Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Glossary
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, 0x is an open-source protocol that allows an easy peer-to-peer exchange of cryptocurrencies. The protocol adaption could lead to a future in which the Ethereum network will be used to tokenize all kinds of assets.
An attack on a cryptocurrency blockchain by a group of miners who control more than 50% of the network’s mining hash rate.
A distribution of a crypto (currencies’) token to a number of users, often those who have interacted with the issueing entity associated with the airdrop’s sponsor.
ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) is a computer, respectivly, a computer chip especially designed to perform one function, in relation to cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin mining/minting, and nothing else.
ATH (All-Time High): The highest value ever reached by Bitcoin (or an Altcoin) in its history.
A crypto investor who continues to hold large amounts of a specific coin, even when it performs poorly.
The belief and according attitude that market progress and prices are trending downwards.
An individual or single entity who holds a large enough amount of a cryptocurrency to be able to profit from driving the price down.
Derangement Syndrome (BDS) is a loosely defined psychological disorder whereby Bitcoin’s success crushes your worldview to the point that you wish misfortune on those who own it called Bitcoin Derangement Syndrome (BDS) then.
A common cause is being a Bitcoin owner that sold too soon, just before the big run-up and now claim to have lost belief in Bitcoin. Now they instead start dabble in altcoins.
The process of guessing a special defined value before all other participants on the Bitcoin blockchain in order to propose a block of transactions for confirmation.
The first and most well-known cryptocurrency running on a blockchain started in 2008.
A grouped number of transactions broadcast to the network and then written to the Bitcoin blockchain.
A ledger of Bitcoin transactions maintained and distributed across a network of computers.
The act of purchasing Bitcoin when the price has dropped in a short time period.
The belief that market progress and prices are trending upwards.
CBDC refers to proposals involving a digital currency issued by a central bank. Although the term is not precisely defined, it represents a new form of central bank money.
A system or organization that is controlled by a person, group, corporation, or government.
A cryptocurrency exchange that uses traditional market making methodologies and is operated by a centralized entity.
A coinbase transaction is the first transaction in a block. It is a unique type of bitcoin transaction that can be created by a miner. The miners use it to collect the block reward for their work and any other transaction fees collected by the miner are also sent in this transaction.
The act of keeping one’s Bitcoin private key in a secure, offline environment.
The successful (immutable and irreversible) inclusion of a block of Bitcoin transactions within the blockchain.
A term generally used to describe blockchain and blockchain-adjacent technologies and protocols, other than Bitcoin, respectively in a more generic way.
A digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange, store of value, unit of account, or, in the case of Bitcoin, all three.
A platform that allows users to exchange cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies.
A service that mixes different streams of potentially identifiable cryptocurrency in order to improve anonymity.
A device or program that stores the private and public keys that together grant access to stored cryptocurrencies.
Cryptography is a technique in which mathematical and logical problem-solving skills are combined to encrypt or decrypt encrypted messages. In addition to the difficulty of calculating certain mathematical problems, computer cryptography depends to a large extent on mathematical proofs.
A DAO, or decentralized autonomous organization, is a blockchain-based community, the purest form of which has no elite class of members, and is controlled in a decentralized way.
A dApp, or decentralized application, is a software application running on top of a quasi-decentralized protocol and commonly incorporates a smart contract.
Globally distributed, peer-to-peer, and not reliant on any person, group, corporation, or government.
A system of independent computers that are simultaneously recording data, while also maintaining identical copies of the data.
Blockchain-based financial services that claim to be used without the need for an intermediary.
A cryptocurrency exchange that, to some degree, may not be totally centralized and in some regards operates on top of blockchains through use of smart contracts and liquidity pools.
A term used to describe an investor who has a high tolerance for risk and volatility and refuses to sell their holdings.
Difficulty is a measure of how difficult it is to mine a block in a blockchain for a particular cryptocurrency.
A term that refers to centralized or quasi-centralized blockchains, protocols, and groups that self-identify as “decentralized” without achieving real decentralization.
The act of spending the same Bitcoin UTXO in more than one transaction.
The act of publishing identifying information about a formerly anonymous or pseudonymous individual on the internet, typically with malicious intent.
The process of researching one’s investments rather than turning to a third party who supports a particular asset.
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum’s claimed primary focus is on enabling blockchain-based services through the use of smart contracts.
A government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, but rather by the government that issued it.
The hypothetical growth of another cryptocurrency to exceed the size, value, and importance of Bitcoin.
The real or imagined fear to miss an option by not performing an action.
Negative, misleading, or false information that influences the perception of Bitcoin or the market as a whole.
A quality in which two or more of the same thing, such as Bitcoin, have identical value and are a perfect substitute for one another.
Gas is the fee paid to execute transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, and is denominated in gwei, a sub-unit of the Ether cryptocurrency.
A term to describe the very first block mined on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The periodic halving of the issuance rate for Bitcoin, or the rate at which new Bitcoin are released into circulation through mining.
A radical change to Bitcoin’s software that makes previously valid blocks and transactions invalid.
A device specially designed to lock away the private key used to access one’s Bitcoin.
The unit of measurement for the amount of processing power on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The act of using a computer program to create from information a string of letters and numbers (of a predetermined length).
The act of buying, respectively not selling) Bitcoin with the intent to hold it for an extended period of time.
The act of keeping a private key connected to the internet to increase accessibility.
The rapid and irreversible process of adopting Bitcoin as the world’s primary reserve currency as fiat currencies collapse.
An ICO, or initial coin offering, is a funding method used by crypto-based companies and protocols in which a native token is exchanged for fiat currencies or other digital assets.
An increase in the supply, or total available amount, of a currency. Inflation directly leads to both the decline in value and loss of purchasing power of the currency.
Requirements imposed by centralized service providers, often at the demand of governments, that collect personal and identifying information from users.
A protocol or platform built on top of the Bitcoin (or another) blockchain that typically adds additional functionality or efficiency to the network.
A Bitcoin Layer-2 application designed for economical, fast, and private payments at low-to-no fee.
The size of Bitcoin denominated in fiat terms, calculated by multiplying the amount of coins in circulation by the current fiat-based price.
A tool, such as a currency, that’s used to facilitate sales, purchases, and trades of goods and services between parties.
A network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection, often intersecting with cryptocurrencies and other crypto assets.
The process of guessing a special defined value before all other participants on the Bitcoin blockchain in order to propose a block of transactions for confirmation. As a “side effect” new Bitcoins are brought in circulation.
A term used to describe a cryptocurrency that is experiencing a strong upward market trend.
An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a cryptographically unique representation of a digital or physical asset on a blockchain.
A no-coiner is someone who believes cryptocurrencies have minimal or no value and/or are doomed to fail. Consequently, they don’t hold any digital currency. It needs to be noted that a lack of crypto coins in a person’s portfolio is not enough to label someone a no-coiner.
A computer that participates in validating transactions on the global peer-to-peer Bitcoin network.
In cryptocurrency, an on-ramp refers to a transaction that enables users to acquire crypto assets (against fiat) and gain access to corresponding markets. Conversely, an off-ramp is a platform that facilitates users in disposing of their crypto assets or exiting the cryptocurrency markets.
A block on the Bitcoin blockchain that has been abandoned in favor of a different block and will not be built upon.
A piece of paper on which the private key (or a seed phrase) used to access one’s Bitcoin is written.
A connection between two computers or people that allows information, files, goods, etc., to be shared without an intermediary.
A quality in which anyone is allowed to join and participate in a blockchain network.
A cryptographic key that can be used to decrypt messages or transactions meant for a specific recipient.
A blockchain algorithm in which a participant’s likelihood of being selected to confirm a block on a blockchain is probabilistically tied to the percentage of the blockchain’s token supply the participant controls.
The algorithm upon which the Bitcoin blockchain operates. Proof-of-work is defined by the conversion of electricity into processing power.
An established set of rules dictating how nodes on the Bitcoin blockchain interact with one another and the code base.
A cryptographic key that can be used to encrypt messages or transactions meant for a specific recipient.
A market manipulation in which an entity accumulates a large amount of an asset to inflate the price before dumping it.
A digital version of a Bitcoin address (i.e., public key) that can be scanned by a QR code reader.
A rug pull is the theft of digital assets entrusted to developers, real or fake, of a crypto-based project, before or soon after the project launches.
The person or people responsible for releasing the Bitcoin whitepaper and original software code.
The smallest on-chain unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC.
Scalability refers to the ability of a blockchain project to handle network traffic, application capacity and requirements for future growth.
A list of words that, when spelled correctly and entered in the proper order, allow recovery of Bitcoin on its blockchain.
It is a process of converting a data structure into an encoding format consisting of a series/sequence of bytes.
Any cryptocurrency that has little or no value and no discernible purpose.
A cryptographic hash function used to secure transactions and information on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Breaking up large quantity of data and distributing it among multiple computing units.
The act of promoting a cryptocurrency in order to make money, even and especially when the cryptocurrency’s fundamental value is low.
A separate chain built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain in order to upgrade the technology with additional features.
A mathematical mechanism that allows for the proof of ownership by the individual holding a cryptographic key.
A smart contract is a set of instructions written in code on a blockchain that execute when specified conditions are met.
A change to Bitcoin’s software where only previously valid transaction blocks are invalidated.
A computer program designed to secure the private key used to access one’s Bitcoin.
Solidity is a popular programming language for smart contracts that is specifically tailored to the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
Any blockchain token that is designed to maintain a price peg with another financial or real-world asset.
Staking occurs on Proof of Stake blockchains and entails locking up one’s holdings of the blockchain’s native cryptocurrency to earn additional units of the cryptocurrency.
A unit of value on the blockchain that can incorporate a variety of use cases, such as governance or a rewards program.
Tokenization is a process that enables the translation of business assets, strategies or services into discrete units that are tradable and can be recorded on a blockchain.
A measure of a payment network’s, whether centralized or decentralized, average transaction throughput.
A blockchain entry that records the transfer of value or information from one entity to another.
The cost paid to incentivize processors (e.g., miners, stakers, etc.) to confirm a transaction on the blockchain.
A transaction pool is a pool or list of transactions that propagate across a shared network but have not been added in a block.
A quality in which two transacting parties are not required to trust one another in order to conduct a transaction.
Refers to the ability of a programming language to simulate a Turing machine.
A machine that can perform any task or algorithm that can be performed by a computer.
A measure of the total value locked within a smart contract.
A transaction that has not yet been added to a block on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The output of a previous Bitcoin transaction that has not yet been spent (i.e., used in a subsequent transaction).
The validator in a blockchain ecosystem generally refers to a participant in the Proof of Stake consensus algorithm. Validators must provide security services in order to be included in the validator set.
A term that describes an investor whose confidence is tested during market downturns to the point of selling their Bitcoin.
An idea for a new version of the internet supposedly based on decentralized and pseudo-decentralized blockchain technology.
An individual who holds a large enough amount of a certain cryptocurrency to be able to move the market.
A set of public keys (i.e., addresses) corresponding to one private key or set of related private keys (e.g., multisig wallet).
A transaction that has been broadcasted to the network, but not yet recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Zero-Knowledge Proof is a cryptographic mechanism designed to help users verify assertions where the output value can be easily determined without knowledge of the input information.