Cryptocurrency Glossary

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

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

A process for solving a mathematical problem. In blockchains consensus algorithms are used to verify transactions.

Artificial Intelligence. As machines advance in intelligence, they are capable of learning from their environments and completing more complex tasks.

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

All-Time High. The highest price a cryptocurrency has ever reached.

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

An event in which individuals that hold existing cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) are given tokens of a new cryptocurrency.

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

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

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.

Websites (available for most cryptocurrencies) that allow users to search an address or transaction ID to view its details.

A term used to describe cryptocurrency projects that facilitate programmable transactions rather than simply acting as methods to store and transfer value. Projects like Ethereum are known as Blockchain 2.0 contracts because they allow their users to create and execute smart contracts and develop decentralized apps.

The original Bitcoin wallet, considered to be among the safest wallets available.

A bank run occurs when many clients withdraw their money from a bank at the same time, because they believe the bank may cease to function in the near future. Banks do not hold everyone's money at once, they lend it out. So if everyone tries to get their money at the same time, they can't.

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

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

A new version of the Bitcoin Protocol developed using the Javascript programming language.

Backtesting is the method of running your trading strategy on historical data to find out how well it would have performed.

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.

A tool used to identify moments when an asset's price is relatively high or relatively low to inform trading decisions.

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.

A mechanism that destroys an amount of coins or tokens, thereby decreasing the total coin supply of a cryptocurrency. 

A short rise in a cryptocurrency’s price that makes investors think the price will continue to rise. Instead, the price falls significantly following the rise, fooling the “bulls.”  

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

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

The payment given to a miner for securing a blockchain that uses POW (Proof-of-Work) consensus

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.

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

Optimistic about the future of a cryptocurrency’s price.

A general agreement among participants using and mining a cryptocurrency.

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

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.

Addresses created to hold the remaining balance when users spend less than a full input. Mostly used in hierarchical deterministic wallets that can create an unlimited number of addresses.

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.

Free movement of coins between individuals.

In the cryptocurrency sphere this term refers to storing cryptocurrency in a location that is offline and thus inaccessible by anyone on the internet.

A trade on a popular cryptocurrency exchange.

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

A cryptocurrency that uses the “Doge” meme with a cult-like following.

Software for storing cryptocurrency that offers decreased risk of losing funds because of its ability to generate unlimited addresses from a single starting point, or "seed."

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

DAA. A collection or portfolio of assorted cryptocurrencies. For example, one Digital Asset Array could contain BTC, ETH, and DASH.

A feature which allows KyberNetwork to maintain high levels of liquidity. The DRP keeps reserves of cryptocurrencies and establishes rates of exchange between them, allowing any user to easily trade one crypto for another.

A metric for measuring bitcoin inactivity. Each day a Bitcoin remains unspent is another day added to its total number of Days Destroyed.

Distributed Apps. Applications without centralized control.

Directed Acyclic Graphs. Also referred to as “Tangle.” DAG is an alternative to the “chain of blocks” architecture used in many crypto projects.

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

An application created to run on a user's PC.

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

Any non-physical object of value, like a document, an audio file, or a logo, that can be owned and controlled.

The act of selling cryptocurrency.

A group of businesses and organizations working together to build a globally-accepted identity verification system. The DIF uses blockchain technology to create a system that doesn't require a centralized authority for purposes of identification.

Decentralized Autonomous Organization. An organization governed by smart contracts founded to allocate funds to cryptocurrency projects.

Distributed amongst its users rather than controlled by one group or within one certain area.

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. 

A cryptocurrency created by Vitalik Buterin that runs on Ether (ETH). Ethereum was the first blockchain-based technology to make smart contracts and decentralized applications possible.

A token issued on the Ethereum platform.

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

Ethereum Virtual Machine. A testing environment on the Ethereum network for executing smart contracts and promoting security.

Online platforms on which individuals can buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

Financial technology (Fintech) is used to describe new technologies that seek to improve the use and delivery of financial services.

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

A hypothetical society in which no one is forced to do anything against their wishes and all actions are voluntary.

Fear of Missing Out. Investors with FOMO buy cryptocurrency (emotionally rather than logically) for fear of missing out on profits.

The analysis of the economic and political factors that affect the intrinsic value of an asset

Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. The emotional (rather than logical) belief that cryptocurrency prices will fall.

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.

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

An open-source database for developers to create and share computer coding with a large community.

LTV stands for Loan-to-value. The ratio expresses the amount of a loan compared to the value of an asset. For example: taking a $1,000 loan and putting up $2,000 worth of Bitcoin as collateral = 50% LTV. The loan is worth 50% of the bitcoin collateral securing it.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

An online wallet for storying cryptocurrencies. Considered less secure than cold wallets.

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

The power of a mining rig. Similar in concept to the Horse Power of a vehicle.

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).

A request for communication from one node to another node.

Initial Coin Offering. An event in which a cryptocurrency project “goes public,” selling early coins in exchange for funds.

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

Invisible Internet Project. A network layer that facilitates anonymous, censorship-resistant communication between users.

A popular programming language.

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.

Know Your Customer. Information gathered by cryptocurrency exchanges in compliance with AML (Anti Money Laundering) laws.

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

Cryptocurrency that has had its origins intentionally obscured to hide evidence of illegal activities.

A cryptocurrency forked from Bitcoin known primarily for its decreased block time, which (theoretically) allows for faster transactions.

A type of exchange used to make it easier for individuals to exchange assets for usable currency.

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

A mining rig is a computer used for mining cryptocurrencies. The rig might be a dedicated computer or it could be a computer that fills other needs too.

The total value of a cryptocurrency. Calculated by multiplying a coin’s price by its total supply.

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

The version of a protocol that uses real money. A cryptocurrency is generally considered to be “live” after the first Mainnet block (the genesis block) is mined.

A sub-unit of Bitcoin: 1000 mBTC equal 1 BTC.

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

A third party that enables anonymous transactions by grouping payments together, obscuring their sources.

A node (device running the full software of a cryptocurrency) that fulfills more purposes than regular nodes - such as increasing privacy, providing instant transactions, and participating in governance.

Software that allows individuals to store their cryptocurrencies on handheld devices.

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

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.

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

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.

A popular framework for JavaScript code to be written in. 

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.

An arbitrary number that is used only once in cryptography to make replay attacks impossible.

Over The Counter Exchange, also known as Off-Exchange Trading. Trades that occur between two parties rather than using a centralized exchange.

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

The initiator of communication on a cryptocurrency network.

Cardano's Proof-of-stake algorithm. It is used to randomly pick the next node to produce a block in. Ouroboros divides physical time into epochs, and then slots. Slot leaders have the sole right to produce one block and are chosen from the group of stakeholders.

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

Proof of Stake and Trust. A consensus mechanism used by Waltonchain that relies on token holders (nodes) to verify transactions while retaining information about nodes' past performance to give higher rewards to the most reliable nodes.

Pseudonymity is an almost anonymous state in which users have a unique identifier that is different from their real name.

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.

Permissionless refers to public blockchains (like Bitcoin) - anyone can generate an address and transact BTC.

A physical piece of paper containing a private key, a public key, and often corresponding QR codes.

Peer-to-Peer. Refers to networks in which individuals connect to each other rather than a central authority.

Decentralized networks in which individuals interact with each other directly.

A situation that occurs when an asset's market value is far higher than it's actual worth, making a sharp drop in price imminent.

A consensus mechanism for verifying a blockchain in which miners send coins to an unspendable address

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

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

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 public or private offering of tokens to interested investors, generally offering a cheaper price than the coin’s ICO price. Pre-sales are commonly seen as marketing gimmicks.

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.

Freedom from surveillance.

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 platform that connects banks, payment providers, and digital asset exchanges to provide frictionless transactions.

Radio Frequency Identification chips. RFID chips are attached to physical objects to make them easier to identify and track.

Often referred to as Bitcoin Jesus, he was the first major Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investor.

Transfer of currency across a large distance, usually across borders.

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.

Any cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset for the purpose of reducing price volatility.

The act of locking up one's coins or tokens to help verify transactions for cryptocurrencies with Proof of Stake consensus mechanisms. Stakers earn staking rewards for providing this service.

Self-custody means only you hold and have access to your digital assets. This means that you choose not to use a third party, and will manage your private key yourself.

A financial instrument (stock, bond, etc) that has monetary value and can be bought, sold, and traded.

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.

An alternative to mining rewards. Staking rewards are earned by putting a certain amount of your cryptocurrency up as a 'stake' to confirm transactions. Rewards are given for doing this.

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

Agreements between two parties that self-execute when their terms are met and automatically cancel when their terms are not met.

A programming language used to create smart contracts.

A type of password that an individual can use to recover their wallet.

A measure of how easily a cryptocurrency will be able to handle more users and increased transactions.

All processes involved in delivering products and services from their providers to their customers.

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

A consensus method that allows users to transact anonymously and requires relatively little electricity. An alternative to PoW (Proof of Work) and PoS (Proof of Stake). 

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

TradFi is short for Traditional Finance. It refers to traditional retail, commercial, and investment banks, and FinTechs.

An individual who buys and sells cryptocurrency.

An identical version of a protocol that uses fake money to discover bugs without the consequences such bugs would have on a Mainnet protocol.

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

Commonly known as 2FA. A measure of security used for protecting accounts. 2FA requires users to have not only a username and a password to login, but an extra piece of information, as well.

In the cryptocurrency sphere a Tether is a type of coin. This coin is ‘tethered’ or paired 1-to-1 with the U.S. Dollar.

A measure that describes the strength of association between an address and earlier transaction addresses.

The ability of a system to be trusted without the need of trusting the individuals with which you are transacting.

Test

The acronym for stable coins issued by Tether Limited: U.S. Dollar Tether.

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 that describes how rapidly an asset tends to fluctuate in price.

A highly respected programmer responsible for writing Ethereum's white paper and co-creating Ethereum's technology.

Coins which haven’t ever been spent. Virgin coins were mined and left alone.

The filename which stores public and private keys for a full node.

A technical document that outlines a project’s features, technology, and vision.

An electronic transaction in which value is sent from one party to another.

The native currency of Monero.

Payment that has been broadcast but is still pending inclusion on a blockchain.

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

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.