Cryptocurrency Glossary

A term used to describe coins that do not require expensive equipment for mining. If a coin is ASIC-resistant, its mining is thought to be more fair and decentralized than coins that are not ASIC-resistant.

Alternative Coin. Bitcoin is known as the first and foremost cryptocurrency, so any cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin is an altcoin.

A famous advocate of Bitcoin who has given speeches and presentations about Bitcoin all over the world.

Wealthy individuals who contribute significant funds (usually over $1,000,000) to emerging projects.

A unique, alphanumeric identifier used as destination for transferring cryptocurrencies. 

Anti-Money Laundering. AML laws and restrictions require exchanges to obtain personal information about their customers and their activities.

All-Time Low. The lowest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached.

Bitcoin’s ticker symbol.

Optimistic about the future of a cryptocurrency’s price.

A trader or speculator who believes cryptocurrency prices will rise.

A market in which most (or all) prices are rising.

A digital, distributed ledger which contains data for all the transactions that have ever taken place using a given cryptocurrency.

Pessimistic about the future of a cryptocurrency’s price.

The first successful hard fork of Bitcoin that allows the protocol to grow and scale by removing its block size limit.

A market in which most (or all) prices are falling.

The first blockchain-based cryptocurrency, launched in 2009. Bitcoin remains the most influential and widely recognized coin. All other cryptocurrencies are known as "altcoins," simply because they are not Bitcoin.

BNB (Binance Coin) is an ERC20 token that lives on the Ethereum blockchain. The token has multiple forms of utility, essentially being the underlying gas that powers the Binance Ecosystem. Most important, it can be used to pay for trading fees on the exchange, obtaining the equivalent of a 50% discount on trades during the first year, 25% during the second year and so on.

A blockchain scaling solution in which every user account has its own blockchain. Block lattices reduce blockchain bloat by storing transaction data separately from a cryptocurrency's main blockchain.

Komodo's Decentralized Exchange which connects all of its independent blockchains and allows atomic swaps.

A free, open-source web browser that aims to provide its users the best possible user experience by blocking trackers, hiding advertisements, respecting user privacy, and even offering a built in tipping mechanism that allows users to reward content creators.

The amount of data that can be stored in one block of a given blockchain. For example, the Block Size limit of Bitcoin is 1MB. Larger block size allows for more transactions per block. Thus, it’s not that transactions are “faster” or “slower”. It’s that transactions may be seemingly faster because the network is handling more transactions at a time.

The first blockchain-based peer-to-peer protocol that allows its users to store and transfer wealth.

An individual who believes that increasing Bitcoin’s block size would improve its scalability. Roger Ver is the most notable Big Blocker.

A segment of data recorded on the blockchain that can contain transactions and other information.

A regretful investor who bought a crypto (or cryptos) believing they would appreciate in value. Instead, the crypto decreased in value and the investor is left "holding bags."

A company led by cypherpunk Adam Back that promotes second layer scaling solutions for Bitcoin.

A Bitcoin wallet that gives its users an aesthetically pleasing interface while still employing the core Bitcoin protocol.

A transaction that combines multiple transactions into one for increased efficiency and decreased fees.

A condition that affects cryptocurrencies when the data stored reaches very large sizes due to increasing numbers of users and transactions. When blockchain bloat gets severe, transaction speed suffers.

The total number of blocks on a blockchain since the genesis block (first block) was mined.

An irreversible list of all transactions that have ever occurred on a platform.

A method of encoding inputs to create unique outputs, especially for creating digital fingerprints.

Advocates of using strong encryption to evade government spying. Cypherpunks were heavily involved in the early development of Bitcoin.

A paper written by Eric Huges that outlines Cypherpunks’ philosophy and vision. This Manifesto was a big influence on many early cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

No longer in production, these were physical coins created by Mike Caldwell that have private Bitcoin keys.

Controlled by one group or within one certain area.

The volume of coins being held and spent at a given time for a given cryptocurrency.

Code making, breaking and studying.

The first exchange that allowed individuals to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

A trade on a popular cryptocurrency exchange.

An offline wallet for holding cryptocurrencies. Considered more secure than hot wallets.

Distributed Denial of Service Attack. A means by which a malicious individual shuts down another individual's internet connection by overloading it with requests.

Uses nodes spread out across many different locations to achieve decentralization.

Parts of the Internet that are not accessible through ordinary means, like search engines.

Decentralized exchange. A platform (which isn't controlled by any single authority) that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

Delegated Proof of Stake. A consensus mechanism that has a blockchain's nodes vote on the correct version of the blockchain. 

A famous problem that occurs when cryptocurrency is spent more than once. Miners and transaction finality ensure that double-spend cannot occur.

Dynamic Proof of Work (dPoW) is currently in the early stages of development. Not many new blockchain projects are experimenting with it.

A network that requires special software (like TOR) to access. Websites on the Darknet are much more difficult to shut down than normal websites. The Darknet was one of the first communities to use cryptocurrencies for transactions.

A set of data used to represent an entity on a network or on the Internet.

A consensus mechanism that uses professional nodes to broadcast a version of the blockchain. If two thirds or more of the nodes agree, that block is written onto the chain. 

A tax on cryptocurrency holdings that encourages spending coins because they are constantly being destroyed.

DPoS. A consensus mechanism that has a blockchain's nodes vote on the correct version of the blockchain. 

Software that allows its users the ability to store cryptocurrency on their personal computer.

An over/under guessing game that uses random number generators to output results, allowing individuals to bet using cryptocurrencies.

An organization that operates to earn profits for its shareholders (coin holders) by creating value for the free market.

Transfers of value that are too small to be sent due to the proportionately high fee incurred. 

A unique, encrypted output that cannot be duplicated. Useful for creating digital identities and confirming authenticity.

A digital wallet address is a combination of letters and numbers that pseudonymously represent an account number for digital holdings. 

Online platforms on which individuals can buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

The predominant standard for creating smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. Others may include ERC 721, ERC888, and more

The native tokens of the Ethereum platform. Required in order to send transactions or execute smart contracts.

A third party used to facilitate transactions and increase security.

Exchange Traded Fund. A group of assets that can be bought or sold as a single asset.

A percentage of block reward that is paid to the founders of a cryptocurrency rather than to its miners. Zcash is a cryptocurrency with a Founders’ Reward.

An amount of coins paid to users for participating in PoS consensus.

A change in a cryptocurrency’s software that does not make it incompatible with the original version.

A website that sends users small amounts of cryptocurrency intermittently and make money by advertising other services.

Paper money issued by governments as default currency. The US Dollar, Japenese Yen, Chinese Yuan, and Euro are all fiat currencies.

A change in the original code of a software.

A CNBC show on which cryptocurrencies are frequently discussed.  

A fee which must be paid to execute network transactions.

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate. It's the interest rate charged during a whole year. For example: borrow $1,000 at 10% APR means at the end of the year you'll pay back $1,100. The extra $100 may be split into 12 payments, once per month, if that is how the creditor asks for them.

DeFi stands for Decentralized Finance. DeFi is a new financial system based on the use of decentralized blockchains and smart contracts to create new types of financial products.

Graphics Processing Unit. Hardware that can be used for mining some cryptocurrencies.

A physical device that stores private keys.

The maximum amount of money a cryptocurrency’s founders will accept while raising money in exchange for early coins on their platform.

First made popular in a post by a drunken Bitcoiner who advocated buying but not selling Bitcoin, it is now a meme to intentionally misspell “hold.” Hodlers see huge potential in the future of a cryptocurrency and don’t plan on selling anytime soon.

Someone who does not sell, but holds on to his coins. "HODL"  was originally a typo but it gained the status of a funny backronym: “Hold on for dear life”.

The act of protecting an asset from risk. A hedge can protect against losses or even offset against gains.

A consensus mechanism that employs both Proof of Stake and Proof of Work algorithms.

Internal Revenue Service. A US tax collection agency that demands information from cryptocurrency exchanges for various reasons.

Internet Protocol Address. A series of numbers and periods used to identify computers communicating through a network.

The process of increasing a cryptocurrency's supply, which usually drives its price down.

Created each time coins are sent to an address.

When an asset (i.e. coin) cannot be easily bought or sold due to a lack of buyers or sellers in a market. If there are only a handful of buyers or sellers the price may be substantially higher (due to few sellers charging a premium) or substantially lower (due to a few buyers demanding discounts).

The term used to refer to blockchains to describe the way in which blocks cannot be changed after they are recorded.  

A feature of Komodo that offers its users private payments. Jumblr works by exchanging the cryptocurrency being used for payment and mixing it among other cryptos prior to the making an anonymous transaction.

An algorithm used to adjust mining difficulty so that all miners are given a fair chance at earning block rewards.

Software that records every button press of an individual’s keyboard. Often used to hack into accounts by recording passwords.

Borrowed money used to trade assets.

Purchasing a coin with the expectation to sell it at a higher price sometime in the future for a profit. Basically profiting from the rising price of an asset.

A network layer that functions on top of the Bitcoin blockchain and allows for a huge number of low-fee microtransactions.

A cryptocurrency meme, short for Lamborghinis. When investors' coins' prices go to the Moon, they can buy Lambos.

A cryptocurrency meme that refers to the skyrocketing of a coin's price. When Hodlers’ coins go to the Moon, they can all buy Lambos.

When a blockchain features several levels for scalability and encryption purposes, it can be said to be "Multi-Layered."

An individual that volunteers computing power to verify transactions on a blockchain in exchange for block rewards.

A feature that requires several keys to authorize a single transaction, especially for dividing responsibility among separate parties.

The process by which new coins are created as transactions on a network are verified.

A group of people online who agree to combine their mining rigs into one for more collective mining power. They split rewards evenly based on each person's mining power.

A cryptocurrency exchange led by Mark Karpeles that allegedly lost millions of dollars in user funds.

The practice of borrowing money to buy and sell assets.

The process of allowing two different cryptocurrencies using the same consensus algorithm to be mined simultaneously. 

A very small payment made possible with digital currencies.

A trade in which an investor sells their position to repay the lender of a loan.

A mathematical problem that is solved by participants of a blockchain to verify transactions in exchange for block rewards.

An agreement that allows individuals to sell their computing power for the purposes of verifying transactions on a blockchain.

The process by which users on a PoS blockchain verify transactions and receive new coins for their participation.

A popular online wallet that supports Ether and most ERC20 tokens.

A cryptocurrency that is very popular on the Darknet because it is considered to be more anonymous than Bitcoin and similar coins.

A cryptocurrency that allows data (and transactions) to be written onto its blockchain.

The quality by which cryptocurrencies become more useful as more people use them.

Near-Field Communication. Enables devices located close to each other to transmit data without the need for internet connection.

A popular framework for JavaScript code to be written in. 

A third-party entity capable of transmitting reliable information to a blockchain so that smart-contracts can be executed.

A grouping of addresses that receive coins in a cryptocurrency transaction.

Transfer of value that takes place outside of a blockchain for reduced fees and quicker transaction time.

A term used to describe software that is made available online so that any individual can view its code and submit improvements.

Proof-of-Importance is a consensus algorithm similar to PoS. Nodes "vest" currency to participate in the creation of blocks. Unlike PoS, Proof-of-Importance quantifies a person’s support of the network. NEM is using Proof-of-Importance.

If you are running a full node, a “peer” is some else also running a full node.

A social attack in which a malicious individual masquerades as a trustworthy person in an attempt to fool the victim into giving up personal information (like passwords).

A process of storing information that cannot be changed or deleted.

Similar to a password but often longer. Where a password is generally a single word -- a passphrase can be a combination of words.

PoS. A method of minting new coins and securing a platform by allowing users to stake their coins and receive more coins as a reward. Introduced as an energy efficient alternative to PoW (Proof of Work).

A portion of the total supply of a cryptocurrency reserved for its founders. These funds are often marked as funds to pay developers or fund future ventures, but cryptocurencies with premines are generally viewed as less legitimate and fair those without premines.

a fraudulent type of operation where a company attracts investors to send money, with expected profits in return. The company pays back investor profits using later investors’ money. Once the company can no longer attract new investors, then payments cannot be made to clients, the company collapses and investors lose money.

Private keys are used to spend cryptocurrencies.

Any cryptocurrency that focuses on maintaining private transactions between users. Examples are Dash, ZCash, and Monero.

The consensus algorithm introduced by Bitcoin. PoW requires miners to compete against each other to add new block and earn rewards.

Proof of Work. A consensus mechanism for verifying transactions with computing power that creates new coins in the process.

A permissioned system is a private and closed system. Not anyone can join the network freely.

An address that individuals share with others to receive cryptocurrency.  

A rapid rise in a cryptocurrency’s price.

Occurs when a cryptocurrency’s price shoots up and then quickly crashes. Pump and dumps are often coordinated manipulations of the market by groups of individuals for profit.

A cryptocurrency's main blockchain which connects its sidechains or subchains.

QRTs. Customizable tokens that can be created using Quantum Resistant Ledger. QRTs are resistant to attacks from quantum computing.

A code containing information that can be read by a device with a camera.

A site that aggregates a nearly endless range of topics. Subreddits exist within Reddit to focus on specific topics.

RNG refers to 'Random Number Generator," which is the technological device responsible for producing random results, based on a game's established Return to Player (RTP) percentage. It is designed to avoid bias.

A plan that sets goals and deadlines for a project's future development.

An individual that contributes their tokens to Kyber Network's Dynamic Reserve Pool to improve the platform's liquidity.

A blockchain that runs separately from a cryptocurrency's main blockchain, using the native currency to carry out transactions. Subchains help scalability by reducing the amount of data stored on a cryptocurrency's main blockchain, often called the "parent chain."

An individual who predicts future prices of assets and makes bets based on their predictions.

A stop order, or stop-loss order, is an order to buy or sell a stock once the price of the stock reaches a specified price, known as the stop price.

Typically a person posing as a legitimate user of a product but who is, in fact, being paid or otherwise compensated to promote said product.

The process by which a full database is split into smaller databases called shards. Sharding helps with the scalability of cryptocurrencies.

A computer that is far more powerful than an ordianry computer due to its superior performance.

Secure Hash Algorithm 256. An algorithm used by some Proof of Work consensus mechanisms (most notably, Bitcoin's).

A feature of the ARK cryptocurrency which allows separate blockchains to connect with each other and communicate.

Segregated Witnesses. A protocol implemented by Bitcoin to increase transaction speed. SegWit allows more transactions to be written into a single block on a blockchain.

The pseudonym of the original creator(s) of Bitcoin. Also the smallest sub-unit Bitcoin can be divided into: 1 Satoshi = 1/100,000,000 of a Bitcoin.

The anonymous person or group that created Bitcoin.

An individual that volunteers to lock some of their coins or tokens up to verify transactions on a blockchain in exchange for staking rewards.

Selling, before buying, and intending to repurchase the stock at a lower price to realize the profit from a coin/asset decreasing in value. Basically profiting from the falling price of an asset.

An altcoin that is marketed as technology with potential, but is really just sold to make money with no promise of a future use case.

The Securities and Exchange Commision. A regulatory US agency responsible for the investigation and shut down of several cryptocurrency-related projects.

A digital asset on the Steem blockchain that can be launched by any user for the purpose of monetizing online content and encouraging positive user participation.

Price-stable cryptocurrencies that achieve stability through pegging their value to another asset, like the US dollar.

An individual who believes that the blocks in Bitcoin should be kept small so that anyone can run a full node.  

The minimum amount of funds that a cryptocurrency's founders wish to raise in an ICO. If an ICO does not meet its soft cap, it will often be canceled until a later date.

An online black market on the Darknet best known as a place individuals could buy and sell illegal goods and services. One of the first communities to use Bitcoin as currency.

Simplified Payment Verification. Allows wallets to function by letting them connect to local nodes that have full copies of the blockchain rather than requiring download of the full blockchain (like Bitcoin Core).

A measure that describes how many coins of a given cryptocurrency can exist (after all mining is completed, if applicable).

A sequence of numbers used to identify the moment in time that a transaction occurred.

The first hardware wallet, created by a Bitcoiner called “Slush.”

The Onion Router. A web browser that allows users anonymous access to darknet sites.

A computing system that can perform a whole set of computational functions is considered “Turing Complete.”

Transaction.

An amount of value that must be paid to transfer value on a blockchain.

Test

A measure of how frequently and how heavily a cryptocurrency is bought and/or sold during a given time period. 

Transactions per second. A measure which describes how fast a cryptocurrency can handle its users' transactions.

A cryptocurrency created using another platform (like Ethereum). Tokens operate by using the technology of the platform on which they were created.

Software that changes an environment irreversibly after its release. For example, once Bitcoin’s code was launched and distributed amongst many machines, it virtually could not be stopped.

A unit of currency consumed in a process. For example, an arcade token that gets used when a game is played or a coin like BNB Binance token, which is used to pay exchange fees.

An adult person without an account at a bank or other financial institution. 

A measure used to describe the rate at which currency is exchanged from transaction to transaction.

Addresses that hold cryptocurrency. Instead of random alphanumeric strings, however, users with vanity addresses can choose specific words and phrases for their addresses, similar to vanity license plates,

An individual that invests in an emerging project with the hopes of earning a large return on their investment when the project succeeds.

Software or devices that contain public and private keys for storing cryptocurrencies

A very wealthy individual capable of making large trades.

A list of registered and approved participants in an ICO. Whitelists are used to exclude non-accredited investors in order to better comply with regulations.

eXtensive Business Reporting Language. A language for defining and exchanging financial data that makes extracting useful data from a large body of data easier.

Ticker for Bitcoin used on Kraken and some other exchanges. Same as BTC.

Two Factor Authentication. A protective measure that uses one-time passwords to prevent keyloggers from gaining unauthorized access to accounts.

A hypothetical attack in which a malicious individual gains control of more than half of a cryptocurrency’s hashing power and is then able to re-write old blocks, allowing double-spend.

A cryptocurrency that uses the Bitcoin protocol but offers increased anonymity in transactions.