several chains to be compatible with each other. Developers envision a future where users can create applications by mixing features and functions from different blockchains.
Iou
An acronym for “I owe you” and a mutual agreement between two entities recognizing one’s debt towards the other one.
Isolated Margin
A risk management tool that crypto traders by allocating a particular limit to each position.
Issuance
The release of a new cryptocurrency that takes place according to the conditions preset by its developers.
J
Jager
The smallest fraction of a BNB coin.
K
Keccak
An all-around function in cryptography developed by Guido Bertoni, Gilles Van Assche, and others.
Know Your Customer (KYC)
The common process through which financial enterprises check the authenticity of their clients to eliminate the risk of being scammed by dishonest customers.
L
Latency
The delay with which a network responds to a transaction submitted by an entity that activates on it.
Law of Demand
A basic law of economics that shows customer behavior in regards to the market volume and price of a specific product. As its price increases, the quantity demanded diminishes. When the price decreases, the quantity demanded surges.
Layer 2
A method of increasing the scalability of a blockchain by building a second layer network on top of it.
Ledger
In blockchain technology, a ledger is a record of all the transactions, in chronological order, that have taken place on a specific blockchain.
Library
A compilation of valid information resources that may include everything from transaction records to messages to written code and other files.
Lightning Network
A layer-2 application that is the most viable proposal so far for resolving the scalability issue of the Bitcoin blockchain, and to enhance transaction speed, as well.
Linux
Linux is a free, open-source operating system developed in 1991, and which works on multiple electronic machines including personal computers, servers, and mobile devices.
Liquid staking
Liquid staking is a way to earn rewards for holding tokens. You can stake your tokens and then easily withdraw them if necessary with liquid staking.
Liquidity
The property of a market that determines how quickly users can trade an asset without causing substantial value oscillations for that particular asset.
Listing
The event that marks an asset’s insertion on the official trading list of a crypto exchange.
M
Mainnet
A mechanism that helps measure the evolution of a blockchain project by verifying and recording the transactions that take place on the network.
Mainnet Swap
The event that marks a token’s migration from one blockchain to a native token on another blockchain.
Maker
MakerThat user who creates an order that does not attract traders instantly. The order will last in the order book until a trader chooses to complete it.
Malware
A type of software that someone deliberately creates to penetrate another computer or a network with the purpose to produce damage or steal data.
Margin Trading
A high-risk trading tactic that involves trading assets with the use of borrowed capital.
Market Capitalization
In cryptocurrency, the market cap of an asset is its value that results from the multiplication of its supply with the current price at any given time.
Market Momentum
The property of a market that determines how long it can keep a consistent surge or decline in price over a particular period.
Market Order
The event when a trader takes the most advantageous bid on an order in the order book.
Masternode
A node on a network that keeps an entire copy of the blockchain and the transactions that occur on it in real-time. This node can also access rewards while holding only the minimum required quantity of a staked coin.
Maximum Supply
The maximum coin supply of specific crypto that developers have pre-set for all-time creation.
Mempool
The record of all the pending transactions that have yet to be confirmed by the network.
Merged Mining
The ability to mine at least two cryptocurrencies at once without diminishing the total mining capacity.
Merkle Tree
A structure of hash-based information specifically arranged into “leaf” nodes to improve the network’s speed and security.
Metadata
A collection of data that incorporates information about other data, such as transaction details.
Mining
The act of adding new blocks to a blockchain by verifying the transactions that take place there and solving mathematical puzzles.
Mining Farm
A high number of miners working together in the same facility with the scope of increasing mining capacity and attract more rewards.
Monetary Policy
The procedure that a monetary authority establishes to control the money supply and interest rates in a specific jurisdiction.
Moon
A nickname that a cryptocurrency temporarily takes for the sudden spike in value.
Multisignature
The property of a crypto wallet that ensures a high level of security by requiring signatures from at least two entities before granting access to its goods.
N
Node
An active entity on a blockchain that communicates with similar participants to perpetuate the security and integrity of the network.
Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
A crypto asset that is one-of-a-kind, and therefore not interchangeable.
Nonce
The acronym for “a number used only once,” which is the first number or string of data that a miner has to discover before solving a puzzle. It is part of a security protocol that prevents the alteration or duplication of previous transactions.
O
Off-chain
Off-chainA transaction that takes place outside the blockchain, and which users can later add to the ledger for smaller costs than on-chain transactions.
One Cancels the Other Order (OCO)
The feature of two orders issued together on the condition that if one is executed the other one gets canceled.
Open-Source Software (OSS)
A type of software that developers create and distribute to the general public for free. Users can install, use, and redistribute it free of charge as well.
Oracle
In cryptocurrency, an oracle is a data interpreter that aims to forecast the outcome of a specific smart contract.
Order Book
The electronic collection of orders for a particular asset, which may be available on an exchange or market.
Orphan Block
An ancient block on the Bitcoin network whose parent block is uncharted because it was created before the ancestry feature became a condition for block development.
P
Paper Hands
Just like the term “Weak Hands”, it describes those investors with poor intuition and judgement or weak confidence in their assets, investments, or in the crypto market generally.
Paper Wallet
A paper wallet is simply a document that has public and private keys written on it. Note that paper wallets are now considered obsolete.
Passive Management
The practice of investing in one or more assets without generating market exposure, but by following the evolution of an economic index.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
The act of communication and data sharing between at least two computers without the need for permission or supervision from a central server.
Pegged Currency
A type of stablecoin that has its value pegged to a specific fiat currency. Its trading price remains the same as the value of its pegged currency at all times.
Phishing
A data extortion attack where an entity pretends to be an official banking institution or a company to gain unauthorized access to the financial information of a user.
Plasma
A proposed solution to Ethereum’s scalability problem, and which would create an off-chain layer where transactions would take place significantly faster.
Ponzi Scheme
A type of pyramid scheme that attracts investors with the promise of massive rewards. The schemer uses their contributions to repay early investors, and so on.
Price Action
The fluctuations in the value of an asset over a specific period. Traders use this collection of data to discover potential trade setups.
Prisoner’s Dilemma
A theoretical puzzle that proves how two entities may deliberately choose the more detrimental of two decisions if that meant that they did not have to cooperate.
Private Key
A unique string of numbers that provides a user with access to its crypto wallet. Cryptocurrency owners should never share this data with anyone.
Private Sale
The event in which a company puts an asset or a service up for sale to a select number of potential customers.
Progressive Web Application (PWA)
An internet application that can work offline for a period simply by using the cached information from its previous online sessions.
Proof of Stake (PoS)
The consensus algorithm through which a mined reward is distributed among the miners according to how many coins each of them had at the start of the mining process (stake).
Proof-of-Work (PoW)
The “proof of work” comes in the form of an answer to a mathematical problem; one that requires considerable work to arrive at but is easily verified to be correct once the answer has been reached. In Bitcoin, it is known as mining, and it’s essential to maintain the network’s integrity.
Pseudorandom
A formula that enables a definite function to produce a string of one or multiple numbers that have the same properties of a random string of one or multiple numbers.
Q
Quantum Cryptography 
Quantum cryptography, also called quantum encryption, applies principles of quantum mechanics to encrypt messages in a way that no one outside of the intended recipient ever reads.
R
Race Attack
In cryptocurrency, a race attack refers to a malicious attack in which an entity creates two transactions with the same capital before sending them to two other entities on the same network. The purpose is to get the payment from both parties before the transactions get canceled.
Ransomware
A hack attack that occurs when a virus takes full control over your computer and threatens to destroy or reveal personal data if you do not pay a specific ransom.
Rekt
A derogatory term that someone may use to refer to the misfortune of another entity that experienced near or total annihilation.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
An instrument that measures the strength and speed of the price movement of an asset by comparing its current price to its recent evolution.
Resistance
The level of value where the ascending price of an asset may stop as a result of multiple sales taking place in a short period.
Return on Investment (ROI)
A tool that helps to determine the relation between net cost and net profit for a specific investment.
Roadmap
A public document through which a company or a project specifies its immediate objectives and long-term goals.
Routing Attack
An attack that hackers aim at the hardware that facilitates the internet connection for a mining computer or a full node on the network.
Rug pull
A rug pull is a type of scam mainly within the Decentralized Finance ecosystem. It is a malicious maneuver wherein cryptocurrency developers abandon a project running away with investors’ funds.
S
SAFT
SAFT, short for Simple Agreement for Future Tokens, is a contract stating that the new tokens will be delivered whenever the functioning network of a crypto project goes live. By joining a SAFT, investors can put their money into a crypto start-up, converting a stake into future equity once it launches.
Satoshi
The one-hundred-millionth part of a Bitcoin, which is also the smallest available unit of the cryptocurrency.
Satoshi Nakamoto
The stage name of the developer or the group of developers who created Bitcoin. To this day, their true identity has not been revealed.
Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU)
Binance created SAFU in July 2018 to provide its users with an emergency fund in case of a massive attack with catastrophic consequences for the exchange.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
A regulatory agency that is independent of the U.S. government, and which has the role to maintain a fair functioning of the securities markets.
Security Audit
The procedure through which a coin, a smart contract, or a blockchain undergoes an in-depth analysis to identify potential risks for its performance.
Seed Phrase
Also known as a mnemonic seed, the seed phrase is a set of words that a wallet will send to its owner in an attempt to help them recover their password.
Segregated Witness (SegWit)
A solution to the block size limit issue that ultimately led to a hard fork in the Bitcoin blockchain, and which suggests the creation of a separate block that would contain the signature data resulting from transactions.
Selfish Mining
The practice through which a miner intentionally delays releasing a mined block to force the difficulty to decrease and mine more than their fair share of blocks. Unfortunately, this strategy also diminishes network security, so it is generally frowned upon by the community.
Sell Wall
The event when the order book accumulates a significant number of sell orders for the same price. The orders build up in a “wall” that prevents traders from executing them separately at a higher value.
Sentiment
The general feeling that the members of a community share for an asset or even for the entire market in the wake of a relevant event.
Sharpe Ratio
A tool that economists use to determine the possible ROI correlated with a risk-free asset.
Sleep Minting
Sleep Minting happens when a scammer mints an NFT to a renowned creator’s wallet with authorization to retrieve it. This gives the impression that creators legitimately minted an NFT to themself before sending it to a criminal.
Smart Contract
A transaction protocol that validates an agreement between two entities after confirming that both parties have met the conditions they set in the beginning. A smart contract uses a traditional conditioning system that operates along the lines of “If…then,” and it doesn’t require the approval of a central authority.
Snapshot
The practice of recording the state of a blockchain during a hard fork to guarantee the security for both emerging blockchains.
Soft Cap
A soft cap refers to the lowest limit for a blockchain project launch in crypto fund-raising. It is a purely theoretical value, and its definition is entirely arbitrary.
Source Code
A set of instructions and rules that determines how a computer program will execute before its release.
Stablecoin
A cryptocurrency that is pegged to fiat currency to prevent it from experiencing too much volatility on the market.
Staking
Similar to mining, staking is the process of participating in transaction validation on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain.
Staking Pool
A group of stakeholders that team up and use the combined power of their stakes to validate a new block.
State Channel
A channel that two users create to trade outside the blockchain. It works by locking an area of the blockchain state into a multisignature contract.
Store of Value
The property of an asset that does depreciate in value when it is stored for an extensive period.
Supercomputer
A computing machine that operates at a performance level high above the potential of most regular computers.
Supply Chain
A system in which two or more users work together to ensure the development and distribution of a specific type of goods.
Support
The level of value where the descending price of an asset may stop as a result of multiple buys taking place in a short period.
T
Taker
A trader that targets an order in the order book and places another one that will instantly pair up with it.
Tank
A derogatory term that describes the sudden, almost catastrophic devaluation of an asset as a result of an external element or rumor.
Technical Analysis (TA)
Technical analysis is a trading strategy that evaluates investments and identifies trading opportunities by analyzing statistical movements gathered from trading activity.
Ticker
The three-letter acronym that refers to a crypto asset. For example, BTC stands for Bitcoin, ETH for Ethereum, BCH stands for Bitcoin Cash, and so on.
Token
A token is a digital unit that results from the issuance of a cryptocurrency on a blockchain.
Token Lockup
The first stage in the life of an asset that follows immediately after its release. Some developers may also refer to it as the “vesting period” because the tokens cannot be traded yet.
Token Sale
The event through which a group of cryptocurrency developers put the corresponding tokens up for sale.
Total Supply
The term stands for the total number of crypto tokens that are available on the market.
Transaction ID (TXID)
A string of numbers referring to a transaction on the blockchain. Some may refer to it as the Transaction Hash.
Transactions per Second (TPS)
The technical indicator that reveals how many transactions can take place on a blockchain in a second.
Trustless
A fundamental characteristic of blockchains and other peer-to-peer networks where users trust each other and do not need a third party or a central authority to validate their transactions.
Turing Complete
A computer that is designed as a Turing machine and which increases its ability to solve complex conundrums with each problem that it untangles. With enough given time, the machine should be able to solve even the most difficult computational puzzle possible.
U
Unit of Account
The basic function of money that is used in cryptocurrency as well. It is a standard that enables different assets to be compared to each other.
Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO)
The part of a crypto transaction that remains unspent when the transaction is completed. The UTXO has to be spent in the next transaction for it to meet the basic conditions for validation.
User Interface (UI)
An interactive panel that enables the communication between a human user and a computer.
V
Verification Code
A basic component of the two-factor authentication system in the form of a code that a system sends to a second device to validate the credentials of the user who attempts to log into it.
Virtual Machine
A program that imitates the operations of a physical computer to run an operating system and other apps while also working as a backup computer for its users.
Vladimir Club
A select group of Bitcoin users that own at least 1% of 1% (1/10,000th) or more of the total Bitcoins that will ever exist.
Volatility
The property of an asset that determines how fast and how much it can oscillate in value in a defined period.
Volume
The entire amount of an asset’s individual units that have been traded on the market in a specific interval.
W
Wallet
In cryptocurrency, a wallet is a form of virtual storage only accessible by a private key that only its owner should ever know what it is.
Weak Hands
The term used to describe investors with poor intuition or weak confidence in assets, investments, or in the crypto market.
Weak Subjectivity
In a Proof-of-Stake blockchain, it is the characteristic of nodes that rely on other nodes for the validation of a smart contract.
Web 1.0
The first version of the World Wide Web where the sites were read-only and the interaction between users and developers or content creators was minimal or non-existent.
Web 2.0
Is the current state of the internet. It’s the user friendly version of the Web 1.0, whereby users generate content, it’s easy to use, more inclusive and ensures interoperability for end users.
Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is the new step in internet evolution that returns the web’s control pad into the users’ hands. The difference is made by the new technologies like blockchain, enabling the net’s functioning as a peer-to-peer (P2P), trustless system.
Web 5.0
On June 10th 2022, Jack Dorsey announced a new project being built by Block’s bitcoin-focused business unit, TBD. That project is known as “Web 5” – a so-called “extra decentralized web” that “puts you in control of your data and identity”. TBD describes Web 5 as a “new evolution of the Web that enables decentralized apps and protocols.” This sounds very similar to the concept of web 3, however, Dorsey’s platform will be built on Bitcoin, whereas web 3 is primarily highlighted as Ethereum native.
Wei
A crypto unit that often regards gas prices on the Ethereum network, and which is also the smallest unit of Ether (ETH).
Whale
An investor or a group of investors that hold a massive amount of a single cryptocurrency, and which gives them a considerable advantage on the crypto market.
Whiskers
The short lines that extend from each end of every colored bar in a candlestick chart. They reveal the high-low range trend for an asset’s value during a specific interval.
Whitelist
The select list of users who get access to a particular resource or network as a reward for their behavior or contribution.
Wick
The band component of a candlestick chart that reveals the fluctuation of an asset’s price between its values at the beginning and end of a trading period.
Wrapped Ether (WETH)
An ERC-20 token that users can trade at a 1:1 ratio on decentralized platforms.
X
XBT (Bitcoin)
The X results from the ISO 4217 standard. It is commonly used for commodities and currencies that are not specific to a certain country. Bitcoin also uses XBT instead of BTC for the same reason.
Y
Yield Farming 
Yield farming, also known as liquidity mining, is where crypto holders lend cryptocurrencies and get fees and interests as returns in the process. 
Z
ZK-SNARKS
An acronym of the name given to a conceptual Zero-Knowledge Proofs resolution, also known as Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge.
Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Confirmation signs that point to the validity of a transaction without revealing its details or the identity of any of the entities involved in it.