Cryptocurrency Glossary

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

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

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

The practice of buying and selling the same coins on different exchanges at the same time to take advantage of price differences.

Application Programmer Interface. A type of toolkit provided for developers for creating applications.

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

The exchange of one coin or token for another coin or token that takes place without the need for a third party. Atomic Swaps rely on smart contracts to ensure both parties hold up their end of the agreement.

A trader or speculator who believes cryptocurrency prices will fall.

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."

1 Bit is equal to 1/1,000,000 of a Bitcoin. Not to be confused with the computer science definition in which 1 bit equals 0.125 bytes.

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.

Someone who uses Bitcoin regularly or is heavily involved in its technology.

The unofficial website of Bitcoin Core.

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

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.

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

The time it takes to mine a new block.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bitcoin Improvement Protocol. New feature proposed for Bitcoin are BIPs.

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

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

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

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

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.

Digital currency that uses cryptography. Bitcoin & Altcoins are all types of cryptocurrency. 

Free movement of coins between individuals.

A cryptocurrency that relies solely on its own technology to function.

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

A trade on a popular cryptocurrency exchange.

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

Verifications of consensus by miners and/or nodes. After an individual sends payment on a blockchain, confirmations are required before the recipient can accept payment. 

The shorthand form of Cryptocurrency. 

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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."

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

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.

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

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

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

The act of selling cryptocurrency.

A token issued on the Ethereum platform.

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.

An extremely secure messaging functionality offered by QRL.

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

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.

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

A term used to describe the way that cryptocurrencies remove many of the inefficiencies and hassles inherent in alternative methods of transferring payment.

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.

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

A fee which must be paid to execute network transactions.

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.

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

Hashgraph is a consensus alternative to blockchain. It uses a gossip protocol to spread transactions across the network by sending data to randomly chosen neighbors.

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

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.

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

The process of intermittently decreasing the block reward given to cryptocurrency miners by 50%.

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).

Internet of Things. The system that will digitally connect physical objects, making them identifiable and trackable online.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Borrowed money used to trade assets.

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

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

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 popular online wallet that supports Ether and most ERC20 tokens.

The practice of borrowing money to buy and sell assets.

A pre-planned trade set to execute if a cryptocurrency reaches a certain price.

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

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

John McAfee (the creator of McAfee antivirus) is a cybersecurity mogul who is known for promoting cryptocurrency and speculating about altcoins.

Metamask is a Chrome extension which allows users to store and transact Ethereum and other ERC-20 tokens.

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

A fee paid to voluntary participants for using their computing power to verify transactions. When a miner mines a block they get a block reward as well as all the transaction fees in it.

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

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.

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.

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

A computer that runs a cryptocurrency’s software and validates transactions.

Digital agreements between users on NEO's platform that are carried out automatically when their terms are met.

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

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

A block that is no longer a part of the original blockchain because it was not verified by the majority of miners.

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

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

Operations Security. Refers to how well assets are protected.

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.

An address that individuals share with others to receive cryptocurrency.  

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

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.

Decentralized networks in which individuals interact with each other directly.

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.

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

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

PoI stands for Proof-of-Importance. It is a new consensus algorithm that requires users to stake currency to participate in the consensus. Compared to PoS, it adds importance to staking. Thus, it takes into account one’s involvement in the network. PoI was introduced by NEM.

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.

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 cryptocurrency that uses both PoW and PoS in its consensus mechanism to offer increased security.

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

Short for Price Down Limit. PDL is a price set by DeFi platforms. If the collateral crypto price decreases below the PDL set , customers' collaterals will be sold.

A method of increasing monetary supply (and lowering interest rates) by introducing new money to the market from a central authority.

An advanced form of computing that allows extremely complex problems to be solved very quickly. For cryptocurrency, quantum computing is important because once it is advanced enough, it may be capable of hacking private keys.

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

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

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

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.

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.

A memory-intensive hash function designed discourage hacking attempts by requiring large amounts of RAM. It is used by Litecoin, as an alternative to SHA-256.

The anonymous person or group that created Bitcoin.

A fraudulent endeavor. In the cryptocurrency world, this often refers to the practice of fooling investors in some way.

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

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.

A programming language used to create smart contracts.

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

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.

An indication of support for a feature, often sent out by miners to inform the general public of their opinion.

A block that has been worked on by a miner but is not included in the blockchain because another miner successfully completes another block first.

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.

A mathematical mechanism for combining a public address with a private address to ensure authenticity and prevent forging.

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.

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

A derogatory term used to describe altcoins that are based on faulty technology or have little promise for the future.

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

A feature of PIVX that allows users to complete transactions instantly without needing to wait for confirmations.

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

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). 

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

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

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

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

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

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

A feature of cryptocurrency exchanges that makes it easy for individuals to buy one cryptocurrency with a different cryptocurrency. For example, a BTC/DASH trading pair allows an individual to buy DASH with BTC or vice versa.

Transaction.

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

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

Unspent transaction output. For example, if an individual receives 1 BTC and holds it, they possess a UTXO.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Even millions of dollars worth of security won't protect an individual if someone threatens to hit them with a $5 wrench unless they give up their passwords. The best defense is keeping quiet about your cryptocurrency holdings.

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.